anteater

Have the IMF and the world bank changed their opinions recently? Have they declared that paying out, is OK now?

What has changed in the "purely financial" arguments of the banks? It is safe now, why will the banks not loose their solvability now ?

As for the anti election commission, don't bother to explain their turnaround.

I am not talking about "recently" or even "now". I am talking about before. Check the dates. I even added links!

Farmers have been paid.

Do you have an issue with that?

Lovely lovely coup.

Everyone knows that farmers would have been paid before if the Yingluck government hadn't been conned into surrendering power and holding elections in February. They won't fall for that con job in future.

Lovely lovely coup.

Lovely lovely coup.

Oh, so right now, after the government has been blocked from doing anything for months -- the army has paid the farmers and will get the credit.

Oh grovel grovel, love the army that has come to the farmers' assistance.

So much bullshit here in Thailand - some of it could be put to good use in fertilisising the fields.

Lovely lovely coup.

*Lovely lovely coup.

I'd think that this 25-30% drop in traffic will increase once the true dangers become known among foreign visitors. How many tourists want to come to Thailand and get wounded by shrapnel just to say "I support the Thai ammart"?

This whole thing is going to be a mega disaster for Thailand.

And all because the ammart such as Abhisit couldn't "debase" themselves by simply holding discussions with Peua Thai. From what one hears, they are going to pay the price - and big time.

All the previous is allegedly.

*Lovely lovely coup.

*Lovely lovely coup.

So they've now given the farmers what they've been blocking for months. Gee, the farmers are so grateful!

Lovely lovely suspension of democracy.

Probably the Generals can pay for these farmers to go to the nearby brothels too - or would that be "unethical". As we know, "unethical" stuff is very "bad" - according to the fountainhead of ethics, Mr Suthep - unless it concerns land ownership or mangoes (or, well anything else, really).

*Lovely lovely coup.

As can be clearly seen, there is no favouritism, and no vendettas here, all perpetrators will be hunted down, caught and punished for their wrong doings. True justice will prevail, and be a model for many countries.

*Lovely lovely coup.

Yes indeed. We are now living in the ideal society. I confidently expect that the USA, France, the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Canada, India, Australia, NZ, Brazil etc etc will follow this example, suspending democracy and telling citizens that they must follow the orders of an unelected junta. I am absolutely sure that these citizens will flock to join this movement. Here's my suggested slogan, but maybe my ThaiVisa colleagues can suggest a better one:

"Coup is You!"

*Lovely lovely coup.

Lovely lovely coup.

It is obvious that Suthep should be exonerated from any and every charge that has been made against him.

I might mention that a while ago someone even denied that Suthep can walk on water. What!!! Next thing you know, one of these commies is going to come along and say that this isn't a lovely lovely coup.

Bless the coup-makers for they will be rewarded in the afterlife.

Lovely lovely coup.

Firstly - RIP to the Ranger and condolences to the family. Very sad.

I said it before and I will say it again. The perfect coup.

The General was very very right in arresting the PTP and UDD leadership. Look at what they have been covering up.

They are essentially condoning and allowing terrorism to flourish. This is not by the lack of arrests made or the amount of weapons seized in 7 month by the PTP, but by the amount the General's men have made and weapons seized in 5 days.

With these swift and just arrests and seizures one can be assured that when the General makes his statement as to why he staged this coup you can be assured the names of PTP and UDD elements will be revealed and just like the General will not reveal names now to ensure it does not sour the current investigation he will not state the "nuts and bolts" for the reasons for the coup until the public are safe when all current investigations are completed.

Chalerm and the PTP could learn a thing or two from this Genera Prayuth.

First - How to keep promises as the rice payment. The General made one promise to pay in 3 weeks and the first payments happened 3 days after his promise.

Secondly - Do not speak about ongoing investigations Chalerm. Do not jump over yourself to release names to the public.

I bet the General will not say he will wear glasses and a fake mustache to arrest the others involved in the Trat attacks.

Bravo General. Bravo old mate.

As we are not allowed to post any anti-coup comments or replies (understandably) couldn't you refrain from posting provocative comments?

Lovely lovely coup.

You CAN post provocative comments, but you just have to begin and end each post with:

Lovely lovely coup.

Thank you for your time taken in looking at this post.

Lovely lovely coup.

By the way, I just love djamie's posts.

Lovely lovely coup.

I propose a documentary entitled "Lovely Lovely Coup". This will show how the lovely coup this month is already improving life for everyone, even the dogs and cats.

The people outside Bangkok are indeed dirty, and some of them don't even have white skins: an unforgiveable sin. This is a main reason why a coup was essential. Obviously one necessary reform will be to create separate toilets for us and them. Yes, I know this will cost money, but imagine the benefits when you don't have to share toilets with "darkies", or "buffaloes" as we call them here in the Emporium. "Whites Only" is the clearest way to signal this. It worked well in South Africa, and we military types believe it will work well here in LOS.

I'm sure that many people would love the sign that Clarkson displayed on a Maserati Ghibli‎ during a recent programme, saying "I love the Thai coup". Many of my friends really loved this sign - until they realised it was a reflection.

From Michael Yon's Facebook followers ...who speaks for a good 99% of the Thai people it seems ...

Wannapong Amornrat A letter from Thai people to the international communities.

Hello friends . We, thai people, would like you to understand what's going on after the Thai military took control of the country. We, the majority of Thai citizens, millions and millions Thais are happy to see it happened. However, there are some small groups of people,with the support from those corrupt Thais living abroad, are trying to discredit the well intention of the military. The number of those who go out to protest the coup are small and they are paid for by Thaksin ,a criminal living in exile. The majority of the Thais welcome the coup.

1. The coup d'état is necessary for the upcoming true democracy in Thailand . Ninety -nine per cent of the population welcomes it along with the martial law. The coup came out to resolve the crisis, will initiate a reform and then hold an election. This will bring a true democracy to our country.

2. The coup did not come out to rid the democracy or to gain military power. They had to do it to help the country from chaos and civil war, designed by Thaksin

3. The protesters are supported and paid for by the Thaksin regime. Thaksin and his cronies are the corrupt officials who use the political power to steal the country it's wealth.

4. What is happening in Thailand is our internal affair. We can resolve our crisis ourselves.

We do not wish to see any interference from outside in any case.

With respect,

The people of Thailand

Believe the Yon. The Yon is wise, the Yon is good. The Yon reveals the truth: "The coup d'état is necessary for the upcoming true democracy in Thailand".

Dwell on the Yon's words, all 12 of them - or 13, depending if you think the truncated "de" is a separate word, or not. I would argue that it is not, because dozen is good, while 13 is unlucky.

So believe the Yon's dozen wise words, and above all believe in the "true coup". The true coup will set you free, out of the clutches of the evil troll Thaksin who dwells in the outer darkness.

Oh yes, we all love fairy stories, especially those from the Yon.

The coup is cool! Dontcha just love it?

Anyone who opposes the coup should be shot! I just loaded my gun for the purpose and nearly shot myself... until I realised that I'd changed my mind and love the coup.

Wow that was a close call.

So remember guys, before you decide to oppose this coup, slap yourself around a bit, waterboard yourself - and then you'll change your minds.

Now, don't go believing that "The Matrix" stuff !

I just wish to say that I love everything about this coup. I love the coup leaders, I love their supporters such as Scamper and djamie on this forum. The coup is a wonderful thing. I now realise that democracy in the west was a foolish illusion. We all need to promote coups and army takeovers. Whenever I visit the western world, now that I have come to this realisation, I will be promoting coups.

Sorry moderators if I'm not sufficiently enthusiastic. Here's a bit more to indicate my undying love for coups:

Lovely lovely coups. Promote them, advocate them. Coups are the way forward. Democracy is finished: democracy is the "old way". Coups are the future. I'm so glad I have had a chance to be present at this coup. I used to believe in democracy (silly me). Now I am a "coup person".

May I change my avatar to "Coup Anteater"?

What would a Govt in exile be able to accomplish? Other than keeping the hate fires burning brightly.

I think the objective is that - in the case of international intervention - the government in exile would be allowed to return to power if the junta were overthrown. Memory may fail me but I think that's happened in other countries with "governments in exile". (No, I can't provide an example but I think it's occurred, historically speaking.)

think you'll find France in WW2 - Gen De Gaulle when he was in England as head of the Free French. And incidentally one of the best friends Britain ever had - every time they applied to join the EEC (Now the EU) he vetoed the application.

The Free French government in exile was the result of foreign aggression and utter military defeat, not a domestic coup. 'Believe there were other govts in exile as well during the war. All the result of their countries having been overrun, and all restored through allied military efforts. 'Don't really see the analogy with Thailand's situation.

There's a very close comparison. France was invaded by the the German military; Thailand has been taken over by a military coup. In both cases the legitimate governments were overturned and banned, the military exerting near-total control. To the average citizen it probably matters little whether the dictatorship is domestic or foreign. The result is the same: censorship, rounding up of opponents, suspension of democracy. That's why some people in such a country might want a government in exile and freedom. By the way, your misunderstanding is analagous to the common misperception that Thailand was never colonised. It was colonised, except it was done by the central Thais and the ammart, not by western colonial powers. (Historians have written quite a lot about this in recent years).

The other comparison with France in WW2 is that both in France then and in Thailand these days there were the collaborators, the fellow travellers. We have quite a lot of those here on Thai Visa.

This coup has few similarities to "last time."

What happened to the Senate after the 2006 coup?

After the 2006 coup the Senate got changed from fully elected to half appointed. But even having it half packed with their pals, the Generals couldn't control Thailand. That's why they and Suthep are having another go in 2014. In the next constitution I'd guess there'll be a fully appointed Senate with veto powers over the lower house. And the lower house will be only partly elected, and those citizens who get to vote will have to prove they have a certain income and educational level. That's what they did in Rhodesia and in 19th century Britain, and for a while it was quite effective in keeping the working class under control.

A few comments, snippets of news:

Channel News Asia is reporting that Robert Amsterdam and co are planning to set up a Thai government in exile, representing the deposed legally elected government, while Thailand is currently controlled by the illegal military junta.

Meanwhile there is talk of an international boycott.

The international press are almost universally hostile to the illegal coup, and academics such as Professor Thongchai Winichakul (Wisconsin) are explaining on media such as Channel News Asia the aim of the junta/PDRC in organising this coup: basically, he says, they want to stamp out democracy.

The demonstrators in Bangkok were standing up to the soldiers today and this will probably continue tomorrow.

Already some 150 government people have been detained, followed by attempts to detain about another 30 government sympathisers.

can you imagine an American General 'Suspending the Constitution'? maybe in a US TV series but this is 'supposed to be' REAL LIFE

I thought Binjalin was trolling and being facetious but, maybe not so I am going to answer the questions quickly off the top of my head.

#1. Compare US to Thailand-- yes.

#2. Eric Holder.

#3. Nepotism? Rampant in US.

#4. I don't understand the question. But, perjury is common.

#5. Bill Clinton convicted perjury and pardoned. Ford pardoning Nixon.

I might add a few other practices of a mature western democracy; tapping phones,using taxing arm of gov't to suppress opposition parties, selling weapons to drug dealers, and way more stuff.

And various billionaires in th US are always trying to interfere with the US Constitution. (trying to change the 2d amendment)

Just sayin', oc

You are being silly if you think there is any comparison between Thailand and the US. I'd advise you to look at some statistics. The US is way ahead in almost every respect: standard of living, honesty, lack of corruption, etc.

Just try living in Thailand for a while and you will realise what lying and self-deception really mean. No western country comes anywhere close.

Binjalin asked a sensible question: can you imagine a US General suspending the constitution? And of course you can't. Western countries have proper democracies. Thailand hasn't. Thailand's 'democracy' is a joke. This country is like a kindergarden. No-one abides by rules or democratic decisions. The legal processes are all bound up with 'who you know'.

The country is doomed, most especially because some misguided people think that the 'answer' lies in Suthep or the military. Actually the answer lies in democracy, but that has never really been tried in Thailand.

Is it save to travel to Thailand I have ticket for 28 May what shall I do?

Cancel.

Or get an onward connection to Philippines, Indonesia, Bali, even Vietnam.

This country has changed. Intolerant, angry, uncomfortable with democracy, deeply unequal. The coupmongers think that they can put a lid on the anger here. I doubt it.

We will be in BKK next week and hope I have no problem getting around.

No problem getting around, but do duck down below window level in the taxi.

To be frank, I wouldn't come to Bangkok these days. There is anger building up in Thailand. Just stay away, if I were you.

What the red-shirts are unable to comprehend is that farang don't care too much who is in government as long as they do not rape the country for it's wealth. Some of us pay taxes here as well you know - probably more than you.

Make the consequences of corruption so great that it's not worth it - like lifetime politics bans, hefty jail sentences for the guilty, punishments for those bringing repeated politically motivated legal action, an anti-corruption organisation which is well funded and carries clout and a police force which is independent of political control or affiliation to enforce the rules.

The only people who can object to this are those who want to get a bit of free honey for themselves. Well unlucky for you the General has taken the pot away. Hopefully for good.

If, as you imply, Thaksin "rape[d] the country for all its wealth" how is it that the country did so well economically during his period of government, 2001 to 2006?

I concede that the Yingluck government hasn't been so successful, but at least she was elected! (unlike some people) And earlier governments in Thai history were much more corrupt.

You say "hopefully for good" - so you want democracy to die forever in Thailand?

You complain about taxes - but they are about half what they are in the UK.

I don't see how this is going to help "heal" the divide, if anything it's going to widen it.

Have to wait for the next poll to come out.

75+% agreed with military marshal law. My guess there will be similar numbers for this coup.

Seems people are sick and tired of Shin democracy and want the real thing, if thats possible.

So there is a poll of 75+% for martial law eh? And 75% tired of Shin democracy?

In that case, if we had an election today the "Democrats" would romp home.

Come on, let's do it. Your people are bound to win, so let's put it to the people. Yes?

(You seem a bit doubtful... Hmm? I wonder why?...)