deadsnoopy

You mean why is he offering the same thing he did before all the bloodshed?

Before the red shirts took to the streets, he did not even offer to shorten his term. He was high up there claiming he had been legitimately elected and that he would finish his term until 2011 and then call for fresh elections. And it is not the same thing as he offered before the April 10 bloodshed. He had offered 9 months to dissolve parliament, which means 11 months for new elections. Basically that meant new elections by March 2011. Now we have a potential House dissolution by September 2010, with a new election hopefully by November 2010. That's 4 months less.

He laid out a road map for the country and these goals need to be met in order to have elections. There are all obtainable and he made clear if the reds continue their campaign of terror and lawlessness that the date likely would not be met. This road map is NOT about making the red mob happy.

The red mob has nothing to bargain with and are done. The few who will be left in the coming days will be dealt with by the authorities and the PM now has the support to get the job done while giving non-hardcore lawbreakers a final ticket out.

If they have nothing to bargain with, why is Abhisit shortening his term by 1 year then?

When I first met my Thai wife 6 years ago she thought Thaskin was god

you're kidding. i believe that your wife has more class than thaksin but she didn't just know it; that thaksin was a former police son of rich politician from chiang mai, married a daughter of a rich general, made his fortune through his connections in the police with his computer business, have got the monopoly of satellite concession and then AIS, after 20 or more years he is a billionaire.

i don't think gods are like this.

Nope. God creates worlds, then creates a human population and watches while they fight each other to death. Or he might not even be watching, since (at least according to the Bible), God created man in His own image. So God probably already extinguished himself along with his kind as well. Too bad, we're stuck resolving this mess ourselves.

bloodbath, mark this post

drama queen, mark this one

I am from the US as well as having been a business owner for a quite a while and am well aware of back room negotiating but my opinion still stands that there was none of this being done with Thaksin or the leaders of the red mob by anyone who represented the PM.

The Bush administration really pushed the "we don't negotiate with terrorists" into the heads of the American people, didn't they. Well, most red shirts aren't terrorists, though there certainly are individuals that have acted in quite the wrong way during the past weeks. I'm quite sure that they don't however represent the majority of the red shirt movement and are simply troublemakers that are using this as an opportunity to stir hatred and violence.

You're certainly entitled to your opinion, but there are always discussions going on with even the most opposed political sides in the world. There were even secret diplomatic relations during WW2 between the US government and high ranking members of the Nazi regime. The Cold war between the US and Russia certainly wasn't as cold as it seemed.

There are most certainly negotiations going on between Abhisit, Newin, Anupong, Thaksin, etc. behind the scenes.

I have been watching this closely and todays outcome is disasterous

blood will flow

Did I miss something?

you think the govt is going to let the red shirts continue to trash Bangkok til the elections? And the trsshing would greatly

increase close to the elections. The other problem is yellow shirts DO NOT want new elections, another ticking time bomb...

If today the red shirts packed up and went home to wait for the elections i would feel so good. Now i am going into the coffin

making business....

I'm sure they will. It's all a matter of Abhisit confirming the date with the Election Commission. What he's done so far is publicly announced a date under the condition that "IF" his goals are met. That's not good enough, as he could fail in meeting his goals (ie. completing the investigations, passing bills, army reshuffle, etc). If he doesn't meet his goals, there's no guarantee of an election. So what the red shirts want is basically Abhisit to finalize the date when the election will be held, then they will go home.

It's like if you went to purchase a car. You're telling the car dealer that you will buy the car, but you haven't signed the contract yet and neither have you paid the car yet. He's not going to give you the keys until you've signed and paid.

According to the Toronto Globe and Mail, Abhisit wants the election held after the appointment of Anupong's successor (Anupong resigns in September) as head of the military -- presumably to have some say in the appointment. Naturally the Reds want the same gig, which is why they want an election before September.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but they don't need the actual election before the military reshuffle, only the parliament being dissolved should be enough. Clearly Abhisit wants this as his "insurance". In case the Democrats lose the next election, there's always the army that will do another coup.

It is important for the reds, so why isn´t it important for PM. Was it a coup after the election 2007?

There wasn't. But the military in Thailand has always played a role in politics. In both Thai and foreign media there has been a lot of discussion about the military (Anupong) having pressured the smaller coalition parties to join Abhisit's Democrats after the last election and the dissolution of PPP.

I think the yellow shirt leaders are just as concerned with amnesty as the red shirt leaders. If the red shirt leaders don't get amnesty, that means that the yellow shirt leaders won't get amnesty either. And especially, people will ask for the yellow shirt trials to be finished before the red shirt trials ...and they're 2 years ahead on those. Do any of you see Sondhi Limthongkul, basically the yellow shirt founder and Thai media empire billionaire going to prison? No way. He'll be supporting amnesty for the red shirt leaders just to save his own bottom.

The posts here are getting ridiculous.

After months of the red animals holding Bangkok hostage, there's a good chance that we'll all be able to get back to normalcy within days. This compromise may also actually be something PM Abhisit says it will be, something to reconcilliate all Thais that are divided. It may be that or it may not but I'm hoping it is.

And then we have people wanting to talk about who won and who lost...

..and even worse, some people calling for the government to do a last-minute crackdown, calling for more bloodshed.

To avoid that I think the reds should agree an the plan and go home.

I think they will. What we have now is a realistic proposal from Abhisit. Let's give him time (and hope he doesn't need too much time) to finalize the date with the Election Commission and set a date for the House dissolution. Then I'm sure the red shirts will go home (even though 70%, according to Suthep, are already home, as they're from Bangkok).

Sayonara, Adios, Au revoir, and Arrivederci

For those that can't read Thai ...(apart from the Photoshopped ghost, obviously) ...the picture above is from a funeral of a red-shirt supporter ...and on the right you see a picture of Thaksin on the wall. This doesn't mean that Thaksin died. In fact, the sign below the picture and above the flowers says that Thaksin sent those flowers.

The posts here are getting ridiculous.

After months of the red animals holding Bangkok hostage, there's a good chance that we'll all be able to get back to normalcy within days. This compromise may also actually be something PM Abhisit says it will be, something to reconcilliate all Thais that are divided. It may be that or it may not but I'm hoping it is.

And then we have people wanting to talk about who won and who lost...

..and even worse, some people calling for the government to do a last-minute crackdown, calling for more bloodshed.

TheNation now reminds me of a British newspaper I once read when I was a little kid ...it claimed Aliens had just invaded Earth as the headline, some proof of Bigfoot and Nessie in the smaller sections. Oh yeah, and there was also something about a woman with snakes growing out of her head.

According to the Toronto Globe and Mail, Abhisit wants the election held after the appointment of Anupong's successor (Anupong resigns in September) as head of the military -- presumably to have some say in the appointment. Naturally the Reds want the same gig, which is why they want an election before September.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but they don't need the actual election before the military reshuffle, only the parliament being dissolved should be enough. Clearly Abhisit wants this as his "insurance". In case the Democrats lose the next election, there's always the army that will do another coup.

I have been watching this closely and todays outcome is disasterous

blood will flow

Did I miss something?

Someone needs to tell them to each grab a used tire and get on a bus heading north.

According to Suthep a statement made by Deputy PM Suthep, over 70% of the protesters are from Bangkok, not from the North, so could you explain why exactly they should head North?

Maybe the reds never anticipated having any success. So they never told their sheep what to do if they got new elections. So the protesters may be unaware that after you get what you claimed you wanted from a protest you go home.

Someone needs to tell them to each grab a used tire and get on a bus heading north.

Someone needs to confirm the House dissolution date with the Election Commission and then the Election Commission can confirm the date for the election. When that happens, I'm sure the red shirts will go home. Makes sense?

I hope speeding up the elections by 90 days was worth all those lives that were lost.

90 days? Or 1 year? Without the protests, Abhisit and his cronies would have stayed until the end of 2011.

Agree 100% elections were never a subject for the reds - everything incl. the leaders have been bought and paid for by Thaksin and he wants back into power and he does not give a <deleted> if the country goes to hel_l in the process

What an original argument. If I got 1 Baht for every time I heard that, I'd be richer than Thaksin.

Let's try go back on-topic with this new article from TheNation:

Timor and US urge govt and reds to talk on roadmap

I'm not sure if Thailand will listed to the US, but they will definitely listen to Timor.

The red shirts haven't harmed anyone by running around the hospital, though I agree with you that it was inappropriate and that it shouldn't have happened.

You quoted me above and you didn't even bother to read it. It's right there in my quote where I said that it was inappropriate and I thought it was wrong.

So you support violence if it's for your purpose, but you're against violence if it's for someone else's purpose? That's just silly. You're a mini-Dictator, aren't you.

I do not mean that...i believe in karma, but i dont want to wait for it to happen (im an impatient guy). If someone punches me in the face i will punch them back, if the reds see fit to harm the healths of the people in chulalongkorn then i think it is also fair to say that the health of the reds should be harmed in return.

The red shirts haven't harmed anyone by running around the hospital, though I agree with you that it was inappropriate and that it shouldn't have happened. If anyone got harmed during the move, you should put it on the bill of the hospital and its staff, since it was their decision to move the patients. The red shirts didn't harm any patients and neither did they ask them to be moved. But that's a discussion for another thread, not this one, so let's leave it at that and not go further off-topic.

No, as you were the one who brought it up, lets go a little off topic.......

RIP: A 70-yr-old patient whose heart stopped beating while being moved from Chula hospital passed away at 2pm today.

04 May 2010 21:08:53

shall we tell the family to blame the hospital and put it on the bill?

what if this guy was your father, who would you blame for his death?

Did he die because of his condition? Or as a result of the hospital staff deciding that he should be moved?

So you support violence if it's for your purpose, but you're against violence if it's for someone else's purpose? That's just silly. You're a mini-Dictator, aren't you.

I do not mean that...i believe in karma, but i dont want to wait for it to happen (im an impatient guy). If someone punches me in the face i will punch them back, if the reds see fit to harm the healths of the people in chulalongkorn then i think it is also fair to say that the health of the reds should be harmed in return.

The red shirts haven't harmed anyone by running around the hospital, though I agree with you that it was inappropriate and that it shouldn't have happened. If anyone got harmed during the move, you should put it on the bill of the hospital and its staff, since it was their decision to move the patients. The red shirts didn't harm any patients and neither did they ask them to be moved. But that's a discussion for another thread, not this one, so let's leave it at that and not go further off-topic.

''Currently it's in the Constitution Court, who will eventually decide if the Democrats will be dissolved and Abhisit banned from politics.''

but they won't do that despite your aspirations.......

Is that your opinion? Or do you have a secret source inside the Constitution Court that has given you a hint of the upcoming decision?

yes i have a source and yes its a secret

its not going to happen

trust me.

So you're suggesting that the Democrats won't be dissolved, because the decision is already made, right?

Obviously, that would be fraudulent, wouldn't it? Since the Courts making a decision without even having received all the documents of the case would be fraud. Therefor, you're accusing the Thai Consitution Court of fraud? You realize that it's a crime to suggest such a thing, right? Correct me if I'm wrong, I'd like to hear your explanation as to why you think it won't happen.

''Currently it's in the Constitution Court, who will eventually decide if the Democrats will be dissolved and Abhisit banned from politics.''

but they won't do that despite your aspirations.......

Is that your opinion? Or do you have a secret source inside the Constitution Court that has given you a hint of the upcoming decision?

I have lived in thailand my whole life and i also support the violence.

You support violence?

i think he means against small flying beagles.......

I meant i support violence when its against barbaric/idiotic anarchist, terrorist, and violent groups who brake the law for their own benefit and do not look at how it affects anyone else in society.

So you support violence if it's for your purpose, but you're against violence if it's for someone else's purpose? That's just silly. <snip>