samgrowth

High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's country. Participating in a war against one's country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps the best-known examples of high treason. High treason requires that the alleged traitor have obligations of loyalty in the state they betrayed, such as citizenship, although presence in the state at the time is sufficient. Foreign spies, assassins, and saboteurs, though not suffering the dishonor associated with conviction for high treason, may still be tried and punished judicially for acts of espionage, assassination, or sabotage, though in contemporary times, foreign spies and saboteurs are usually repatriated following capture. High treason is considered a serious offense, and carries the death penalty in many countries. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_treason )

Does anybody know what the penalty is, according to Thai law?

/ Priceless

Death and death alone.

Now that the current crisis is over, Abhisit and his government should concentrate their efforts on cooling down the current political climate further by taking the following actions:

(1) Remove Kasit and all other PAD members from office;

(2) Bring the PAD leaders to justice - not simply a "slap on the wrist", but reasonable prison terms for their crimes

Now if they can actually do this, rest assured, they'll receive nothing but commendation and recognition from the Thai people. The Democrat Party have a lot to gain and not much to lose here. So why not take advantage of the situation?

As for the Thaksin question, well, I'd say leave him alone (for now). Give him time to ponder about what went wrong in his most recent quest for glory...

Thank you for reading.

As you may know or don't know in most countries not the government, instead courts decide about prison terms.

Are you naive or what?

Mark wins = PAD wins.

Kosit stays, and PAD walks free for GH & Airports seizure.

Why do some folks distort the truth, to put over there point of view.

The government in power is a LEGAL government according to the Thai Constitution

The people in power would be quite happy to have elections , when their time as a constitutional government runs out , or if they would lose a vote of confidence in parliament.

The debate and vote of confidence in the current government took place last month and the voting showed quite clearly that this government won an overwhelming vote of confidence.and all Taksins allies took part in the debate, and voted....so they must agree that they lost the debate and thus the government has the legal and constitutional right to continue in power.

Please , lets have a debate on this forum , BUt facts please , not lies and distortion!!

The root cause. So, you you mean that the 2006 military coup that started ALL THESE is also LEGAL?

The best thing that result from the cancellation of Pattaya summit; 3 extra days holiday, on top of 3 for Songkran.

No wonder why my bg loves Thailand. More business.

The current battle is over. The leaders of the reds are now on stage at Government House telling their supporters to go home. The Government has done a wonderful job. But this is far from over, believe me.

Agreed. So this threat should be closed. To shut up or the Farang with Thai wifes.

What a few months in office...after a few years of political chaos...and the worst downturn in the economy since the Great Depression... Dealing with a developing economy in a region where China is master....What do you expect?

Maybe not borrow again from the IMF? Thailand has billions of their own reserves, PLUS they have Thaksin's billions. Why not use those to jump-start the economy? Or perhaps that money was already gone.

rainman, I'm worried about your mental health. I think you should take a good night sleep, so you can see things more clear in the morning.

I don't know if the money is gone or not. But most of the money is in Siam Commercial Bank.

http://www.set.or.th/set/companyholder.do?...amp;language=en

I also saw the clip of the army loading the bullets. I do not have a recoding device, so I cannot reply. Anyone have access to a reply of the clip? It could be posted here so all of us as see clearly what kind of bullet head, before we argue further.

However it is obvious (to me at least), that 95% of the shooting capturetured aim up. 5% aim horizontally & FIRE. So I would discount that army claim that they ONLY shoot up.

Last night my wife telephoned her brother - university degree in Bangkok - who married an Issan girl some 25 years ago, who also has a degree. They are both school teachers and live in Maha Sarrakham. Like the other 99% in the area, they support Thaksin. He said that when Thaksin was in office the economy was good and now is bad. Fact is, economics (even in Thailand) is global. During the high tech boom - which has now tanked - it didn't matter who was President of the U.S. or PM of Thailand. My brother-in-law is proof of one's environment have a large effect on one's thinking. He has lived amongst the uneducated peasants so long in Issan that he now thinks like them. Thaksin, who is worshipped in Issan, is interested only in destroying the Thai economy so that he can regain power. Sadly, the mobs of red shirts (uneducated peasants) that his people pay, will be the losers as the economy tanks even further.

Force must be used against the mob in order to restore order. It doesn't matter what the rest of the world thinks. Those who break the law must pay the price.

I translate your theory as:

It doesn't matter who is the head of state. It could be a monkey. If the golbal economy is good, so will Thailand.

Thaksin is sitting right in Singapore and that government laughs at the Thai government that wants him.

I saw CNN interview him and he seems quite calm.

Of course the government in Thailand blocked it and instead showed a replay of the sports report on CNN.

Funny how much you hate him but really you hate the people who voted for him and then the next and the next.

When the reds win the next election, and they will, will you throw out the next PM as well?

How many coups has Thailand had in 100 years? Is it 17 or closer to 20?

Just say it.

You who run the Yellow want NO democracy in Thailand.

Be honest and at least i could then respect you but now you act like dishonest little children hiding your real power behind nonsense.

Just say it.

You hate democracy in Thailand.

Are you claiming that the Thai government cut and paste CNN boardcaste? This is not possible. I do not believe you. CNN comes from satelite dirrectly from Atlanta, and beam straight to the receiver in Thailand. How can Thai government intercept the signal, and boardcaste something else? Please support your claim with proof. I have seens Thaksin face before in CNN recently.

No can not block CNN because they are AMERICAN (the police of the world). They may try to block signal from some of the other weaker countries (BBC, AZJ, CCTV, CNA, etc).

With firm control over the local news media, the amount of propaganda coming from the Government is quite 'appalling'. I'm not one to accuse the Government of lying, but the truth definitely isn't getting out beyond the borders of the Government House. What you are witnessing is just a glimpse of a bigger and gruesome picture. Quite the opposite from what PM Abhisit or Mr. Suthep wants you to see or believe. It's pathetic. I never thought I'd be saying this, but I'm beginning to feel sympathy towards the protesters.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is, don't trust everything you read or hear; to put it bluntly, don't be a naive little sh*t. There are both sides to every story, be objective and keep an open mind. No one can cover up the truth -- not the Government, PAD, UDD, or even Thaksin.

That's an awful lot of innuendo. Do you have any facts you'd care to share? The government is not blocking your posts here.

If hard evidence is what you're after, I can't provide any, not unless you could understand Thai, in which case, I'll see what I can dig up... It seems quite a few (non-UDD) local websites featuring the crackdown have also been blocked. Shame on them! I could however, access blocked sites using VPN; that is, if the sites haven't been taken offline. In a crisis like this, there's an awful lot of rumors and propaganda abound... Most things I hear and read (regardless of source), I take it with a grain of salt. This is Thailand afterall.

Just listen to some of the things Mr. Suthep Tuaksubaan has been spitting out on national TV. This guy is unbelievable. I would like nothing more than to see this mofo retire and disappear into the jungle. If there's anyone who's giving Abhisit a bad reputation it's him, alongside Newin Chidchob. I sort of feel sorry for Abhisit as he's nothing more than a puppet in this whole ordeal.

P.S. It's 04:35 am, time to call it the night... Good night everyone.

Can you post the link? I am surfing from overseas.

There is one big problem in Thailand.

All news companies or agents require a license from the government to operate!

That's why they only print what the Government wants, otherwise there license is rebuked, I thought everybody know that???

Apart from PAD's ASTV. They upload through HK, and registered as a HK media. So they don't need a Thai license. ASTV can air anything they want, but they have to observe HK law.

I am by no means a PAD supporter nor do I support Thaksin. But I just felt I had to post this...

Let me first say I respect your opinions regardless of whose side you're on. From what I can tell, the general consensus here seems to be anti-red. This is fine, but I'd really like to know where you are getting your information from.

A lot of news organizations seem to be pointing their finger at the pro-Thaksin demonstrators. I'm not saying these people are innocent of any wrong-doing, but I think a lot of what we're hearing is over-exaggerated. Apart from Thaksin interviews on CNN and the BBC, I have not seen a single interview with protesters who have been directly involved in the clashes. Since the Government has been feeding the news media information all day, I think the protesters should be offered a chance to tell their side of the story. Anyone with half a brain will know this is the right and fair thing to do. As of 11pm, most UDD websites have been either blocked or shutdown. Seems to me like the powers that be are trying to hide something...

Has it occurred to any of you, the anti-red-shirt sentiment you're hearing is the result of a clever propaganda campaign orchestrated by the Government? Trust me, this wouldn't be the first time, propaganda has always been utilized whenever there's a political crisis (for as long as I can remember). To be honest, I think news organizations have got themselves so wrapped up in all this, they are unable to be objective much less realize the truth even if it bit them on the ass.

With firm control over the local news media, the amount of propaganda coming from the Government is quite 'appalling'. I'm not one to accuse the Government of lying, but the truth definitely isn't getting out beyond the borders of the Government House. What you are witnessing is just a glimpse of a bigger and gruesome picture. Quite the opposite from what PM Abhisit or Mr. Suthep wants you to see or believe. It's pathetic. I never thought I'd be saying this, but I'm beginning to feel sympathy towards the protesters.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is, don't trust everything you read or hear; to put it bluntly, don't be a naive little sh*t. There are both sides to every story, be objective and keep an open mind. No one can cover up the truth -- not the Government, PAD, UDD, or even Thaksin.

Sorry the Red don't speak good English. Unlike the yellow. Perhaps there are some interview, but the quality of their their bg English is so bad, the foreign news just refuse to air them.

Just look at the Englsih of their leadsers. Mark (even have an English name) vs Thaksin.

I just watched Thaksin's interview with CNN anchor Jim Clancy. Thaksin did not speak English well. I remember he has a PhD from a US university.

It is not fair to single out Thaksin. Half of the Thai people that I knew that have a degree from US, UK, NZ, OZ, etc, hardly speak any English, definately far worst than Thaksin.

You have to also share the blame all these US, UK, etc, greedy institutes selling degree to Thai (and other nationals) for money.

Some protesters join the Red, but DO NOT support Thaksin. Some just don't like the way the army stage a coup to kick elected governmant out, rewrite election rules, and place their people in high places, distribute tax money to themselves (double defense budget allocation), etc. Giles is a good example.

You're absolutely right. There is a will to change a century old system, very deep will, Thaksin is just the way. I'm sure that for every red that supports Thaksin there is a least one or two who is here because they oppose the PAD, the democrats and what they represent.

There is something much bigger going on but as the saying goes, don't be fooled by the tree hiding the forest.

Nice effort to sound like you know what you're talking about. In fact what the reds stand for is more of the same failed electoral system. It fails all parties since whoever gets in power by election is soon ejected by one faction or another who feel disenfranchised. Right now red support is at an all-time low and it appears that even if an election were held now, they would lose. But even if they win it will only be a short time before another mass protest begins, whether yellow or whatever color. Then when they get in power, the reds or whoever will come out, and so on without end. Thailand's electoral system is in bad need of reform. The PAD offered a way out of this vicious cycle in their New Politics but unfortunately their bad behaviour - now clearly outdone by the Reds - means no one listened. So we're back to square one, buying votes, buying parties, not proportional or social representation. This cycle is not new, it has been revolving since the 1940s. The red and Thaksin have no solution to offer at all.

The demonstrators that took to the streets last year, and when the army took control in 2006, called themselves the People's Alliance for Democracy but their goal was not to secure more democracy, but less. The group believed the rural poor – who tend to support Mr Thaksin – were too uneducated to be involved in politics and that some MPs should be appointed. They were backed by business interests and ex-army officers.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/as...pm-1668008.html

Saw on NBT that soldiers shoot up the sky and walked ahead. The reds went away. Saw about 10 military trucks coming in near Pratunam.

Conclusion: the yellows can stay in Government House 3 months and stayed in 2 airports 8 days when State of Emergency was announced. The reds cannot protest on the street.

Well said Koo. You are my hero.

henry its so funny that you were a huge PAD supporter and now talking about how protesters should be brought to justice. 555555

Above all I'm a Legalistic.

I still believe that occupying the airport was not an illegal act, but I accept any verdict made by a court, even I have an different opinion about it.

So let the juridical system do there job, and as long they are not convicted they are still presumed innocent.

BTW I was only writing that legal actions where taking against them, I never wrote they should brought to justice.

The judges are not GOD.

It has been proven again and again that some judges are corrupt, and many take side with the winner of the day.

So BLINDLY follow what the judges say, with the right to appeal or question the judges decision is not a good thing.

Well well.

You are sure quick to fire when you don't see the enemy, right?

Now i, for once, was present when the DEM guys came offering 200 Baht for every vote. No hear-say, i was right there, live, seen it with my very own eyes, and my girlfriend's uncle accepted the dosh. Fact.

Regarding PAD vs. Red, sure both are rent-a-mob but at least UDD wasn't violent from day one (They did not even enter Government Housr or capture airports). Also there it wasn't the crowd that turned violent in the later stages but their "poor citizens". Well, after a few shots had been fired against them by the army, what would you expect? Now who exactly launched grenades at the Red's? Army. Correct. Then that's the reason why they are violent.

Red mobs didn't kill anyone, while they had several killed by the PAD. Fact. The one idiot who ran over cops with a pickup was a PAD member, and everyone knew it. Even if he did not wear a yellow shirt!

By the way i am not saying (nor have i ever said) that Mark came to power was dodgy. However pretty much everything that came after it WAS. Dem's program initially was well thought out, but as soon as Mark had the power he did everything to make sure nobody else would ever get a slice of the cake again. Key power positions were given to PAD (Kasit for example), and Newin allies, etc; to further strengthen his power grip and to fill his bank accounts and once all that was in place, the rampant vote-buying started (2,000 Baht to buy 10 million vote each).

Isn't it funny that everything the red did is wrong, and what the yellow did is right.

THAT is why i want this to end quickly, before whole Bangkok goes up in flames (- what's next, take the airports??) The red wouldn't have done this, the reds do.

Wake up, see the truth.

My guess is that you should be quite safe. The plane will not fly to BNK of it isnt safe to do so.

Are you implying that it was NOT safe when the Yellow PAD took over the airports? No plane fly in or out of Bangkok for 8 days.

I would suggest not to come. Please listen to your country advise.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/as...pm-1668008.html

What I am surprised is people sympathy towards Red. I hear a old women shouting(more like crying) every time we heard the firings. Everyone I talk to seems disapprove of the firing.

There are just as many Red sympathy as Yello sympathy. I declare it a draw.

Let the 2 groups (Red & Yellow) fight on the street. All others (police, army, etc) should just ignore both sides. The last one standing wins.

while they are at it the fugitive should be charged for crimes against humanity for all the senseless deaths during the drug war. See how he fares in The Hague.

Don't confuse Thailand with Mexico.

If Thai security troops can't do the job, then hire foreign troops that can.

It will take 3 months to process work visa, if the Thai government is opperating at all.

Call in Hun Sen for help? Perhaps Myanmar junta?

77 injured after protest dispersed By: bangkokpost.com

Published: 13/04/2009 at 09:16 AM

Soldiers used tear gas to disperse protestors at Dindaeng intersection in Bangkok early Monday morning, resulting in 77 injuries. At least four people were seriously injured.

Army spokesman Col Sansern Kaewkamnerd said the soldiers were forced to break down the protest when negotiations failed after protesters wounded military personnel by ramming them with a bus and kept up pressure on authorities even after warning shots were fired.

Red-shirt leader Jatuporn Phromphan called on supporters at Government House to be on alert after the dispersal of protesters at Dindaeng, telling them authorities would need to wade through many red-shirted fronts before they reach the main protest venue.

Source - http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/14...otest-dispersed

The last time it was the police that shoot the tear gas at the innocent people (as reported by ASTV, TOC, Manager.com)

Now it is the army doing the same. I am sure that police does not want to get involved anymore.

Some posters seems suspiciously absent... The ones who first said there were only a handful of reds.. The ones who then said they'd just go home to their Lao Khao for Songkran.. The silence is deafening.

When Hardtalk suggested (a couple of weeks ago) that 20,000 Red are trying to disrupt government work, Mark responded: 20,000? perhaps a couple of thousand. He was even sure that everything is under control.

Wow, war in the middle of Bangkok, soldier's are firing their guns at the protesters.

Funny how few the pictures are being released considering during the yellow dispersion on the last government, million of pictures were shown.

In the end, people resort to guns and not negotiations, I guess I Aphisit is no different, he just controls the Press better.

Most yellow protesters have high tech mobile phone that records high quality photos & videos. Also digital camera and other recording devices.

The Red in comparision as the poorer people that have limited recording devices in their phones. Also they are not used to taking photos, as they do not own a notebook to download the photos. Not to mention, how many of them know how to edit and transmit such thing, email, or put up a blog.

AP, 5 minutes ago...

Gunshots were reported but it was not clear who fired or if anyone was hurt.

Stupid question. Who do you think have guns?

1. Army? (Obvious)

2. Police? (Obvious too)

2. PAD? (see below)

Old clip here as proof:

Can anyone please submit a proof in TV that the Red have guns. Please.