EnglishJohn

Is it correct that all this BS inconveniencing hundred or thousands of farang is simply a spite game between government officials because one caused the other to lose face ?.

Because there is no way this could be considered a security measure to stop bombers getting in.

Who would EVER make a firm commitment for investment or business to this country when they change the rules on a personal whim like this ?. Why are individuals allowed to make policy decisions ?.

Prayuth needs to knock some heads together and keep clear of all the sawdust which will come out.

I was under the impression that only the PM could invoke article 44.

Oh - you think that he has to actually do anything under article 44 personally ?.

I might be wrong, but I would think others can carry it out as long as he has authorised it

Human Rights Watch have lost all credibility in Thailand.

If they have any interest at all in human rights instead of using it in a most shameful manner for their political agenda, they will have a very public reorganization and get rid of their activists. Then make a clear statement that they will not allow politics to influence what they do.

As it stands, these fraudsters are occupying the position of decent people who could be making a difference.

Thailand, go to war with Vietnam. Lets see what happens.

Possibly they would do better than the yanks did when they last went.

They lost because the North did not have to listen to public opinion.

Same reason they are losing against ISIS.

Oh dear; 'attitude adjustment' coming up !

Why do you people keep making these comments ?.

He will be in trouble if he tries to instigate division in society which will cause violence. That's all. After the murders during the last protests and the members of that same faction here spraying their keyboard with spit as they predict an imminent peoples uprising and communist revolution, it is for good reason.

How clear do you need it spelling out ?.

Ahh - the old argument.

Yes, everyone knew it was corrupt and illegal, but everybody does it and so why should they get punished when nobody else does ?.

The red-shirts here use that defence all the time.

This is obviously one of the main driving factors behind the amnesty bill. I wonder if all of these people would have got away with it - or would just the top ringleader have escaped punishment ?.

A clear example of why Thai people were right to take to the streets when that bill was passed in that disgraceful manner.

The "new normal" will be that the other ASEAN nations will surpass Thailand in economic and population growth for the next 10 years unless Thailand can stabilize its political environment. Thailand will only be the hub of wishful hopes.

Thailand's next constitution and authority of the Thai military will decide if Thailand remains a developing country or becomes a developed industrial nation. And while the military holds power now, it will be the Thai people themselves who will make the decision for their future.

With a bit of time and thought, about what really went on over the 2011-2014 year of non governing, the 50% + of the population could well do to gen up about voting for the non corrupt candidates.

Get their minds off the rice field---drought---floods--- many to work harder instead of relying on monthly money from offspring who have to sell their bodies for the family.

With a bit of guidance and stability, a good result can be had at the time of election-------if they are not channeled into voting locally for unsuitable persons.

Thailand people put your country first, not get 1,000 baht from villains.

1,000 baht form villains??? plz, plz go educate yourself... I mean REALLY

He might be able to do that if you could manage to write a reply which made sense and had any kind of intelligible point to it.

Says it all really.

Thais have the right and freedom to express their views PROVIDING they are officially approved.

The junta can hide behind behind expressions such a ' distort ', ' reckless expression ' etc but they're simple euphemisms for crticism will not be tolerated.

Criticism that might cause conflict in society will not be tolerated. For example, when reading the newspaper, the reader wants to have an accurate picture of the news, not a distorted version with one sided opinions. Reckless expressions might lead the reader to wrong conclusions and therefore create conflict in the mind of the reader.Freedom of speech is the right of all, but gossip and false reports can stir rumours that might bring unhappiness to the people.

Are you a speechwriter for the junta? If not, I suggest you apply, you've got the idiom down pat!

Obviously English is your second language.

Simplified version for those who didn't finish school : Red-shirts who want to take things back to how they were under the last government (ie corruption free-for-all and all the terrorism and intimidation that went with it) should shut their mouths and stop trying to incite hatred in the gullible masses.

Those of you saying this includes all criticism of the Junta should keep those lies for your friends because I've read plenty and nobody got arrested.

We have seen enough of you and your M79's against innocent people already.

The Quality of Tourist gets better every Day have a great day TAT

He's hardly a tourist.

No, just another poor guy caught up in a web spun by ridiculous drug laws sponsored by Big Pharma and Alcohol Corporations.

You think cocaine should be legal ?.

I just read on the internet that it is so addictive, if you train a mouse to get a tiny bit each time it presses a lever, eventually it will simply stand there pressing the lever until it dies from overdose. It wont stop for a drink or food or anything.

Was this guy working for you ?.

As an ex-member of the armed forces in the UK, I can understand that the punishment is nothing to do with carrying a phone, it is about failing to follow orders. In our case, if just one guy had his phone they would probably have made everybody get theirs and smash them to teach the lesson that if you screw up, you screw everybody else up as well.

Imagine some of these guys end up walking through a jungle looking for smugglers or whatever and a phone starts ringing because one guy thought he could do what he wanted.

We had many instances where the punishment didn't fit the offence, but looking back I can appreciate why they did it. What I didn't appreciate was the enjoyment the instructors seemed to get while dishing it out ...

Is there also a trial coming on the people who laid siege on the airport in 2008?

114 defendants and multiple charges but don't count on the trial convening after the same Criminal Court keep postponing. I think Nattawut and his mates are sneering at how fast the court works for the UDD.

This offense was committed before the Airport occupation.

8 years to get to court - and you think that's fast?

More like sneering at how this would've gone away with the boss's Amnesty plot.

Excellent. Anything else to tell us which can disregard immediately because you probably just made it up Mr Loh ?.

Are you people unable to see that the occupation of an airport in protest and terrorism/intimidation are completely different ?.

The fact that your only counter to all the outrageous actions of red-shirts with their shootings, attacks and intimidation is a peaceful sit-in (apart from some of the usual grenade attacks on their camp by red-shirts) speaks volumes.

Anyone who uses the airport sit-in as a defence against what happened in 2010 or the murders and intimidation during the recent protests or what these medieval throwbacks did need a sanity check. It displays a disgusting lack of ethics.

Just waiting for the next article to read "jail term suspended for 5 years"

Wait for it. Wait for it.

Those reds never seem to spend a day in jail.

Yes, that's why the detention centers and prisons are full of red shirt protesters and supporters. Many of them on lm charges. How many high profile Suthep supporters can you count in the prisons.

Get your facts straight.

"Yes, that's why the detention centers and prisons are full of red shirt protesters and supporters. "

So those are your 'straight facts' then ?. A list of platitudes with no actual facts at all ?.

How many of those are 'high profile' red-shirt protestors ?. I mean ones who didn't get convicted for real crimes like murder because there must be a lot of them. You must compare like with like otherwise we all might think you are a hypocrite twisting facts.

Your arguments might be accepted by your like-coloured chums but you need to do better int he real world.

He must be a good lawyer. I believe those who were charged with with arson was founded not guilty. Most have the junta worried. Also so now facebook is the official way for the members of the junta to give press releases.

They were found guilty. Then after THREE YEARS and under Pheu-Thai, the appeals court said the evidence was too weak.

Round about the same time Pheu-Thai approved 46 million baht of taxpayers money to bail out 57 others.

Although I assume you knew this already

They are obviously trying to deflect this from being tied to the deportation of the Chinese by the unelected PM, against international precedent and raising the eyebrows and wrath of multiple human rights organizations. Obviously being a General you don't need to be adept at diplomacy. Hence why military Generals who seize power, never make good diplomats or self imposed PM's

The unelected PM is supposed to be bringing happiness to the people, instead, due to his autocratic approach and cozying up to his Communist Chinese friends, single handedly made the country more unsafe and dangerous than anything seen in recent history.

The buck stops at the PM due to him being way out of his depth. The hunt for scapegoats continues.

What crybaby nonsense.

Did you hear of any people being murdered by UDD terrorists recently whilst out shopping in Bangkok ?.

What do you think Yingluck would be doing in a similar situation ?. Did you ever say that the buck stops with her ?.

Once you realise someone is a hypocrite, their argument is worth less than nothing.

Thai authorities obviously want this case blamed on a farang who can't be caught then closed because if these people didn't do it, the alternatives will cause trouble.

If it is really Muslims from the South, it is a big change from the current situation which would demand some action which will start a series of escalations.

If they blame the red-shirts, the propoganda machine will churn out the 'elite lies' patter, the gullible masses will believe it, coaches will be paid for and some paid thugs (probably more mercenary's) will be issued with M79's. The more extreme of those here keep telling us about their communist revolution - coming soon - and people behind these things always engineer an "event" like this to use as their excuse.

Best to pin it on some farang then stick the head back in the sand. It will all go away once reforms are complete and elections are held. Not.

What is clear is that the authorities want this case closed and put to bed as soon as possible with the minimum of backlash from any side.

Blaming it on a guy who has since fled and cannot be brought back will get rid of it with no after effects.

Never mind that these people had a bomb-making setup in the middle of Bangkok long before the deportations happened. What was that for ? - 'just in case' ?. And if it was some revenge attack, why did they not claim responsibility ?.

If the authorities come out and say it was red-shirts or Muslim's from the South then they are going to make somebody angry and that is going to make more trouble. Trouble I believe Prayuth will do anything to keep away at this time. As seems to be the case every time here, some people will know what really happened and the rest will be fed lies in an attempt to keep them thinking like the government want them to.

Forget it.

Any initiative - even if it starts with genuine intentions - fails due to incompetence and corruption.

The whole problem is self-sustaining and by it's nature makes sure anyone who wants to change it will get weeded out long before they are in any position of authority.

I've seen it too many times here now to even hope things might be different.

So he's accusing an alleged army soldier of using the same tactic the redshirts employ against opposition elected officials. kettle - black?

Not the same at all. But of course you know that.

The red cowards only intimidate their victims in groups. Or throw a firebomb at their front door as they drive past. Or shoot their AK47 as they drive past. Or leave a grenade on the gatepost when nobody is watching. Or fire an M79 at them as they drive past.

Your comment is like comparing a terrorist with a playground bully.

Pheu-Thai politicians are liars with no scruples or ethics. They agreed to that when they passed the interview in Dubai. Then confirmed it when not a single one voted against the amnesty bill. This guy should count himself lucky he is not in jail for abuse of power - he certainly should be.

Just like your brother, haven't you been told that you are no longer involved in politics, your time has come and gone.

I expect she's waiting for the electorate to tell her that.

Or not.

That's the usual way in civilised countries.

I think you will find that the law has told her that. She broke it (or rather sat filing her nails while her brother broke it and she has to carry the can).

That's the usual way in civilised countries for crooked politicians.

and who is she to "come up" with anything relevant?

The last person that the Thai electorate decided should be prime minister.

Wrong.

You people elected Pheu-Thai.

Thaksin decided she would be prime minister. Nobody else got a say in the matter. Just as you didn't get a say in who leads the red-shirts.

This is your 'democracy'.

It seems people are trying their hardest to get called in 'for adjustment' simply so they can use that as their story. Those hypocritical students were the same : I wonder if the 30 who died during the REAL protests lay on their conscience.

Quite pathetic. They obviously know nothing bad will happen to them. They didn't try any of this when the punishment would be a grenade on their front porch.

Most of you "men" have missed the point. The cost of preventing fraudulance in western democracies is a high wage to the average bloke doing his/ her duty. Get this in your brain. This country is not a western democracy, get a grip. Adapt or always make stupid posts. Or piss off if you can't stand it here. My better friends are Thai, not you ....

Ah, so your point is that corruption is perfectly justified because of the low wage. And anyone who points it out is making a stupid post ??.

It's not us who have missed the point - but hey, you have your 'better friends' so I would stick to them.

btw: What has 'men' got to do with it ?. And why do you think people here are your friends ?. And why do you think people 'can't stand it here' just because they speak out against corruption ?. I wonder if you want to get a bit of it yourself ...

The only crisis is the Bankruptcy Crisis facing the corrupt PTP politicians who have had the thieving of government money stopped.

So you think it was only PTP politicians and they've all stopped it do you?

Is so, that is remarkably naive. Another member of the junta fan-club.

It's all relative.

Some politicians are relatively more corrupt than others.

And some posters here are relatively more stupid and/or gullible than others.

And some people on here post a lot more often relative to others (including some nutcases who post more than 40 times every day) .

You should quit the 'junta fan club' line : it's not true but I doubt you care about that. I would guess everyone here would rather the junta were not in charge - but when the other option is a parliament full of dirty cronies who vote 310:0 to give themselves amnesty and also murder their own people on the streets to cling on to power, the junta are the least worst option.

Another poster who claims to know who committed the crimes during the 2013-2014 protests. Please do come forward with names and evidence.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/politics/681260/life-terms-for-lethal-grenade-attack-on-protest

http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/chief-investigator-says-mastermind-abroad-financed-violence-pdrc-protests

Yet another red-shirt hypocrite who knows full well who is behind all the violence, but will hide behind any lies + denial he thinks he can get away with until it is proved.

And you people dare to complain about everyone else having such a low opinion of you. Go sit in a corner and feel ashamed. Oh sorry I forgot, you have no shame.

The only crisis is the Bankruptcy Crisis facing the corrupt PTP politicians who have had the thieving of government money stopped.

So you think it was only PTP politicians and they've all stopped it do you?

Is so, that is remarkably naive. Another member of the junta fan-club.

It's all relative.

Some politicians are relatively more corrupt than others.

And some posters here are relatively more stupid and/or gullible than others.

And some people on here post a lot more often relative to others (including some nutcases who post more than 40 times every day) .

You should quit the 'junta fan club' line : it's not true but I doubt you care about that. I would guess everyone here would rather the junta were not in charge - but when the other option is a parliament full of dirty cronies who vote 310:0 to give themselves amnesty and also murder their own people on the streets to cling on to power, the junta are the least worst option.