Village Scouts

Village Scouts (Thai: ลูกเสือชาวบ้าน, RTGS: Luksuea Chaoban) is the common name of a right-wing, ultranationalist social movement[1] and paramilitary militia of volunteers from rural Thailand.

The king and the royal family visited Village Scout units to bless their scarves and flags.

[1] A short time after the establishment of the Village Scouts, over five million Thais, or 10 percent of the population, had completed the organization's five-day training course.

They were called via radio to occupy strategic points in all major towns during the protests against US bases in the country and against the return of ousted military dictators Thanom Kittikachorn and Praphas Charusathien.

The Village Scouts re-emerged as an ultranationalist mass organization after the turn of the millennium against the backdrop of the Muslim separatist conflict in the three southernmost provinces.