Not worth a crackdown
Article 1, Chapter 1 of the constitution reads: "Thailand is a one and indivisible Kingdom." A subsequent article guarantees that, "A person shall enjoy the liberty to express his or her opinion ..." A few men in Chiang Mai have violated one of these provisions by following the other. Their suggestion that the national political crisis could result in a kind of secession movement in the North has also angered many Thais.
The northern troublemakers made a sudden appearance in Chiang Mai. They sported headbands, strange flags and assorted banners and paraphernalia referring to Sor Por Por Lanna. The SPPL acronym translates,... in full, to People’s Democratic Republic of Lanna. In what passes for thought by the Chiang Mai group, the North might be able to attain full autonomy — although not independence — and this could solve the problem being played out on the Bangkok streets. It could go without saying that those publicising this craziness are members of a radical fringe of the northern red-shirt movement.