A PDRC guard talks to the Bangkok Post

Guards are armed ? they have to be ? but not with war weapons, says a former guard of PDRC leader Suthep Thuagsuban.

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A volunteer guard of the People’s Democratic Reform Committee scans for any unusual movements around the protest site at Lumpini Park. THITI WANNAMONTHA

We’re not all bad, says ex-protest guard

Wassayos Ngamkham

While People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban has been hailed as a hero by his supporters, the PDRC guards have not emerged in a favourable light after months of anti-government street rallies.

Recent headlines have claimed some of them beat up a man at Lumpini Park for suspected links to the red-shirt group, and there have been reports of rude behaviour towards park-goers. 

Amid these accusations, a former guard of Mr Suthep, who asked not to be named, admitted that PDRC guards sometimes need to resort to harsh approaches for the sake of security. He also admitted that all guards carry guns.

“But they are not war weapons,” said the 49-year-old, referring to an assault rifle used by the so-called “popcorn shooter”,  a hooded man who hid his rifle in a popcorn bag during a clash with red-shirt hardliners at Laksi intersection. The clash followed a rally of anti-government protesters at Laksi district office to block transport of ballot papers on the eve of the Feb 2 election.

In contrast, PDRC guards usually carry pistols and will only use them when they are attacked or authorities attempt to arrest PDRC leaders.

“I also have one and I acquired it legally,” the guard said.

The man first worked as a guard at the rally site at Chaeng Watthana Road before he was invited to work as one of the “VIP guards” who escort PDRC leaders. His responsibility was to give protection to Mr Suthep and PDRC spokesman Akanat Promphan.

“The number of guards accompanying each leader varies,” he said. “Mr Suthep has dozens, while Mr Akanat has five.”

Although all guards need to carry guns almost all the time, sometimes they have been ordered to leave their weapons behind to avoid criticism, the former guard claimed. Mr Suthep always insists protests must be carried out peacefully. He proved that on Feb 18 during the confrontation between police and the PDRC ally, the Dhamma Army, near Phan Fa Bridge, the former guard said.

That day Mr Suthep ordered all guards not to carry any weapons, including knives, before he led the protesters from Pathumwan intersection to help demonstrators on Ratchadamnoen Avenue to prevent Government House from being reclaimed by police. The area near Government House has been controlled by another PDRC ally, the Network of Students and People for Reform of Thailand, in the prolonged protest against the caretaker Yingluck Shinawatra government.

“There were some shootings that day, but not by PDRC guards,” the former guard recalled.

This incident had helped to foster a good image for PDRC guards until news reports last week claimed a man had allegedly been assaulted by protest guards.

Photos of Yuem Nillar’s extensive bruising were uploaded to the Facebook pages of the Transport Safety Centre and the police spokesman team.

The man, Yuem Nillar, claimed he was arrested by the guards at Lumpini Park on Feb 24 after they found a card which showed he was a member of pro-government United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship.

Mr Yuem claimed he was detained for five days and beaten by the guards, who later dumped him in a river.

On Tuesday, PDRC co-leader Thaworn Senneam gave an interview stating there would be training for 300 guards at Lumpini Park after complaints from park users over the rude behaviour of some guards during bag checks.

The former guard had not heard about the training, which was held after he left the job. But, before the four PDRC rally venues were merged into one on March 2, there had never been any formal training for the guards, he said.

He said that the guards used to escort PDRC leaders are mainly “those who are skilled in the use of weapons”.

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