womble

The Khunying is clearly going to be a very busy lady. Good Luck

I recall that she doesn't have too much longer, on her time-in-office, to run. It would be a positive move, in view of the many months she spent locked out of her own office, if she were to be given a couple of extra years. In the interests of fairness.

She now has as long as she wants, the constitution has been abolished, she has been put in the position in definatley, probobally till after the election.

She also does not have her hands tied by the SAC. I believe much of her work is already done and will be reported in the next few days.

I would love to see Thaksin extradited and brought back to face corruption charges, i'd love to see his sorry face broadcast all over TV live from the courtroom.

I doubt it'll happen, but if it does it would send a very clear message to anyone else thinking of ripping off the country.

Actually what we may see is a two pronged approach.

With one hand they may go after Thaksins assets, but this will have disastrous effects on foreign investment.

What we may well see is some new laws enacted to keep and encourage foriegn investors.

If foreign investors are driven away it will have huge implications on the economy, sending it into stagflation.

The person shot was an innocent bystander, the kid was refused entry for being underage, went to shoot the security guard, and missed.

The farang who was shot was working in samui, he's not seriously injured though.

Yes, he could have done so much good, he had pratically the whole country united when he took office, but his unbelieveable greed and deluded visions of selfimportance ultimately led to yet another chapter in one of the worlds longest books on the subject of the holy grail of democracy.

I'll throw my 2 cents in it and I'd say Thailand does not have the democracy concept. What just happened was necessary, Thaksin had to go, even though we can't be sure that what's coming will be for the better or for the worse, there arestill many things that need to be shaken. Let's not forget that democracy must also be supported by people and (hopefully I won't get bashed for this), the majority of the thais aren't ready yet to understand the concept of democracy; we had many examples where a wrong understood democracy turned itself into a chaos.

Actually Thailand has a strong democratic concept, and not only amongst the urban and westernised middle-classes in Bkk. Traditional organisation in Thai villages also had and still has democratic and participatory structures and practices available to men and women.

Yes and no, remember, that is also a lot of nepotism in these rural organisations, which is anything but Demorcratic.

Thailands history of cronyism and selfenrichment is one of the things that has always been one of the major factors damaging Democracy.

You are assuming the Junta doesnt have other objectives. Big assumption, just look at Burma next door.

From what we have seen so far and from those who seem to be advising and working with the Junta, things look good.

Announcing a two week deadline for a civilian PM was a clever move, providing they keep to the deadline and appoint someone who the public trust, it will do a lot to ally any fears people may have.

Also it seems that slowly but surely they are re-instating parts of the constitution, hopefully we will not see a complete new constitution, just some modifications and strengthening of the checks and balances.

I think that is what we will see.

and with a bit of luck an election in 6 months, not 1 year.

There are other elections to be held soon, if these elections are allowed to take place, with the current EC, that too will be very positive.

Most uneducated Thais, particulary those in the countryside are not bothered about the concepts of Democracy. The things that matter more to them are assistance and developement of their communites. Whatever goes on in Bangkok in their eyes often has little effect on them, this is why they liked Thakisn, for once they were noticed.

What use is Democracy to you if you are ignored? This is what happened in the past. Whilst Thaksin was undemorcratic himself, this mattered little to rural folk as he was providing for their needs, or at least in their eyes better than anyone else has.

Hopefully the Thaksin years will bring about a stronger Democracy with far stronger checks and balances whilst at the same time reminding future leaders that the rural folk must be taken care of.

Sometimes I get confused. We have the US, the UK and Australia who are described as 3 of the greatest democracies on earth currently conducting a resisted occupation in a country where virtually nobody wants them after launching an illegal war against the said country. And in at least two of these great democracies the majority of the people didnt want the war. They are now considering doing it all again against another country in the same region. Yet these countries that will happily conduct illegal wars that kill not only thousands of their own citizens but also tens of thousands of innocent civilians in the invaded country, are not happy at a bloodless coup that seems relatively popular in the country in which it took place. Maybe the UK, US and Australia should take a long hard look at where their own wonderful illegal political actions had gotten them before criticizing the actions of others.

I absolutely agree with you.

Also I have found in explaining to western friends about the coup that if I tell them that Thaksin "bought" votes to get elected and stay elected, they seem to understand a bit.

Yeah, spot on. Also, how many coups in other countries have been sponsored by the US and UK.

And how many of those were bloodless?

The hipicritical foreign policy of the US and UK knows no bounds.

I don't see the coup in Thailand as a step forwards or backwards, it's a step sideways.

What we had with Thaksin could hadly be seen as a working democracy, and as it wasn't possible to get rid of an increaseingly dangerous and desperate leader through demorcratic means, there was no alternative.

Frankly this is the best possible outcome, no one has died or been injured, if the PAD demonstration had occured yesterday in all likelyhood it would have turned violent.

The the Armys pre emptive take over adverted just the loss of a single life then i'd say it's a success.

Foreign governments can be all high and mighty with their convenient notions of democracy, but at this point in time the Thai Armys unorthodox route to re-instating democracy in Thailand somehow seems far more successfull than any attempt I have seen made by western governments to bring about Democracy.

If power is conceeded within two weeks, and the constitution is strengthened before new elections within a year then Thailand can be proud and hold it's head up high in the international community as one of the rare cases where unorthodox methods of Maintaining Democracy has worked.

That would include the storm drains full of blood.

Where on earth did you get that little gem from?

Please stick to the truth.

Hey astral. I was here in 1991. The government is lying to this very day about how many persons were killed. Just like Peru & Argentina - the disappered ones. You are the person who doesn't know what he is talking about. P.S. I don't take orders from you.

On here you do!

Here, Here and good thoughts, Good Sir,

I have done exactly the same. When the post offices reopen it will be sent EMS for ATTN Mr Blair,

PM, House of Commons, UK.

Cheers,

Couthy.

quote name='womble' date='2006-09-20 11:28:40' post='903636']

Not that it will do much good (remember Pinochet?), but I am going to write a letter urging the British Government not to allow Thaksin to stay in Britain.

I think all British Citizens should do the same.

Mine will be second to land on his doorstep!

Take your rascist rhetoric elsewhere.

and familiarise yourself with Thai visa rule 3 please.

3) Religious or racial slurs, rude and degrading comments towards women, or extremely negative views of Thailand will not be tolerated.

You have something in common with the Pope.

Does England want him?

What about his Visa status? He isn't PM anymore? No official passport, right?

extridite him back to Thailand for crimes committed tax fraud and humanity crimes

lets have back in thailand to face the fireing squad

ling live the armed forces take over ????

Hey,

I'm not British but I'm European. IMO European countries should make a clear point about this people.

People involved in murders, illegal transactions and human rights violations (which includes also freedom of speech) shouldn't be allowed to enter EUROPE under any circumstances.

Anyone remember the Muslims killed during ’transportation’ few years ago?

Anyone remember the Muslim activist that disappeared?

Anyone remember the way is doing business?

I'm sorry but politicians should have a minimum standard and as we don't let Alexander Lukashenko enter Europe...we should send a strong signal to all the people like him.

We can joke about the different rights for non-citizens in Thailand & England...but this is a serious matter. If he wants to go somewhere in exile... Asia, South America or US perhaps are more than happy to offer him a place to live...

Giruz

agree 100%

I was just interested to hear accounts from those that are currently in Samui/Phangan of what is the impact or effect, if any at all, from the military coup in Bangkok presently unfolding?

Are the locals acting any differently? Has anything noticebly changed on the Islands?

One farang asked my advice this morning on whether he should buy into a bar in Chaweng and I suggested he might want to wait a few days and keep his money in the UK - he was not aware of the coup.

I would hold back a few days, make sure there is no counter coup, if not i'd say no problem. More than likley once this has blown over running bars will be a lot easier than it was under Thaksin.

Maybe LOS will become fun again.

You can always make the transfer overseas with an agreed amount in $, unless ofcourse the seller wants the money in Thailand.

What has happend will no doubt effect tourism in the short term, tanks on the streets of bangkok is never going to be a good advert for tourism. However with Thaksin gone it may see the end of southern violence which was starting to really hurt tourism, and relaxation on many aspects that have made thailand less appealing to many people.

On grounds that he sanctioned extra judicial killings.

State sanctioned Murder.

Unproven dodgy business practices are hardly a good enough reason to refuse entry.

Ordering police to kill without trial, or at the least stand by and fail to take any action to stop the killing is however strong enough reason IMHO.

this is so far fetched and taken out of context. crime against humanity are refers to acts of murderous persecution or any large scale atrocities against a body of people.

Why am I even bothering arguing here... oh well.

How many people have to be killed for it to count as large scale in your books? They stopped counting at 2000 dead bodies. I think that is pretty large scale. I would say death squads targeting specific groups of people is persecution.

Correct there is no proof yet..........

However as a British citizen I object to someone who is under suspician of such acts being allowed entry to my country.

Also who says it has to be crimes against humanity.

I do not want my country seen as a place where corrupt self centered politician can happily live the rest of their lives with their ill gotten gains.

I would rather he went to one of the usual places like Brazil or Argentina.

Same as when Thatcher allowed Pinochet entry to Britain I do not like to see Thakisn allowed entry. It sets a precident that ousted leaders will be given asylum in Britain.

Which I believe is detrimental to our worldwide image.

On grounds that he sanctioned extra judicial killings.

State sanctioned Murder.

Unproven dodgy business practices are hardly a good enough reason to refuse entry.

Ordering police to kill without trial, or at the least stand by and fail to take any action to stop the killing is however strong enough reason IMHO.

Not that it will do much good (remember Pinochet?), but I am going to write a letter urging the British Government not to allow Thaksin to stay in Britain.

I think all British Citizens should do the same.

short nation.com-update

... After Sonthi finishes reading the statement, a spokeswoman announces that the TV pool is disbanded and TV stations resume normal programmes.

9:50 am A source in New York tells a radio programme that Thaksin is considering whether to go to England or not.

Not that it will do much good (remember Pinochet?), but I am going to write a letter urging the British Government not to allow Thaksin to stay in Britain.

I think all British Citizens should do the same.

this is where you can pick up some nice cheap stocks if u like life in the fast lane.

Leave your $ where it is, it'll be alright in a few days.

It's people rushing and worrying that cause all the problems.

may want to start selling shincorp stocks

Don't know uf anyone watched Thai TV today, but 4 channels were live at the stock market around lunch time saying some very unusual trading was taking place on many stocks.

I bet some made a fortune on inside info.

Leave your $ where it is, it'll be alright in a few days.

It's people rushing and worrying that cause all the problems.

I was near by when the first CNN and BBC announcements came on the air, so after reading what little info I could on the web, I went and checked it out. From what I could see and talking with a few of the soldiers a bit, little was actually happening. In fact, you'd think seeing a bunch of armed soldiers, tanks and hummers blocking roadways would be a rather exciting spectacle, but for a supposed "coup" it was a very dull sight indeed... though it made for some interesting photos.

My guess is it is merely a stunt to get international media attention spotlighted on Thaksin while he's at the UN, just before he's meant to give his address. The real shame is that this (on top of tightening of visa regulations) really has the potential to hurt tourism - and right as Suvarnabhumi is coming online. With Tourism being so key to Thailand's economy, it would have been nice to have a little positive media about the new airport .... but alas, we have tanks instead. I don't think this spotlight is going to show Thaksin in a very favorable light.

Let's hope this comes to a peaceful close in the next few days.

?????????

stop taking the mushrooms?

This is it guys, it's a coup, Thaksin has declared a state of emergency to stop the demonstrations tomorrow.

We better be careful what we say, it may get stricter around, civil liberties may be cut back, remember it's a state of emergency.

This press release is in all probobility close to the truth. It's no secret that foreign big business is quite fond of Thaksin. He has done a lot to open Thailand up to large foreign corporations, and has promised to do a lot more.

One thing that isn't mentioned in the article although i'm sure someone brought it up, was telling the supermarkets to hold back on building new stores. I should imagine this is very worrying to any large corporation considering any business moves into the Thai economy.

It seems common to many Thai people so I can hardly see the police (who are generally men) being more sympathetic towards a rape victim. There appears to be no rape training for the police and from what I have seen, very few policewomen actively involved in police work. Many rape victims do not feel comfortable dealing with a man, and then add in a man who blames the victim and you have a crime that goes unpursued and unpunished.

all the more reason to publicise these attitudes as widely as possible in the countries that send large numbers of visitors here.

if people know that they will be visiting a country or an island with a neanderthal , lazy and bullying police force who see nothing really that amiss with the raping of women , then visitors can decide for themselves whether they should visit or not.

had a falang male raped a thai woman , then you could bet your life savings that there would have been a full and relentless investigation. with tv re enactments and cries of "more drunken falang criminals running amok in our unspoiled paradise" , and if that woman had been a bar girl , then i doubt if her clothing style or lifestyle would have been held as a reason for her misfortune.

If it had been a bargirl, I don't think she would have even got in the police station to report it. I doubt there's many people in jail for raping bargirls in thailand, not unless it involved obvious extreme violence.

Sondhi is a fool, some of the stuff he comes out with is utter rubbish. He's a crook just as much as Thaksin is, I dare say if he was PM it would probobally be even worse and more corrupt than it is with Thaksin at the helm.