timoclark

Nobody sees himself as more "elite" than Thaksin. He is no man of the people, he is just a man who uses people.

Not sure how this will work out. Nobody appears to want to govern this country under a democratic system.

I'm very worried for Thai folk over the "Peoples" Council thing. At least the current democratic system had SOME checks and balances. I mean the Democrats and protests did help stop the amnesty bill. But an unelected council of appointed people smacks of a Laos, DPRK style ring to it. Hope I'm wrong but it seems to me the PC is a big jump into the unknown that will bring its own style of grief. Finding impartial, incorruptible people to serve for the greater good, seems akin to mission impossible.It might have been better for Thais to work with what they've got, rather than trying on a new system.

I also haven't seen anything to suggest that there should be either an election (assuming PT would run on a platform of maintaining the current system and the Democrats on a platform of changing to a new system of Peoples Council), or a referendum on changing the system of government. In my opinion, a change in governmental system should be voted for by the people. It certainly isn't, in my opinion, right that a very small number of protestors should decide for the whole country.

But I am just a guest and I'll go about my daily life whoever and whatever system Thais end up with.

"People's Council"? Doesn't that have a sort of North Korean feel to it?

K.Suthep certainly doesn't have any democratic credentials himself, so what as part of the ruling elite would he know about "the people"?

They're not backstabbing anyone, the people voting them in will be cheering this news loudly, the people voting them in are out their marching now, to keep this country free. It's about time they got on their feet and stood up for their country against these petty dictators.

They are back to their 2006 tactic, if you can't win at the ballot box, you frustrate the system. The democratic party is democratic in name only.

Not only do they backstab all the people that voted for them, they now openly support Suthep and his People's council.

I feel sorry for everyone that voted these clowns in to parliament.

LIKE!

More rubbish from the National Propaganda Bureau of Thaksin.....

Except the farmers aren't even being paid, and most money from this is siphoned off by big rice millers and other politically connected individuals. Plus, the farmers are required to buy fertilizer from CP. Now you see who really benefits, and it's not the poor farmers, and it was never intended to be.

They cannot sell rotten rice, and much of the rice in govt. warehouses is rotten and vermin-infested, much like this government itself.

Before the rice pledging Thailands rice exporters always manage to sell the rice produced in this country...so why cant the government. Granted money will be lost and nobody knows for sure how much. For this loss it is only right to consider the upside of this pledging. Traditionally poor people farm the rice and the extra cash will enable them to spend more. Spending more creates taxes into the government coffers. Very simplistic but are the losses truly as huge as some keep quoting on here.

The real losers are the private rice exporters who previously made millions of dollars annually in profit

Come on, you don't really believe what you just said, do you? Really?

newcomer71, on 06 Dec 2013 - 10:38, said:

None of his business, but a good chance for free advertisement for himself...

He is the leader of Thailand's mouthpiece. Whatever he says is very relevant to the current situation.

Indeed, lawyers don't talk for themselves they talk for their clients.

Headline should read "Thaksin opposes........................................."

Once again we see who is really running the PT, the Govt and the country.

There's a million other reason to see why Thaksin is involved in the Government. Some words of his lawyer (one of his lawyers), is not showing us who is running the PT, Govt, and country... Imho...

The corruption, like the hypocrisy that follows this family, is on a far larger scale than anyone during the Dems' time in office ever attempted. Billions and now trillions of baht siphoned off, and all you can say is, same as it ever was. Not to this degree, no.

I love the bland, unsupported assertions like "corruption has got steadily worse since Thaksin...".
It was bad before, it was bad during, it carried on as if nothing had changed during the Dems' period at the helm, it's bad now, and it will be bad for the foreseeable future. Until the voters understand that a deep-rooted culture of nepotism and corruption is at fault - practised by pretty much anyone in a position of power - and not by a few headline-grabbing individuals, nothing will ever change. People are just so naive, and easily manipulated. And not just the Thais, going by the polemics on this forum.

Turned over to the Red police? And you're surprised that they have disappeared (been freed)? Really? Wow, and you say you're "not so gullible". Really?

It's too vague to be credible at this point.

Yep, but it does pass the plausible test.

For you anyway..........Me, not so gullible. Remember the tale of the 10/11 red shirts ( "allegedly" trained as political assassins in a training camp (read Holiday Centre) at Chiang Mai who'd "allegedly" been previously training in Cambodia, who were "allegedly" in police hands and then disappeared completely from view, never to be heard of again - all stirred up by abhisits government - not a shred of truth in it.

What about the Reds barking about losing their "freedoms" and "rights" after causing mayhem and destruction on an epic scale in 2010? The "civil unrest" occurring now is nothing compared to what the Reds unleashed. If Abhisit did such things you'd be calling for his head, literally.

Surapong orders arrest of Blue Sky executives



BANGKOK: -- Surapong Tovichakchaikul, head of the Center for the Administration of Peace and Order (CAPO), last night ordered the arrest of executives of Blue Sky digital channel, accusing them of supporting anti-Thaksin regime leader Suthep Thuagsuban.

The CAPO head, who is also foreign affairs minister, also threatened to arrest Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) executives for supporting mobile toilets to demonstrators, and all businesses which supported anti-Thaksin demonstrators through giving them food, water, donations, on same accusations.

He said he has advised the police to take action immediately to seek warrant for their arrest from the court.

Surapong said that since opponent leader Suthep has faced treason charge and warrant has been issued for his arrest, so any person and business which provided them any facilities would be tantamount to supporting the criminal and should also be arrested.

He also said that he has advised his legal advisory team to consider what action could be taken against demonstrators who supported the wrongdoers in this regard.

Surapong yesterday appointed four advisory teams to consider how to deal with the ongoing demonstrations, one of which is the legal team.

But Blue Sky Channel, meanwhile, defended its role as a media saying that its broadcast of the anti-Thaksin regime demonstrators was an act of duty performing as a media of which its right was given by the Constitution.

The executives said they were ready to cooperate and explain their roles in the court if action was taken against them.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/surapong-orders-arrest-blue-sky-executives/

-- Thai PBS 2013-12-06

Freedom of speech is the first causality? No surprise there.

When you use that freedom to cause civil unrest you give up the right to free speech.

Why the hell is it her responsibility anymore than anyone else? People kill other people everyday in every country all over the world.

If you want to try and make it her responsibility due to it being a political rally, why is it her responsibility anymore than leader of the Democrats or Suthep or any other politician for that matter.

There is a far cry from allegedly giving an order to the army to use live fire or whatever and people killing each other at a rally. I don't believe Abhisit or Suthep should be held responsible, unless there was some extremely reckless and provable evidence which I doubt very much there is, any more than why Yingluck should or could take responsibility on this, even more so when there are no verifiable facts.

It is TS/YL responsibility because her police did nothing. It is her police. The national police chief, a Thaksin appointee is her/Thaksin's brother-in-law. Thaksin's police did nothing at Ramkhamhaeng, because Thaksin wants more violence, he wants a civil war.

It is a verifiable fact that the police stood by and did nothing at Ramkhamhaeng, to stop either the Reds or the students. The soldiers had to go in to rescue the students. The police didn't care, paid not to.

The Reds pulled soldiers out of army trucks and beat them to death. TS own Black Shirts opened fire on soldiers when they were unarmed. This is why the soldiers started using live fire in 2010.

This is all on Thaksin.

You mean the death rattle of Thaksin and the PTP..... who have ruled Thailand with lies, intimidation, violence, corruption and greed for the last nearly 30 years?

With the MP/Police lackeys and their close ties to the Shinawatra power structure who along with this hypocritical Shinawatra family walk on the heads of ordinary Thais?

Who treat farmers and workers as mere chattel, sending them to die when they won't dare enter the field of battle themselves? Who along with their corporatist cronies, rape the natural and financial resources of the nation, who own just about everything?

They know that if the not-paid-for Thai people become organized and elect strong leaders, instead of accepting Thaksin's puppets, they will lose everything?

They will use every dirty trick in the book, including patriotism (think of the country, think of the economy, funny the Reds didn't think of that when they tried to burn Bangkok) to cling to power and keep gullible people ignorant.

This is why they will destroy Thailand, rather than remove Thaksin and his puppets. Yingkuck is no leader, she is a puppet on strings, and cannot answer a single question without Dear Brother making her lips move.

In the US or UK or most anywhere else, can you imagine the Reds getting away with the level of violence and destruction they got away with in 2010? Thaksin's Black Shirts opened fire at soldiers with live rounds, what did they expect the military to do? Meanwhile, just like at RU, the police sit on their hands, 'cause that's what he pays them to do.

YIngluck and the Reds are just lackeys for Thaksin, who will burn Thailand to the ground to get what he wants. He uses the Red Shirts and "love for the poor" to try to force a dictatorship. He and all of his cronies/lackeys including the MNCs funding him should be arrested and locked away.

And so it will change here, the people have had enough of Thaksin's lies, greed, hypocrisy, and terrorism. Thaksin is a terrorist. He directs terrorism, he funds terrorism. The people have had enough of his ways. The people want change and they want no more dictatorship.

The people want no more dictatorship, no more Thaksin, no more lies and thievery, they want to stop Thaksin from burning down the country and taking everything for himself.

If Thaksin died tomorrow Thailand would be a much better place for all.

Thaksin doesn't want a democracy, he wants a dictatorship..... which is what he has right now, cloaked in the guise of "democracy."

What we are witnessing is the death rattle of the conservatives that have ruled Thailand for the past 200 years.

The old families with close ties to the ancient power structure, with enormous wealth, with close family ties to the military who walk on the heads of ordinary Thais.

Who treat farmers and workers as mere chattels, who have raped the natural resources of the nation, who own just about everything.

They are responsible for the yellow shirts.

They know that if the workers and farmers become organised and elect their own leaders, instead of accepting these Democrat puppets, they lose everything.

They will use every dirty trick in the book including patriotism (the last refuge of the scoundrel) to cling on to power and keep the people ignorant.

That is why they have brought on the last coup, to get rid of the Thaksin and to install a puppet (Abhisit).

However, you can't put the genie back in the bottle, and the people have elected Yingluck.

No matter what anyone says about her brother, she was elected in an overwhelming victory and she is the leader.

Suthep is just a lackey for the old clique and he uses the Yellow shirts and patriotism as his weapons to try and force out a democratically elected government.

Can you imagine what would happen if someone tried the same tactics in the UK?

He would be arrested and locked away.

And so it will pass here too, the old clique trying hard to hang on, but they are on a losing game, the people have had enough of the old ways.

They want change and they want to have a say.

The issue of amnesty for Thaksin is a red herring, any excuse will do to keep the pot boiling, to get back into power.

If Thaksin died tomorrow there would be another excuse to try to force out Peu Thai.

They just don't want to live in a democracy where the law would apply to them equally.

RT@veen_NT : Suthep: My only ultimate goal is to make Thailand free of capitalism dictatorship.

He clearly lost his marbles.... hope the pro ones here does not have any company here....

I do not think I have to worry about my business here since I will not be a PM. You may have to worry though

Suthep seems to believe the only 'capitalists' in Thailand are the Shinawatra family. He and the Democrats are backed by some of Thailand's wealthiest people & biggest businesses, I rather suspect he isn't proposing to eliminate them. The 'capitalist dictatorship' thing is also something Sondhi used to bang on about, as if he himself isn't a capitalist.

And the Shinawatras/PTP/Red Shirts are backed by CP, headed by THE wealthiest person of THE wealthiest family in Thailand, as well as many other big multinationals. Thais know well who are RS companies and who aren't. Why else are the farmers forced to buy CP fertilizer in order to get any money from the rice scheme?

The constant references to the "elites" backing the anti-government groups is just RS propaganda, as the Reds have just as much if not more "elitist" backing. This is just another version of the Koch Brothers' backed Tea Party pseudo-populist "movement" intended to enrich the wealthy criminal corporatists and their cronies.

So how is it that only The Nation, Manager.co.th, Bluesky Channel, and Pantip.com websites, used by the opposition to share information, were on the server that was targeted? ..... and this building requires a fingerprint scan to enter. If you try to access pantip.com from within Thailand now, you will get an ICT message saying that basically saying that they are watching you and what you post on Pantip, and will watch as to whether you are "crossing the line." Fishy.

Coherent is not a word I would ever use to describe Yingluk. In fact, its use suggests a script writer to me as I'm fairly sure she wouldn't know what it means.

a : logically or aesthetically ordered or integrated : consistent <coherent style> <a coherent argument>. b : having clarity or intelligibility : understandable

The only time anyone will refer to Yingluck or her government as "coherent" is if she states it herself.