rickirs

"He noted that there was certain group of people who intended to worsen the situation so as to justify the military’s action, and then put all the blame on the government or the police for starting all the violence." I think many have thought the same without concrete evidence (excepting the popcorn bag shooters) and the Government has claimed the same, but it's revealing that the military believes such as heinious conspiracy exists as well. And who might those people be that would want to put the blame for violence on the Government? The PTP is hardly even plausible; it is the Government. Democrats and Suthep whose only entree to control of the government is through non-democratic means would seem the likely candidates.I think martial law imposed prior to the last of the remaining elections does not bode well for Suthep.

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Grenades are fired, detonated bombs and shotings into crowds.
People die and what do the police?
So far, nothing.
Not a single case elucidated.
Have the police stopped to work for the people in this country?

If you remember, the police is not allowed by civil court to do their job. Any move by the police will be seen as trying to limit/break up Sutheps peacefull protests. This is why SOE was called. Its not just to stop protests, it is also to protect the public against fringe elements taking advantage of the situation to spread chaos.

Give SOE a real chance before declaring martial law.

The civil court only ruled on the SoE on 19th Feb. It had already been in place since January 21st.. Did the police catch ANY of the people bombing and shooting the anti government protesters! No

The civil court ruling only affects the SOE it doesn't impair the Police from doing their job within the framework of Thailand's laws.

Sent from my XT1032 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

No the court did not rule on the legitimacy of the SOE, only on the use of police force on protesters. It forfade the police from using ANY force on the protesters, essentially stripping the police powers to maintain law and order.

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Since the so-called government has done nothing to prevent the continuous violence being perpetrated against the protestors and those perceived to be aligned with the protestors, and indeed may very well be tacitly complicit, I for one would welcome the imposition of martial law. Democracy is a wonderful ideal, but in Thailand it has become a euphemism for kleptocracy in the guise of serving the national interest.

How would you expect the government to prevent violence other than to eliminate itself as the target or protests by disolving itself? It has no law enforcement agency that it can direct and the police cannot use any force to stop violence as per recent court order. How does the government stop violence from the "certain group of people who intended to worsen the situation so as to justify the military’s action, and then put all the blame on the government or the police for starting all the violence"? In other words the PDRC.

Suthep shuts down government operations for prolong periods, closes main throrougfares of commerce, fosters and attracts violence, invades places of businesses that interferes with the normal conduct of businesses. And Yingluck is blamed for not doing enough to stop those interferences? How about a little attention given to Suthep to be fair about the matter. How about getting back some public law and order on the streets, and letting the government doe the job for which it was elected to perform.

It's curious that Suthep complains about the lack of police support to investigate violence against PDRC when he forcibly them keeps away from his protest sites, intimidates them with violence, and has his private armed guards secure the protest areas. When there is violence, Suthep's forces rush into crime scenes as a vigilante mob that destroys evidence, plants false evidence, and frightens witnesses away. What should be happening is the protest areas be weapons-free, flooded with police to watch for potential violence from ANY direction, immediately secure crimes scenes, seek to apprehand suspects, and conduct real time investigations. But apparently Suthep feels such degree of police coverage interferes with his control.

Yes, there is no denying violence against and by civilians in connection with anti-government protests gets world attention. Look at all the attention in the past by international news media given to Cambodia, Mynamar, and Eqypt who needed a change in goverance for the sake of survival of its citizens. But I think the reality is that the world community does not view Thailand as an absolute democracy where all governing positions are elected, where police enforce the rule of law, where the military falls under civilian control, and where the only other independent federal agency is the Supreme Court appointed by an elected legislative body. Thailand is an anomoly in governance compared to the Ukraine and Venzuela.

I believe that the world community does not condone the acts of overthrowing an elected government by former government leaders who only came to power through military power, used violence themselves to keep their power, used State of Emergency to control open protests, seek to regain their power through disruption of the democratic process, who stand against the nation's constitution on the freedom to vote, who insist on an unelected "council" to rule the nation in place of an elected legislative body, etc. The case for attention on Ukraine and Venzuela protests are far more legitimate concerns for democracy than it is on Thailand.

Suthep's "yellow revolution" does not appeal to democratic nations who do not tolerate anarchy as a legitimate process for change in goverance. International news media naturally likes to report on violence, it's audience catching. But as you surely have witnessed in various world news media, coverage of Thailand anti-government protests is very lightweight, spoken with general platitudes such that a listener is unlikely to jump up and say, "Bully for you Suthep!" compared to the very media empathy and depth of coverage given to Ukraine and Venzuela.

Looks like jaywalking, loud sounds, spitting on the sidewalk, and litering violations might be the key to CMPO law enforcement.

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Only through the microchip implanted in your body that transmits your GPS location every minute to the NSA. Find it and cut it out, then you're safe. Or just go back, turn yourself in and serve your time like a man for the crime you're obviously running away from.

That chip is in your penis. Have a nice day.

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Who cares about threats? It's the ATTACKS that are the problem.

BTW Jatuporn and Nattiwhut should declare their conflict of interest. Both face lengthy jail sentences should this government be defeated and its delaying tactics and amnesties be nullified.

Abhisit and Suthep also face prison sentences if they are convicted of the murder charges.

Looks like both sides are trying to be in control of the judges.

Maybe the amnesty bill for both sides wasn't such a bad thing after all.

Better than pushing Thailand toward a civil war, for sure.

Where have you been for the last 6 months? It is because of the amnesty bill that Thailand is being pushed toward a civil war.

A bill that was killed by the court and not reintroduced since. But the Democrats, who would have themselves benfitted from the bill, continue to use it as a red herring for political corruption to justify the Democrat anti-government opposition. I ouwldn't be surprised that in six months the Democrats will be hollering for an amensty bill to save its leadership from convictions.

If you fly into Suvarnabhumi in first class (ie., EVA), you get a Premium Priority card that allows you to go through a special customs checkpoint. Follow the signs. Last I went through there was no line and took me about 2 minutes to clear. Limo service from the airport can be arranged separately.

A very justified warning. Democrats sue everyone in sight, why not PTP? And the EC has been especially obstructionist and irresponsible in its "independent" role overseeing the elections. That is to say, it seems to do everything in its power not to have elections and if they do occur, to do everything to invalidate them. A dictator certainly would make EC's role a lot simpler, no opposition parties to bother them.

"who else dared to attack in this area under the Navy’s responsibility if not foreign force" In other words he doesn't have a clue. Rather than inflaming the situation without a shred of evidence, the military needs to butt out of political matters.

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That's what you want from a nations leader, someone that sheds crocodile tears, runs the country from facebook and is inaccessible because she is cowering from the electorate and press in a safe house.

How does one cower from an electorate that doesn't exist?

There was this guy Hitler who led an army against Stalingard whose imminent fall he believed would end the war with Russia. And every day he would say, "we just need one more day for victory." It didn't turn out so well for him or for a million of his soldiers. Suthep has had really very little challenge to his insurrection to date; but he may have become too complacent in believeing the oposition is on the verge of defeat.

Suthep said "the PDRC had a two-step plan: after the Thaksin regime is overthrown...." But the Court said the PDRC is not engaged in the overthrow of the government. How could it be so wrong? Maybe the Court had a mass hearing problem and thought the PDRC was engaged in making the government throw-up.

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Wouldn't it be easier for Witthaya Kaewparadai to grab them and hand them over to CMPO? The grenades thrown at police came from Sutheps side. Instead of moaning try working together to bring this violence to an end.

In one or two incidents they probably have come from Suthep's side.

Are what is becoming countless attacks against the PDRC positions more than something to not only moan about but be asking where are the police?

It is getting to the stage where PDRC could "grab them", but I think "grab them" will be with a gun battle on the streets of Bangkok. It is within the realms of possibility seeming PDRC can not rely on the police doing their basic job of investigating and bringing to justice those who are attacking the PDRC flanks. No surprise seeming the cops are in the Shinawatra's pockets as long as the money flow is on. The thing is on the verge of busting into a full on night of war if Suthep were to bring in the people to "grab them".

A sensible man who can also see that there are two sides involved. If either side goes over to the others area to apprehend those involved there will probably more violence. They need to work together Suthep needs to weed out those on his side and hand them in and the authorities need to weed out their rogue element and all need to face the judicial system.

yes I know that will never happen and the name calling and blame game will continue and people will be hurt and possibly more deaths.

Suthep could also improve the lawless situation by turning himself in too as a shining example of supporting law and order. Oh wait, he's too busy depriving the public of their rights to be doing that.

The announcement of the government supporters is, sadly, the next logical response to police being barred (without further direction from the Court) from maintaining civil law and order. I'm surprised it took them this long to respond as such; maybe a credit to the government's restraint. When one political faction is allowed to use violence (and this can be exclusive of weapons) without restraint as a means to an end, why shouldn't any other political faction not be allowed the same opportunities for violence? With the current court restrictions on police, political and nonpolitical vigilantes will fill the vacuum for what they believe to be protection of their civil liberties.

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its about bloody time too, an independant police force that worked equally for all thais is way overdue. Actually while they are at it they could also start to do what they are paid for and actually police the country instead of hiding away in their airconditioned offices. A police force that chased after criminals instead oif supporting them would be nice, so would a police force that did road patrols and booked all the bullsh*t drivers/riders, the country would suddenly have a wealth of govt money of they did. Removing ranks once you leave the force should be also high on the agenda, chalerm is not a cop, he is a politician and should be treated as such and have no sway over them, same with thaksin.

Thailand needs an independant police force that does what it is supposed to, this would stop a hell of a lot of the crap we are now seeing and put the reds and yellows to bed, cant wait but it will simply never happen like everything else they plan here.

You are absolutely right but can you imagine politicians and the elite willingly losing control over the BIB, the appointment of senior officers and so on ?

And RTPO would be competing with Suthep's private armed guard who already operates with complete immunity. Maybe just more efficient to roll the RTPO with Suthep's guard and call it what it is. Sheep following a wolf.

The last thing Thailand needs is for RTPO to be another independent agency that can challenge the Parliament. Not only will that further the lack of transparency and conflict of interests in the RTPO, it creates an unelected political force that operates by its own agenda and laws. What is needed is a functioning, independent Inspector General Agency that reports to the Parliament to investigate corruption, conflict of interests, failure of duty, discrimination, etc.. This would reinforce professionalism and provide accountability and transparency.

And how is Suthep's 2010 murder charges coming along? Oh, I forgot he's busy running an insurrection, something that Yingluck cannot claim.

This article is the result of a "think tank" on Nitol complete with daydreaming and musings. And its conclusion is that the future for Thailand isn't predictable. I think members of ThaiVisa regardless of their diverse political leanings could do better.

"The anti-government camp won this mini-battle of wills" and farmers go hungry. Thanks for nothing Suthep.

One has to appreciate the Land of Irony (LOI) that accompanies the LOS. The courts that backed the Democrat self-created State of Emergency powers to assure the peaceful nature of protest rallies through police use of force now finds such force to be illegal and strips the police from any law enforcement actions except maybe to write traffic tickets to anti-government protesters. If not successfully challenged or more reasonable application of police force is allowed,Thailand will be the first democracy to die from suicide by the courts.

If the court does not provide for circumstances for the use of appropriare and measured force by the police, does not allow the government to use the authority granted under the SOE, or successfully held to be a constitutional ruling, then one would hope that Democrats will act equally submissive when the red shirts/PTP supporters behave in similar "peaceful" actions shown by the Suthep anti-government protesters in their violations of a SOE against a Suthep-formed government. But that would require the Democrats to break with tradition in their use of excessive force.

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' Ongoing sales of rice ' so as usual with backs to the wall the government claims it's selling from the stockpiles.

No longer is it ' show us the money ' rather ' show us the contracts ' ( if they actually exist ).

Other countries now claiming Thailand is dumping rice on world market. Trying to involve WTO.

There is no Thai rice on the market so how can dumping occur? Meanwhile because of the lack of Thai rice on the international marketplace, rice prices are realizing all time highs benefiting countries like Mynamar. When Thai rice does get to the market, no doubt prices will fall but I don't think below reasonable and fair pricing levels. In other words, when Thai rice does get to the market in a "dribble out" strategy, it should realize substantial proceeds. Granted some people want to see Thailand fail on its sales so as to further disgrace the government but what then of the farmers? Is there no shame to which parties seek to interfer with the government rice sales and payments to farmers just to advance their own political agendas?