Is Thailand Going Down In Flames?

[ColPyat]

Why is it always that people who have a rather negative outlook on Thailand's future are accused of "whinging" or "whining"?

For me, a whinger in Thai context has always been the type of barstool farang who constantly has to complain about and exaggerate the little sticks that life throws into their personal lives here without thinking about the larger context, such as that this is a developing nation, and live throws much larger obstacles into the way of the average Thai.

When one does mention the very serious problems Thailand is facing right now, one does not whinge. I don't see mentioning an insurgency that might soon turn into a local civil war as throwing around negativity, neither the very critical political situation, or the very serious social problems such as Thailand being one of the countries with the largest gap between rich and poor in the world.

Not seeing these problems, or accepting that those problems are debilitating for Thailand's future, is putting on rose colored glasses, and judging Thailand from the very narrow perspective of ones own personal enjoyment of what Thailand has to offer to the rich or the holiday makers.

Edited April 7, 2007 by ColPyat

[ThaiGoon]

Just read an interview with an army major general who's in charge of the troubled areas in the South that he expects the situation to get a whole lot better in about a year and half from now. He seems to know what's he's talking about as well. It's on Krungthep Turakij. Quite a long interview. Anyway here it is for anyone who can read Thai. (I'm too lazy to even try to translate some parts of it. )

http://www.bangkokbiznews.com/2007/04/07/W...hp?newsid=63135

I hope he's more likely to be right than ColPyat.

His name is Chamlong Khunsong, Army Major General.

Edited April 7, 2007 by ThaiGoon

[ColPyat]

I hope he's more likely to be right than ColPyat.

His name is Chamlong Khunsong, Army Major General.

I can't read Thai, i can only speak it (please no digs, i have a learning disability). But yes, i have spoken with many high ranked Army officers who expressed the same feelings of things getting better. I do hope that they are right, but i do have my doubts.

All mid and lower ranked officers of the armed forces i have spoken with, who often have been on the ground very long (one officer more than 20 years continuously stationed there), have said the opposite. One thing the upper ranks seem to miss, or ignore is that there might very well be a civil war in the making between Buddhists and Muslims.

You have to understand how the army works. The top ranks rarely spend enough time in the field to properly assess the situation, and rely on reports by their subordinates. Many of those reports are too positive, and are drawn up by officers who have not had the misfortune of not having good enough contacts to only have a short career furthering spell in the area, while the officers without connection are doomed to spend large portions of their career in the field where they are usually ignored.

The army is under intense pressure at the moment to show that the coup also made positive developments in the area possible, and reports have to show this.

There is a lot going on down there which the general public is not yet made aware off.

[ThaiGoon]

I guess we will see what happens...

[Mid]

Just read an interview with an army major general who's in charge of the troubled areas in the South that he expects the situation to get a whole lot better in about a year and half from now. He seems to know what's he's talking about as well. It's on Krungthep Turakij. Quite a long interview. Anyway here it is for anyone who can read Thai. (I'm too lazy to even try to translate some parts of it. )

http://www.bangkokbiznews.com/2007/04/07/W...hp?newsid=63135

I hope he's more likely to be right than ColPyat.

His name is Chamlong Khunsong, Army Major General.

at a conservative estimate of one death per day that's 500 people who won't be waiting to see what happens ........................................