Eric Loh

How will the EC set a new election date without a new royal decree? They talk about elections within so many days of a royal decree but there seems no way of issuing one.

Dont need a new royal decree if held within legal timeframe. Previous royal decree suffice. Beyond that time frame, it's a problem.

Careful where you cuff him

This is no comment one way or the other on Suthep's verbal ramblings... But just a question.

Is there any real difference between a military coup, of which Thailand has had made, vs. a, for lack of a better term, a "people's coup"?

AFAIK, the military have no legal right under any Thai law to overthrow a sitting, elected Thai government -- no matter how bad it may be. Yet they've done so many times.

So how would a people's coup be any different -- other than that the military has the weapons and force to better execute such a thing, compared to the average citizens on the street. Although, these days, based on the numbers of shootings and grenade attacks occurring, the citizens on the street seem to be pretty well armed.

A coup is a coup. For those who believe in democracy, it is never correct. For others, best evaluated a few years hence.

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So on that basis, the 2010 red shirt protests were an attempted coup also? The demands were the same, that the current sitting Govt step down.

Wrong. the UDD 2010 protest was to ask the government who was formed by means of judiciary coups to hold an election. Suterp is just the opposite. No election but his personal appointment of the PM. See the difference??

Suterp has actually done a lot of damage to his former party by splitting up their supporters. Both shared the same voters base. Come election and it will happen sooner or later, there will be those who support Suterp and will probably not vote or vote no and some who is just feed-up with the Dem antics and cross over. This happen in the 2010 election causing a landslide loss to the Dem and will benefit PT and more possibly the fringe parties to gain on the Dem strongholds. As for Suterp, really a dead end for him and he will fade away like Chamlong or Sonthi.

Expect the Nation to pick their best photo for the UDD and the PDRC. Moving on.....

Suterp just hang himself with this speech. Worse part is getting royal endorsement for an illegal and non-constitutional act. That can turn LM in a flash. Anyway, he has to be stopped and he just did that himself. Getting too drunk on his own perceived success can made you careless.

Clever piece of marketing by the UDD. After the mayhem created by them in 2010, this peaceful and short rally really put shame to the PDRC violent and prolong rallies which paralyse many major intersections in Bangkok recently. Suterp must do more by calling their allies Student Network and Issara Buddha to stop their rallies and join him in Lumpini. And also stop the paralysing of government offices and intimidation of public and private businesses. He needs a wholesale marketing overhaul or he will not be seen as peaceful protest by the general public even if their friendly court said so.

Suterp has only one reform; rest of the reform by others are for aesthetic and to be ignored when he achieved his victory. He only have personal jealousy with the Shin wealth and want to take that away; that's his reform.

That would made Prayuth mighty angry. Lately he has been rather offensive towards the PDRC and I hope this time he pull Suterp aside and give him a good dressing down.

Prayuth refuses to involve the army in politics

BANGKOK, 4 March 2014 (NNT) - The Army Chief has requested protestors, especially the Peoples Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC), to not persuade the army to choose any sides because it may lead to a bigger conflict.

Army Chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha defended himself regarding a comment he made earlier that ousting the current government would be the equivalent of having employees fire the owner of the company. Needless to say, that comment received a lot of criticism and made a number of people enraged.

General Prayuth mentioned that his remarks were only a comparison to an organizations business structure and should be taken as anything more serious. The Army Chief also requested the protestors not to push for the armys involvement in the political conflicts as it could escalate the level of violence.

Meanwhile, Deputy Army Spokesman Colonel Vinthai Suwaree has declared that the Army will provide the best level of protection to everybody and monitor any suspicious activities in the political protests.

-- NNT 2014-04-04

Must say, I think he's 100% right as in any country the army man has to see themselves as employees of the government and his comparison to the business structure is exactly true.

I think the army should come in and clear Lumpini as the dems did in 2010.

I think the army should come in and clear Lumpini as the dems did in 2010.

If you believe that the two situations are comparable, then you have no idea what the current protests are about...!

Don't need the army, they will be gone by Songkran. Suterp will not have the money to pay treble day rate.

Flamesfan, they probably don't know they given you the domestic rate. Good for you. Stay quiet, their fault.

I asked the same thing for my small restuarant. There are actually 2 type of rates - domestic and commercial. Obviously the commercial is higher and I think Natway qoute of 2,780B is correct.

If you been here long enough, you will realise that there are working and university girls who do part-time prostitution. Not trying to imply anything but just stating a known information.

Done and dusted as destined by the powerful old elite clique refusing to relinquish their hold and pushing aside the voices of the majority. So another Prime Minister will bit the dust and kept out of politics for 5 years. Gue sera sera. This power display by the judiciary for a consecutive 4 prime ministers (all oppositions) is so obvious and blatant and it will only sooner rather than later that the people will react with anger. They have push them too hard and too far. If it happen, just don't reward Suterp with a neutral prime minister. Let the caretaker government continue, agreed on reform, hold an election (guess who will win again) and implement the reform.

All Jutaporn is saying is that people mandate should be respected, not trampled and violated. If you believed in democracy, you should cheer for him. Give the UDD the right to elect and they will go home. Simple.

NO he isn't. He IS saying if we can't get our own way legally then we will TAKE it anyway we want.

If YOU believe in democracy then you will know that it is NOT just a vote that makes democracy.

It is also honesty, transparency, accountability, personal responsibility, working for the the benefit of ALL the Thai people and not just the favoured few and ignoring the rest.

It is respect for ALL the laws and rules, court judgements both for and against you, like it or not.

The PTP have taken the vote, claimed the majority and trampled on the rest of the lines that I wrote above.

Sadly they believe that they are above all the people of Thailand and the rules and laws that apply to EVERYBODY don't apply to them.

Why is election not legal? It's Suterp that is acting illegally and want to TAKE it anyway he wants albeit with the help of the judiciary.

The judiciary acted in a way that people cast suspicion and has done that before. They have behaved in a way that showed double standard. If you can't see that than I felt you have not researched hard enough.

I can agree a vote is only part of democracy but a people council is outright non democractic.

All Jutaporn is saying is that people mandate should be respected, not trampled and violated. If you believed in democracy, you should cheer for him. Give the UDD the right to elect and they will go home. Simple.

Seem that a simple election will stop all these madness. However we have one side insisting and persisting with undemocratic power grap with help of the judiciary. If you keep ousting a democratically elected government by means of a putsch thrice in just 9 years, you got very angry people whose freedom of choice has been trampled again and again.

_{The polarization of the upper house is a reflection of the political division of the country. The partisan judiciary and independent agencies deepen the senators division with their idiosyneratic verdict. The political struggle forces people to take sides and that include the upper house. If we have a fair and just judiciary, independent agencies taking up their responsibilities without any bias and all political parties chosing election campaigning instead of undemocratic means to form the government; there will be less upper house tension and division. Then better non partisan senators can perform their rightful role.}

I am confused. Thought the Constitutional Court mades ruling on constitutionality of laws that are deemed compromised. Is holding an election breaking any law? Especially when it is royally endorsed. Is CC guilty of LM? Ah, the intricacy of skewed politics.

Just love it when said on 1st April.

After Saturday's mega flop, he's still dreaming of a glorious victory? Reminiscent of the Battle of the Bulge, 1944

What an analogy - Suthep commanding the 101st Airborne, surrounded by those desperate Nazi storm trooper red shirt fanatics under the command of Obersturmbanfuhrer Jautupon. The red leader is hiding away in the wolf's lair buker deep in Dubai while is troops prepare for the ultimate sacrifice,

Wonder who will play Patton coming to the rescue?

Interesting that only you and the other PTP adorers see Saturday as a flop. Seemed more like a large number of people yet again showing their disapproval at the Yingluck regime and its efforts to cling on to power as instructed from the bunker.

It is a flop when the walk around did not achieve the desired results. There was no Million as Dear Leader boast. The day ended like any other day which is Nothing. Life resumed after the Sunday walk around. The caretaker government is still there and Yinglck has not resigned. There was no instigated violence and military stayed away I will call that a misery flop.

The sun must have got to his head. He forgot that he said the same thing months ago. My advise is that he put on a cap or sun screen or his brain will scrambled. He even got the numbers wrong on Saturday from 1 M in the morning to 30k most in the evening.