lazurus

Good thing I changed my plans to go to my embassy today.

Entire BTS is closed today due to attempted sabotage by the protesters at the chidlom station.

hi there . . .anyone has good idea how 'martial law' could work ? 'internal security act' did nothing,

'state of emergency' turned into 'sate of no law', dispersal was a show of 'water melon' army !!

It won't work because Army and Thai Police are both very divided and marching left and right. Or at least hotheads from both sides are making things very difficult. One captain shouting this and another one shouting that. Otherwise there would have been effective crackdown already.

Hopefully it won't go to the next level, raiding of army barracks for weapons by both sides. That is what happened in Yugoslavia early 90's...

I don't see any pragmatic benefit of 'martial law', perhaps it is too late. it just complicates the issues further with another label !

the country is now not on the hand of PM ( sorry to say that ), neither on the hand of red-shirt ( whom prepared what will happen ) ! the army is the center of momentum, either they re-united and they clean up the mess, or they go further apart then likely become a coup.

further it drags, more likely move into the formation of civil conflict. that is SAD !

Martial law won't mean a thing unless it's enforced. Unfortunately many of the existing laws have been repeatedly violated with no consequences. This will only encourage other groups to take the law into their own hands. It's a shame.

the arrogance of Abhisit seems to know no bounds (there has to be dissolution. an election soon which the democrats would clearly lose as with every election since around 2000), the current govt was cobbled togther through a judicial coup and the bribery intiumidation of the chidchob faction (they were kept locked up in a hotel to vote Abhisit into power) - the question is what end game the govt and the privy council are playing and whether there will be an election at all,

Elections held now would not be legitimate. You need to bring law and order back before you can call an election. Doing it now while red protesters have roadblocks and are performing illegal searches of innocent civilians would taint the whole process. Unless red and yellows go home, and start acting like civilized people the next election will be more corrupt than any of the previous ones. Letting protesters form militias to act in place of the police is contrary to the principles of a free election.

I just heard that there have been several cases of H1N1 in the Red Shirt enclave! Could it be that this once feared disease is the answer to the whole problem! Could they all be sent home because of fear of an epidemic there!?

Would be an amazing end to an tricky situation (even if only a temporary one).

Source: Channel 3 news

Thousands of people living in close quarters without proper sanitation. They'll be lucky if the flu is the worst thing that spreads.

What right do Red protesters have to stop ordinary citizens and search them? Who appointed them the moral authority in Thailand? It is not their place to harass and intimidate people. Why doesn't the government bring back some semblance of order to the country? If the Reds stop a police convoy complete with prisoner transport trucks the police ought to start filling those trucks, arrest these people. They are not agents of the government, they have no business blocking police or civilians. Is it acceptable for these vigilantes to start detaining people? Can they beat them and search them with no cause? It is only a matter of time before a driver runs down someone manning these illegal roadblocks. Do the police have to wait until more people die before they take back their job?

Lazarus,

They just want to ensure that yellow/other shirts don't come into their camp carrying weapons. Most of the supposed red shirt violence is actually caused by trouble making yellows who smuggle weapons into the red camp to discredit the reds...

I'm not even talking about the protest sites. Reds are setting up roadblocks along public highways, outside of the downtown. These are to prevent police from doing their jobs, and to harass ordinary people, not yellows. These people have no authority to do this. It's a very dangerous precedent to set. It leads to local militias controlling towns and neighborhoods.

due to a mob, that's anarchy. while we've more than 420,000 people on facebook _opposing_ house dissolution?

420,000 people are members of the Facebook group. It doesn't mean that each member opposes house dissolution. You have to understand how Facebook works before you try and use it as a scientific poll of public opinion. Let's assume however that every single of those 420,000 people oppose the house dissolution ...that's only 1.52% of the Thai population.

Suddenly doesn't seem like that many people anymore, does it? 1.52% of Thais oppose house dissolution, while 98.48% don't. Hmmm...

The Khon Kaen University poll showed 49% of people in the Isaan didnt want a disolution and that was before the Silom killing. It also includes stated reasons on why or why not.

Your facebook argument by logical extension means we should also ignore the Rachaprasong demonstrators who certainly dont number anywhere near 420K. Logically following you argument it would go "well only 0.1% of the Thai population are demonstrating for an immediate disolution (actually they are split on 15 days, 30 days, 3 months, 5 months if you care to analyses what they actually say) so the other 99.9%..."

Still the reality is nobody at all in this intra-elite power struggle gives a toss what most people think.

You cannot dissolve the government at the moment. What you have right now is a breakdown of law and order. The police do not have control over even their own movements. With gangs of formerly red protesters appointing themselves the guardians of Thailand you cannot hold a successful election. If they continue to set up roadblocks and harass ordinary citizens you cannot hold free elections. How can you expect any votes for the democrats if voters have to pass through red checkpoints before getting to the polling stations? In such a situation the whole election would be worthless. Law and order must be restored so that if the PTP wins the election it will be legitimate, and not due to massive intimidation of the population. Unless Thais have the freedom to move about their own country without interference you cannot hold elections.

So,

Just coming back from my favourite issan village and some people presented to me the latest present from the Government for helping farming: a Kubota tractor 153 (15 horse power) with 3 disks, transmission by belt. cost 250,000TBT (for around 1000 houses/families)...a joke.

Really there is no policy for helping seriously ISSAN. It is the root of the problem, I have already written a lot about that... Instead to prepare the Civil war, the Government should defuse the situation by announcing a real policy for developing the Northern Country: 42% of the population with 13% of National income.....

Ok:

How about mandatory free schooling to 18 years old?

Not as good as 100k in everyone's bank today, but let's look to the future.

In the past decade most of the governments were red friendly. Yet you want to blame the lack of development in the north east on the ones that have been in power for less than 2 years? I don't think switching governing parties is going to magically fix all their problems.

Can you have fair and free elections when groups of protesters are roaming the countryside performing illegal searches on civilians? Will they set up roadblocks around the polling stations and make sure only friendly people get to vote? That is why you need law and order before any date for the next election can be set. So that the people can travel freely, and safely around their own country and express their will without intimidation.

Well I see the border police in Phitsanaloke broke through the red blockade in a baton charge. Wonder if this signals a change in police tactics.

It's about time. As long as the police allow the protesters to do whatever they want things are only going to get worse. Ordinary Thai citizens should not have to answer to protesters. They are should not be subject to illegal searches just because they use a public highway. Would it be acceptable for yellow protesters to search Red protesters homes for weapons?

What right do Red protesters have to stop ordinary citizens and search them? Who appointed them the moral authority in Thailand? It is not their place to harass and intimidate people. Why doesn't the government bring back some semblance of order to the country? If the Reds stop a police convoy complete with prisoner transport trucks the police ought to start filling those trucks, arrest these people. They are not agents of the government, they have no business blocking police or civilians. Is it acceptable for these vigilantes to start detaining people? Can they beat them and search them with no cause? It is only a matter of time before a driver runs down someone manning these illegal roadblocks. Do the police have to wait until more people die before they take back their job?

Suu Kyi is a brave leader in a country where no demonstrattions are allowed. But does that make her an expert an thai politics and constitution?

Yes she is an expert on SE asia.

And yes, people listen to her.

She lives in one of the most repressive regimes in the area, and is under house arrest. How informed would she be?