EnglishJohn

But why - ignoring your boorish sexist language - do you believe the EU should not wish to have a dialogue with the last truly legitimate Prime Minister? Presumably the EU also wants to send a message to the Junta.Politics are often symbolic anyway.

You may not be an admirer and that is your right, but your peremptory dismissal of what she stands for is in effect a dismissal of the Thai People's judgement.Despite your denials it is rather clear which camp you and your "binary choice" reside in.

I just posted a (link to) meeting report on Thailand, from the European Parliament. Read it, no mention on Ms. Yingluck, but still interesting.

BTW why would the European Parliament President invite the Thaksin clone? Do you think the European Parliament President is blinded by "democracy == elections" to the point of ignoring the influence of a criminal fugitive and his vote buying RPPS scam ?

Personally I would expect the President of the EP to be a bit pragmatic although also in Europe 'das Kapital' still controls decisions.

But Rubl, why would they be blinded, Yingluck did win those elections with an absolute landslide. No ifs or buts are in order, the Thai electorate delivered a very clear message in those elections. Europeans tend to listen and respect such message, unlike the likes of you, who would immediately turn to vote buying policies, an uneducated electorate and more silly excuses.

What do you suggest in return, they inivite some of the NCPO people. People who have taken power by gunpoint, abolished the constitution, replacing it with one that gives them absolute power.

People who send people that criticise them to re-adjustment camps, who curtailed freedom of press and freedom of speach ?

Or who claim to return Thailand to democracy and yet have suggested provisions into the new constitution that would make it a democracy in name only ?

But Sjaak, with all statements by various people including Thaksin, Pheu Thai members, etc., it should be clear to even MPs from the EP that the election had nothing to do with democracy as 'we' know it. 'the Thai electorate' ? You mean the 15m who voted Pheu Thai? With Pheu Thai having said to have paid out 800 billion Baht directly to rice farmers, all 1.4m households participating (out of 3.2m aimed at). Those 3.2m households represented 23% of the population, no figures on what the 1.4m represent. Looks like a classical vote buying exercise with taxpayers being duped.

The EP may want to ask Ms. Yingluck about responsability and accountability plus a bit of transparancy, administration, commissions looking into things. All those elements we accept as part of a democratic system. Well, some of us only I guess.

As for your question who they might invite in return, maybe a few academics respected by both sides and one or two others from 'each side'. On the other hand the meeting report I provided a link to suggest that Thailand hasn't been a democracy for a long time already. Some points raised from decades ago.

As for constitution, interesting that a more 'proportional representation' is rejected by posters here as well as the ability to elect a non-MP as PM in case of parties not being able to agree on one. Even Greece had a judge appointed as PM a few months ago.

The apologists for repression become ever more desperate.

This one trollishly maintains

1.Contrary to all informed opinion the last election in Thailand had nothing to do with democracy.There is no other way to describe this a massive lie.

2.Those Thais who voted for PTP were bribed with populist policies, effectively vote buying.

3.Invoked the irrelevant Greek precedent ( an interim measure for a few weeks) of a non elected PM.No democracy of course would accept this measure in a constitution.

At one time this member used to provide a sensible alternative view.One can only surmise that the emergence of the worst and least legitimate government in living memory has unhinged him.

You can't go around calling any policy that puts money in the pockets of the majority as vote buying.

That is a blatantly misleading statement and doesn't hold up against any scrutiny anywhere in the world.

Political parties offer their supporters financial benefits to vote for them in the way of taxes or benefits all over the world.

It isnt vote buying, it is electioneering and like it or not, legal

Thank you for your contribution.

"You can't go around calling any policy that puts money in the pockets of the majority as vote buying."

Errr ... that's exactly what it is. Unsustainable populist policies. Buying votes by promising more money than you have to give. Dishonest.

As a side note : we will take you more seriously if you don't write your comments like a North Korean press release.

Latest news is that it is a just personal invitation from the two men and nothing to do with the EU Parliament.

Given those circumstances and the high rhetoric content of the letter, they were clearly put up to it.

disgusting way to treat Thailand's first female PM

LMAO - swooning over her because of a pretty face.

How shallow can you get. I expect you would gaze at her adoringly like a trusting puppy while the rest of the dirty cronies were picking your pockets from the back.

And anyway, what has that fact got to do with anything at all ?. Would it be OK if she was the second female PM ?.

Is this about the fate of these two Chinese dissidents or the sudden U turn in allies? Thailand is warming to China much more, I think the U.S is regretting it's decision to not recognize the Leadership of PM Prayuth early on. With Ambassadors running up and down, Obama chatting to Prayuth, it's obvious that the U.S is desperate stop the China relationship with Thailand so that the U.S has a foothold in South East Asia. The recent South China Sea Sprately Island dispute between the U.S and China gives much thought to the fight over allies in this part of the world.

The USA don't give a stuff about these 2 people apart from the propaganda value. World politics knows no shame.

The USA want Thaksin back because then they know they can do anything they want over here as long as the goblin has a hand (and a cut) in the middle of it. But I think they are realising it isn't going to happen so they are dealing with what they have got for the reasons you stated. They don't give a dam about 'democracy' or how many Thais kill other Thais. They stand by and watch much worse in other countries.

An excellent example of their policy towards this region over the years is in the book 'Korean War' by Max Hastings which I just finished.

Quite. Thaksin bribing the entire leadership of the European Union is entirely, entirely a credible notion, just as credible as his inventing the EU in the first place to back him up should his plan for the domination of the galaxy fail - why else would the Europeans need a space programme after all?

Your trying to ridicule my post does not make it unlikely

Agreed. My ridiculing your post does not make it unlikely. It just is anyway. Try spending some time far away from Thailand and all things Thai for a while and you would realise just how risable such (unfounded) theories sound.

This is what happens when you spend too long in a monoculture...

I do enjoy reading post by people who think they are a lot more intelligent than they really are and embarrass themselves repeatedly by posting paper-thin rhetoric. That alone is a very strong indicator of stupidity. Even better when they attempt to be witty and come out with some nonsensical garbage.

You bribe entire governments with things like lucrative trade deals where they will get an untold number of secondary benefits which will be untraceable as corruption. Thaksin tried to railroad one through with the USA just before he got found out and ran away. All of these trade deals need middle men, advisory consultants, shipping agents and dozens of other things - all taking a cut of the enormous sums involved. Politicians with legitimate sidelines such as several part time directorships on the boards of companies, or business interests which will benefit just love that kind of thing.

It's only in Thailand where gullible cattle will vote for dirty scumbags that pastry boxes might work.

Shinawatra Tower. Hmmmm Must be Mr.T and the red shirts!

No chance. The master coward hides abroad and the lower cowards only fire M79's or AK47's from moving trucks.

Remember his promise to return and be at the front line in 2010

Knives are just for killing each other.

Perhaps it was a well-intentioned investment scheme.

The problem is that greedy investors don't accept that there may be risks and that they may lose.

Running the same sort of scam are you ?.

Some foreign runners were shocked to find that they were attacked by dogs along the course.

Good one. Welcome to Thailand.

LMAO.

They should give each runner a short length of bamboo to wave at the dogs when they are attacked.

Every dog I have ever encountered backs off at such a sight.

Fair enough, it was the fault of previous governments. However now the junta head has oversight, we should shortly expect to see the transformation of THAI into an airline which will go from strength to strength and leave its competitors in the dust.

What on earth makes you think anyone in the Army knows the first thing about running an airline ?.

Stop blaming the Junta for everything like a spoilt child and start supporting progress on reforms so they are pressured to get out and let Thailand have it's first government from free and fair elections.

No mention of who might be behind this plot.

Will make the red-shirts angry and they might start some violence. How does it feel to be treated in the same way as Muslim terrorists ?.

An exchange of views only from Yingluck [to the European Parliament] could be considered as listening to one side of the story. It may show disrespect to Thai law

Disrespect for Thai law? Pot calling the kettle black I think. Or is staging a military coup to remove a democratically-elected government considered the 'norm' in Thailand?

(Actually, looking at Thai history, I think the answer to my question is Yes)

Thailand didn't have a democratically elected government at the time of the coup. It was a caretaker government. The result of pressure from mass protests and a disgraceful attempt to hold an election (with no opposition) during emergency law, with thousands of people on the streets and ongoing terrorist attacks against Pheu-Thai opposition. Nothing to do with the Army.

The elected government were forced to step down as a result of democratic protests. Their attempt to gain a mandate and use it as an excuse to cling on to power (and murdering protesters) failed.

But don't let a good propaganda lie get in the way of the truth will you. Or did you even know it was a lie ?.

We do not want smart people giving opinions. We do not want alternative ideas flooding the brains of our people, especially not young smart people who just might start thinking independently.

Great way to move the country forward into the 21st century. Lets just keep the population dumb enough to be led like sheep.

Never met a smart red-shirt. All the smart Thais I know are anti-red shirt.

Why would a smart person support Thaksin + Pheu-Thai ?. They only stand for corruption.

The smart people stand for reforms ASAP and a government from free and fair elections.

No need to ask which camp you fit into.

It's quite simple:

Any of them who did not speak out against the amnesty bill or the murders of protesters (or any of the other outrageous acts of Pheu-Thai) but see fit to complain now do not deserve to be called an academic at all. They are just regular Thai hypocrites with their own agenda and low ethics. They should be told to shut up because they are nothing more than political activists at a time when Thailand does not need them. They can whine at the next government all they like.

Those of good conscience who did speak out previously should be told not to incite anger in the gullible cattle but otherwise be left alone as a check-and-balance. Why do I think there will be very, very few in that category ?.

As a native English speaker and a professional engineer, I would say that letter is absolutely nothing like I would expect a formal communication from a representative of the EU Parliament to an impeached PM of a foreign country to look like.

It is appalling : they would never put personal opinion and blatant criticism of the Junta into a communication like that. It is entirely unprofessional - in just about the same degree as Thai politicians are unprofessional. What on Earth does listing previous events have to do with it ?.

And why would they give her alternative locations ?. Sounds like the meeting will be in Starbucks.

There has been something odd about the EU, human rights and Pheu-Thai right form the start. Someone should write back and ask them to investigate these people - though the whole institution is rife with corruption on a huge scale. It's one of the reasons we Brits want out.

This smells bad - and the whole thing is on such a low intellectual level, it smacks of Thai politicians.

Ahhhh the British disease, nice easy one to pin on Johnny Farang here. Guess they missed a trick blaming chief..............

This is different from hooliganism in England and highlights the difference in characters for the two countries.

The Brits are simply violent yobs who want to fight. They go up against similar people who support other teams and fight just for the sake of it. They love violence and some are very intelligent people.

This attack by Thais demonstrates the extreme spite they hold against people who they think have made them lose face and also the mentality of 'revenge' which exists long after the event. The Thai violence is much more sinister because it shows an evil streak which lies behind the smile. I have heard many stories about what they will do. Burning something down in the middle of the night is a common tale.

It's not surprising in the slightest that those tomatoes did nothing to stop their own supporters. I bet they would have joined in if they thought they could get away with it. The Thai police did not get their reputation by accident.

Despite all the problems that the EU has, it is still an extremely powerful and important organisation. The Junta have been given a real dilemma here, if they refuse to let her go they risk souring relations with the EU even further, and with millions of baht on the trade table they risk loosing such things as fish imports.

On the other hand if they do let her go she will no doubt give the EU representatives first hand knowledge about what is going on in this Country at present, after all she has plenty of experience of 'attitude adjustment' and personal vendetta through the so called Thai 'justice system'

As for the nonsense post about her not speaking English well, President Xi of China has just had a very successful tour of Britain. I'm sure David Cameron spoke to him in fluent Mandarin all the time - that's what interpreters are employed for.

Actually she speaks perfectly serviceable English but it has become the mantra among the "good people" that she does not.The slightly comical aspect is that when the "good people" made this point on social media (invariably in a vile and abusive way) their own English was deplorable as is too often the case among the "educate" Sino Thai middle class.

Put up or shut up : link please.

I saw her BBC interview and embarassing doesn't come close.

'I am from election' was not an appropriate answer to any of the questions I heard him ask.

Sure sounds like the current lot are not trying to maximize returns at all, so they can simply blame the PT for the higher costs (much like they forced financiers to refuse lending, or scared off foreign bids for it at the time). Create a problem to then lay blame.. Not like they didnt do exactly that with the protests.

Utter, utter nonsense. Don't let the real world get in the way of your puerile and simplistic brain-dead politics whatever you do.

It's now established facts that the murders of protesters was by organised red-shirts who were let through by police and not a single one caught at the time. By which it means Pheu-Thai and the UDD. Which means state sponsored terrorism against it's own people. And point blank refusal of Pheu-Thai to stop it even though it was clearly escalating as they got more and more desperate.

30 innocent people dead and counting before the coup. Including women and children.

And you try to imply the Army were behind it ?. I laugh in your face. It should be a National scandal up there with massacres by any failed government against it's own people.

I have no time for such hypocrites.

Two low level operatives to take the blame and nobody of any status implicated.

No religious (Muslims in the South) or political (Red shirts) linked to this bomb (all quiet on the red-shirt bomber involved now). No motive and no explanations. But most importantly, no difficult links which would cause either of those groups to commit more violence if publicly accused.

Just a couple of guys who had an apartment set up to make bombs long before any deportations who decided one day that they were so full of hate they would let off a pipe-bomb and murder some innocent people in the center of Bangkok.

And nobody raises an eyebrow. Just like Ko Tao. Everybody in any position to do something about it knows when to keep quiet in this country.

So we can look forward to the NACC recommending next week that Abhisit and Suthep face the Administrative court for "abuse of power" for their culpability in the deaths of 90 plus people in 2010?

No, I didn't think so.

You're right not to think so, as to those who are not hyper-biased it is quite clear there is no such thing as 'culpability in the deaths of 90 plus people in 2010' for AV or ST, it was only a propaganda stunt from PTP/UDD and other TS creations during the YS 'government' using and abusing power and influence to demonise AV and ST, in an attempt to put the responsibily for the consequences of their(!) acts on both's shoulders.

Many would like to know more about the truth concerning the 2010 red insurrection(!), also about the financing and organising of it, to better understand the course of events. But I guess that you are not interested at all in any such thing... because, of course, the red peacefull demonstrators and their democratic leaders have never done anything wrong, is the red book's only truth, hmm... Well, no surprise there, remembering how an un-biased(!) report was shot down a few years ago by your ilks...

The charges were brought as a bargaining chip for Thaksin to get amnesty. It had nothing to do with justice for the people who got killed - but if I've learned one thing in this country, it's that red-shirts will 'believe' anything that suits them. It's called hypocrisy.

He approached Abhisit with that very proposition and got told where to go. Abhisit elected to face the court to prove his innocence. The coward elected to stay in his 5 start hotel and force the amnesty through anyway.

The very idea of murder charges in those circumstances is absolutely ridiculous.

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/a99ac12c-4085-11e3-ae19-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3sI6hx0WF is a good summary of how that last bunch of dirty cronies got told to handle it.

You can find the information on the internet if you bothered to look, but you people don't care about truth. Only what suits you.

Thai society is incapable of producing either.

Next idea please.

Not a bad article in my opinion. At least it compares itself realistically to other countries of similar problems, Indonesia and Burma. The writer is a realist and sprouting that Thailand is the hub of something.

Now djjamie, what drivel you write.

Why not go through each point and explain us why it is drivel instead of responding like a 6 year old with no argument ?.

You will notice numbers are never mentioned, apart from the strange limit of 3,632 baht, where do they get that from?

Lol, from the same place they get numbers like "42.06%" in the plethora of polls Thais seem to like.

A lack of understanding of significant digits. More decimal places = better at job.

I've taught a five ASEAN schools, and I have not seen this. I see groups of students together, mixed bunches with gay, hetero and trannies.

I have also taught here for many years and have not seen this. Just the opposite really. And I'm pretty sure that I see a much higher percentage of LGBT students and teachers both in Elementary and High School than I see at home.

That's the trouble with all these groups. If they don't make out their is a big problem, they don't get funding for more studies.

Same with Universities. Everyone is looking for funding so they make all kinds of claims to stand out from the crowd. Only ethics are the limit - and we all know how short the supply of those are here.

According to the BP the Thai government is now claiming the two were involved in human trafficking in a bid to deflect the torrent of criticism it's been subjected to.

Apparently the government was surprised by the heavy criticism since their short attention span has made them forget what happened after the deportation of the 109 Uighurs.

So do not deport terrorists because the ones you missed might set off a bomb ?.

Thank God you are in no position to actually make those decisions. If the bomb was Uighurs, it proves the government made the right decision.

But of course doubt remains because the bomb making facilities were up and running long before the deportation. But that means the bomb was planned anyway and not because of the deportations. Again making your argument look foolish.

And do you actually know if they were involved in human trafficking ?. You seem to know conclusively they were not : put up or shut up. Web link please.

Plodprasop the Egyptian God should be the head guy in the middle.

That's the only way it could be more ridiculous.