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[hammered]

Thaksin 'to return to Thailand in February'

OUSTED prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra will return to Thailand for the first time since last year's coup on February 14, after a new government is installed, according to one of his political allies.

"Thaksin told me that he is not yet ready to return, and that he would rather wait for the installment of the new prime minister and cabinet. He will return on February 14," Deputy Leader of the People Power Party Chalerm Yoobamrung told a cheering rally.

Chalerm said that Thaksin was currently in Macau. The PPP had earlier said the Thaksin would monitor the elections from Hong Kong.

- AFP

Sometimes I think why doesnt he just come back right now. At some point he has to and we may as well get it over sooner rather than later.

[blaze]

Hasn't Mr. "T" made enough enemies here with power and influence that knows how to "fix" the Taksin problem permanently and forever.

...

Political assinations are on par with military coups and interference in the judiciary as the greatest threat to democracy in any country.

Anyone who suggests any of the above means mentioned above are a solution to political disputes does not have a fundamental belief in democracy.

...

But if the majority of the educated nation feels that Khun Shinawatr should be disposed of is that not a belief of egalitarianism?

You may call me prejudiced because It is my belief that only educated persons should have political rights.

An educated person would understand that the thai 'educated' class is, by and large, one with the Thai wealthy class- and that the opposition that many of them have to Thaksin is not based on some lofty ideological abstractions- it is based on the threat that they perceive to their own priviledge should the poor majority in this country ever become a viable political force: ANY polititian who seeks to mobilize this relatively inert mass - is going to face the hostility of the 'educated' (read 'rich') minority.

THat is the threat Thaksin posed. And continues to pose. Whether or not the perceived threat is a real threat is beside the point.

There ARE educated people who come from money and see the writing and injustice on the wall- you will not hear them given a lot of press time in the (moneyed) media. It doesn't mean they don't exist though.

It is always fascinating that those who make similar pleas for rule by the educated elite- consistently demonstrate their own lack of education regarding the nature of elites in developing countries.

Please, Sir, "cut the crap" and get straight to the point. Are you articulating that only the wealthy are educated in my country? Or that I "demonstrate" a lack of education?

In my opinion, the majority of votes that are counted are from bribed farmers in the deep north.

I don't know what your country is- but if I doubt your country veers too far from the norm that parental income is the largest single social determinant of educational attainment. In other words- and this even includes Thailand- children with higher level of home income will by and large tend to have a higher level of education than those coming from the poorer strata. Certainly there are MANY exceptions- (though, in Thailand, not NEARLY as many as in the more developed countries) but basically I think a short saunter through the parking lot at Chula would bear this out. Not too many one speed bikes.

So when you say MOST educated people (I assume you mean 'well educated- not basic 'readin' and 'ritin) hate Thaksin- I respond: MOST educated people (again, well educated) are... from the class that fears a politically active and aware peasant class.

Edited December 22, 2007 by blaze

[ukjackthai]

I was born and raised in England although I do hold half Thai heritage on my mother's side.

Yes, Sir, it's true when you say "children with higher level of home income will by and large tend to have a higher level of education" for Thailand's case at least. This is why we need a decent government to enforce taxes for some sort of mandatory education scheme. But with the way it's going now, we won’t see a "decent government" for many generations to come (as other posters have pointed out)

I can say right now that most uneducated Thais [including my girlfriend] do not have a clue about politics.

How will the "peasant class" benefit from ANY of the nominated parties except from the one off bribes of Viagra and what-not?

[ukjackthai]

...MOST educated people (again, well educated) are... from the class that fears a politically active and aware peasant class.

Do you really think that these poor farmers give a flying <deleted> about politics and the economy?

IMO AGAIN, they just vote for the person that gives them the biggest bribe.

[blaze]

...MOST educated people (again, well educated) are... from the class that fears a politically active and aware peasant class.

Do you really think that these poor farmers give a flying <deleted> about politics and the economy?

IMO AGAIN, they just vote for the person that gives them the biggest bribe.

And that's exactly the kind of thinking displayed for decades by the ruling classes in Latin America- imagine their shock when those same dumb farmers in Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia- elected populist governments that shattered that little myth - as well as to varying degrees the economic comfort zone of the smug middle and upper classes- all to hel_l.

These farmers are more than ever in their history, aware that politics can affect their material well being. Beyond a simple bank note in the pocket. And they are a ready-made consitutency for any party that would seek to redress the financial imbalance which sees many of them just scraping by. I doubt that there is such a party around right now- but it's just a matter of time till someone learns the lessons of the Thaksin 'phenomena' (the poor DO respond to policy- providing the policy is in their self interest- just like every other sector in the society).

Get rid of Thaksin- get rid of Samak- get rid of the whole bunch of them- but the risk to the complacent - including the 'educated' complacent- is not going anywhere. And within the conservative priviledged in Thailand there is a large number of people- educated people- who hear that clock ticking- they are the ones who will be the first to garland another procession of tanks.

Edited December 22, 2007 by blaze

[sriracha john]

Thai Ex-PM Said to End Exile Soon

BANGKOK, Thailand — Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, ousted in a military coup, will return from exile early next year, political allies said.

Chalerm Yoobamrung, a parliamentary candidate of the People's Power Party, said at a campaign rally Friday night ahead of Sunday's general election that Thaksin would come home from his self-imposed exile in London on Valentine's Day, Feb. 14. Chalerm said Thaksin, who was abroad at the time of the Sept. 19, 2006, coup, had informed him of the date in a telephone call.

But party leader Samak Sundaravej, a top candidate for the next prime minister, later told AP Television News his colleague may have been joking about the exact date, adding Thaksin would return about a month after the elections.

The party is led by Thaksin's loyalists, who regrouped after his Thai Rak Thai Party was disbanded by a court order earlier this year. Thaksin, who has been living in Britain since the coup and is visiting Hong Kong, could not be immediately reached for comment.

According to his spokesman in London, the former leader has said he is likely to return in February but has not fixed a date. Tim Bell, chairman of the public relations firm Bell Pottinger, added that Thaksin would not say anything publicly until after the election.

Campaigning finished Friday for Thailand's first general election since last year's coup. Barring last-minute disqualifications, about 5,000 candidates from 39 political parties will be contending for 480 seats in parliament's lower house.

Chalerm said Thaksin had told him he would not return immediately after the election, but only after a new government was formed.

- Associated Press

[ando]

...MOST educated people (again, well educated) are... from the class that fears a politically active and aware peasant class.

Do you really think that these poor farmers give a flying <deleted> about politics and the economy?

IMO AGAIN, they just vote for the person that gives them the biggest bribe.

Though the question was not directed at me, please allow me to jump in here. I do believe that many if not most Thai peasants in the outer NE provinces are acutely aware of which political party is offering the best deal for them and their children's future. And its not just cash for votes although I am sure that still happens in some places. If you call things like better health care, education, development loans and improved infrastructure, "BRIBES", then the same could be said of any election in any modern democracy including UK.

The concept that only the wealthy, educated elite have the knowledge and intelligence to rule a country flies in the face of the basic ideology of democracy and only leads to corruption and oppression of the poor masses by the elite ruling class. That kind of thinking was dumped in modern democracies centuries ago.

Thailand is a transitional period from a traditional feudal system into a true democracy. Thaksin came from the ruling class Chinese/Thai elite and is probably no more or less corrupt than his political peers IMHO. But the one thing that sets Thaksin apart is that he realized the road to power in a democratic system was to offer political incentives to the poor masses in order to get elected, rather than to ignore them and try to isolate them from the political process. Now, I am not sure if Thaksins motives for embracing democracy and appealing to the needs of the poor was due to a social conscience and empathy for the plight of the poor, or simply a means of attaining power so he could feather his own nest. Perhaps a little bit of both. But whatever his motives, he caught the opposition napping and took advantage of the democratic process of government elected by a voting majority while his opponents concentrated on courting the established centers of power and influence, -- being the wealthy middle class and ruling class elite. The problem for the ruling upper class elite and wealthy middle class is that they are a minority of voters and under a democratic system, the poor, uneducated peasant class who have been kept down and deprived of the opportunity to improve their lot for so long under the old system, are in fact a majority of voters capable of government empathetic to their needs under a democratic system.

The recent coup is nothing more than an attempt by the corrupt elite ruling class to turn back the tide of democracy. All the new laws, the new constitution and all the court cases against the TRT are really just a means of holding on to power for the elite if one stands back and looks at the bigger picture rather than simply examining each individual case under the microscope with one eye closed.

I honestly believe Thailand is at a critical point in history where it either has to go all the way to a true democracy or else revert to a primitive feudal system held in place by a military dictatorship similar to Burma. Time will tell I guess.

[ukjackthai]

...MOST educated people (again, well educated) are... from the class that fears a politically active and aware peasant class.

Do you really think that these poor farmers give a flying <deleted> about politics and the economy?

IMO AGAIN, they just vote for the person that gives them the biggest bribe.

And that's exactly the kind of thinking displayed for decades by the ruling classes in Latin America- imagine their shock when those same dumb farmers in Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia- elected populist governments that shattered that little myth - as well as to varying degrees the economic comfort zone of the smug middle and upper classes- all to hel_l.

And just look at the state of their directions/economies/politics right now. I'm in no mood to argue with you right now, I've had one too many Leo's and I've much more imperative personal issue's that must be dealt with.

Happy holiday's good sir!