Two University Students Shot As They March To Pm's Residence

[t.s]

University students joining political turmoils... not a great idea.

A very tragic incident but saying that students(the future of a country) should not be politically involved is incorrect.

Hopefully this is not the start of something worse.

looks like a job done by PAD. so that they can make the ram uni student angry. They have the largest number of student and history of striking against the government.

thanks sherlock, your baseless speculation has cleared it all up for me. PAD is killing their own, dont know why i did not see it earlier

[sriracha john]

It may come as a surprise to you, but I don't like the current government.

It would come as a surprise...

As the brave and tough PM stated;"I will stay on to protect democracy of this country. The whole world is watching us."

He's got that right and despite the smear campaign mounted against him, old Uncle Samak is about to show people what inner strength and discipline is all about. Every day he stays on, is another small victory for the concept of an elected government. Just goes to show that a 71 year old dismissed by a bunch of snot nosed rich kids, can put up a fight.

I think I'm beginning to respect the old fox.

[jdinasia]

It may come as a surprise to you, but I don't like the current government.

It would come as a surprise...

As the brave and tough PM stated;"I will stay on to protect democracy of this country. The whole world is watching us."

He's got that right and despite the smear campaign mounted against him, old Uncle Samak is about to show people what inner strength and discipline is all about. Every day he stays on, is another small victory for the concept of an elected government. Just goes to show that a 71 year old dismissed by a bunch of snot nosed rich kids, can put up a fight.

I think I'm beginning to respect the old fox.

I guess geriatrickid is thinking that the kids at RU are rich snot-nosed kids. They aren't.

As for elected governments go .... gee the EC has found Samak's party guilty so ... here's the news for you .. They didn't win an election.

[greg67]

University students joining political turmoils... not a great idea.

Da.. Students have been participating in all political demonstrations for centuries eveywhere they take place.

[Tony Clifton]

Students disperse from Lardprao police station

Ramkhamhaeng University students dispersed from the Lardprao police station to regroup and rally in front of their university early Friday.

Some 200 students stopped demonstrating in front of the police station at 1:15 am and canceled the plan to march to the house of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej.

They instead moved to rally in front of the Ramkhamhaeng University after many of their friends left the rally site in front of the police station and returned home.

The students demonstrated at the police station after two students were short and injured while the students were marching to the prime minister's house Thursday evening.

Some students went home after the Lardprao police chief promised to bring those behind the shooting to justice.

- The Nation

Police Chief-------------->

Students------------------>

Lying cockroach.

Edited September 5, 2008 by Tony Clifton

[madjbs]

geriatrickid is completely wrong about the student demographics in Thailand. In the government unis there are many students from poor rural families. It is simply not true that a poor Isaan women couldn't get into Thammasat or Chula for example, I know several myself and my girlfriend knows dozens. Entrants are picked based on there ABILITY not on their bank account. Also, If you are from a very very low income family, you will be given a student loan at all the government unis.

If geriatrickid was talking about private unis, like ABAC, he would be right. Due to the high fees, only the famillies with a bit of money would be able to send their kids there. These Unis are full of rich kids who failed to get into the top unis because they didnt have the ability, even though their bank accounts were big.

Edited September 5, 2008 by madjbs

[sriracha john]

University students joining political turmoils... not a great idea.

A very tragic incident but saying that students(the future of a country) should not be politically involved is incorrect.

Hopefully this is not the start of something worse.

looks like a job done by PAD. so that they can make the ram uni student angry. They have the largest number of student and history of striking against the government.

Shoot your allies in a war in order to get them angry against an already shared enemy.

A very interesting battlefield strategy. I wonder why Patton never thought of that.

University students joining political turmoils... not a great idea.

A very tragic incident but saying that students(the future of a country) should not be politically involved is incorrect.

Hopefully this is not the start of something worse.

looks like a job done by PAD. so that they can make the ram uni student angry. They have the largest number of student and history of striking against the government.

thanks sherlock, your baseless speculation has cleared it all up for me. PAD is killing their own, dont know why i did not see it earlier

You're usually more tenacious in your replying posts than I am, t.s

Don't ever change.

[Tony Clifton]

Being conditioned to live in a State of Emergency? Well remember it's a lot harder to gain freedoms than it is to lose them. So don't lose your freedoms.

--

Condemnation before investigation is the height of ignorance - Albert Einstein

All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. - Edmund Burke

http://www.ae911truth.org || Architects and Engineers for 911 truth

http://www.infowars.com || There's a war on for your mind

http://www.petitionproject.org/ || 30k+ PhD Scientists say Global Warming is a lie

http://www.jonesreport.com/ || Global Cooling? Unprecedented Ice Storms In Kenya

AIDS viruses in vaccines?!

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=factor+8+bayer

STOP TERRORISM

STOP TERRORISING

An Alex Jones groupie made it to the other side of the earth...

How'd you make it through the system man?

Posting URLs is against forum rules.

[jdinasia]

tuition at RU ... 25 baht/semester hour

Tuition at BU ... 1500-1800 baht/semester hour

as for people comparing the potential for a china or Kent state thing ... why look outside of what has happened in Thailand in the past? (with Samak there no less)

[Tony Clifton]

The upsetting part here is the fact that students are getting involved in a situation where neither side deserves their support. The only hope for this country (IMHO) is for a new generation of critically thinking educated Thai people to take the reins. If today's students are still taking sides in this antediluvian struggle then we're in for the long haul indeed.

Really? Have you had a good look at the education system here? They're it's main dissatisfied customers.

My niece went from grade school to public high school this year they're asking asking for the equivalent of 4000 USD.

[jdinasia]

Being conditioned to live in a State of Emergency? Well remember it's a lot harder to gain freedoms than it is to lose them. So don't lose your freedoms.

--

Condemnation before investigation is the height of ignorance - Albert Einstein

All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. - Edmund Burke

http://www.ae911truth.org || Architects and Engineers for 911 truth

http://www.infowars.com || There's a war on for your mind

http://www.petitionproject.org/ || 30k+ PhD Scientists say Global Warming is a lie

http://www.jonesreport.com/ || Global Cooling? Unprecedented Ice Storms In Kenya

AIDS viruses in vaccines?!

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=factor+8+bayer

STOP TERRORISM

STOP TERRORISING

Off topic and nutty? why yes ... yes it is

[Payboy]

I guess geriatrickid is thinking that the kids at RU are rich snot-nosed kids. They aren't.

wasn't thaksin's son caught cheating at ram....?

[madjbs]

RU is quite big you know........

[Publicus]

It may come as a surprise to you, but I don't like the current government.

It would come as a surprise...

As the brave and tough PM stated;"I will stay on to protect democracy of this country. The whole world is watching us."

He's got that right and despite the smear campaign mounted against him, old Uncle Samak is about to show people what inner strength and discipline is all about. Every day he stays on, is another small victory for the concept of an elected government. Just goes to show that a 71 year old dismissed by a bunch of snot nosed rich kids, can put up a fight.

I think I'm beginning to respect the old fox.

I guess geriatrickid is thinking that the kids at RU are rich snot-nosed kids. They aren't.

As for elected governments go .... gee the EC has found Samak's party guilty so ... here's the news for you .. They didn't win an election.

Exactly the whole point.

Further, with Thaksin conveniently allowed to flee the country, the whole of the present fracas is to get rid of his surrogate government and to accomplish that in such a way as to preclude PPP "winning" another election. Even if that were to mean not having another election.

I don't say I approve, but that's what I see playing out before our eyes the past few weeks.

Thais and only Thais can work this through, which means everything's going in all directions simultaneously and seemingly inefinitely. However, the central theme, movement and direction is as I'm stating it.

[Gravelrash]

Why do people talk only about PAD and PPP? does Thailand only have 2 choices, what about the guys who came second in Decembers election?

The current opposition.

Yes, funny how they are so quiet about an elected governmnet being pressured to resign by a minority protest group. Wouldn't be that they see this as a quick way into government? Or is it that they have already cut a deal to be a part of the PAD "new politics" of an appointed dictatorship.

Let's hope they are good choices as it will be permanent. Interesting too how the army wants to not enforce the security act, has a deal been done here too? While we are at it how big a donation would get the union leaders on side? Not that hard to whip up nationalist fervor and get the sheep out marching.

[kurtgruen]

University students joining political turmoils... not a great idea.

Students always join political protests - in every country.

What other group of people of voting age (so they care) have the free time to take part in demonstrations, and are naieve enough to think that protesting works.

Not necessarily good for the students (think Tiananmen Square).

Protesting does work, as can be seen right now, in Thailand, with a corrupt government that is pretty much brought to it's knees.

Shooting at student protesters...not cool. How evil (or deceived and misguided) one must be to do something terrible like that.

I have the deepest respect for students protesting along with PAD. Same goes for my Union Brothers, who are risking everything, to make Thailand a better place.

Lets hope and pray, that there will be no more violence.

[Roachiebkk]

Probably an attempt to provoke violence and thus a coup. I would almost think that the PAD has the most to win by shooting students

Wow,

Talk about the students being naive. Yes I can just see Sondhi conspiring with nutcases on motorbikes to go out and shoot a couple of students. Hey wasn't Samak the man involved in the slaughter of students not that long ago? when things like this get as big as it does it doesn't take long for individuals loaded up on whatever they fancy to go out and cause violence then wake up with a rotten hangover. Easy to see who 'wrecker' supports.

[wasabi]

Have protests ever really changed anything in the past 100 years? Just stay home and play GTA IV until this blows over.

Edited September 5, 2008 by wasabi

[geriatrickid]

Being a university student in Thailand doesn't grant the person instantaneous integrity or decency. If anything, it would cause the typical university student in Japan, Singapore and western countries to snicker at the Thai university student protestors.

University student demographics in Thailand are significantly different than in the west. Thai universities are homogeneous places where the vast majority of students share similar economic and ethnic backgrounds. This is the opposite of what one sees in Aus, Canada, the USA, Germany etc. In the aforementioned countries it is normal to have many students in the class that come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds or of different ethnic origins. In Thailand, they all come from the same cookie cutter.

Access to a university education in Thailand for the poor and economically disadvantaged ,is extremely difficult. Multiple barriers have been erected over the years to keep the type of person PAD likes to call too uneducated, from becoming educated. The bursary and grant programs one sees in the west are practically non existant in Thailand. The result is that the typical Thai university student body is made up of the children of the "haves" with few "have nots" in attendance.

Mrs. Michelle Barak, wife of Obama, is the daughter of a poor afro american family. She grew up in a bad part of town. Yet, she was able to go to Princeton and Harvard. Obviously she had some brains, but she also benefited from programs that encouraged visible minorities and the poor to attend university. Now, imagine if an Issan woman of similar intelligence wanted to attend one of the top universities in Thailand. That woman would never have a chance.

This is why I do not take the political views and rantings of Thai university students seriously. They are the priveliged few looking to preserve their place at the pigs trough. If they cared, they'd be out in large numbers helping the poor, bringing literacy and health programs to the disadvantahed like their counterparts the world over. In Thailand, university students as a group think only of themselves. Yes, there are Thai students that do reach out to others and that do care about the plight of the nation. However, those students are out with their sleeves rolled up helping the poor and disadvantaged, not engaging in social gathering quasi protests.

I doubt if there are many Privileged Students at Ramkhamhaeng Uni.

where the shot students reportedly come from.

It is NOT like the other Universities.

Daily Classes and Domitory/Hostels are not the norm at Ramkhamhaeng.

Students there have to find Work and try to attend classes

maybe one day per week. They earn their degree by accumulating credits.

Students from up country rent rooms - with many in one room.

My comment was in the general sense and I was not singling out RU. I don't know if you have been in any of the university graduate school classrooms or for example know any of the students in the science faculties. My experience is that they are not a diverse group and not reflective of the population as whole in the same way as a university in the UK, Aus, USA, Canada, the Netherlands etc. is. Therefore, I stand by my observation as an overall view. Unlike universities outside of Thailand, my impression of the University administrations here is that they do not gather and review data on student diversity, let alone discuss the subject.

In respect to these students, we do not know what they were studying or if they were taking one course, or multiple courses. The reason I mention this, is that in many Universities in the west, student politics are run by part timers or people that are only enrolled in one course. A recent example of this was Concordia University in Canada. I don't know what your experience was in university, but mine was that graduate student associations tended to avoid extremist political rants. Doesn't matter whether it was right or left, they just didn't bother. They were too concerned with issues that had an immediate impact upon education and job prospects.

Please do not misunderstand my comments as to sympathize with the assault upon these two students. It was unacceptable. However, no one knows what exactly these two males were up to. Were they shot because locals were fed up with the noise and disruption of protestors? Was it political? Or was it just another day of random stupid gunfire? As you may know, people around here are trigger happy and will shoot off guns for the stupidest of reasons.

Edited September 6, 2008 by geriatrickid

[geriatrickid]

It may come as a surprise to you, but I don't like the current government.

It would come as a surprise... Then be surprised. My belief in letting the government remain until an election is predicated on the belief that the alternative options of a return to a military junta or the selection of similar person, but bearing the label of another party are worse.

As the brave and tough PM stated;"I will stay on to protect democracy of this country. The whole world is watching us."

He's got that right and despite the smear campaign mounted against him, old Uncle Samak is about to show people what inner strength and discipline is all about. Every day he stays on, is another small victory for the concept of an elected government. Just goes to show that a 71 year old dismissed by a bunch of snot nosed rich kids, can put up a fight.

I think I'm beginning to respect the old fox.

I guess geriatrickid is thinking that the kids at RU are rich snot-nosed kids. They aren't.

That is quite a super power there, being able to deduce what I am thinking. I did not call RU students snot nosed. My comment was in rspect to the toughness and personal strength the Prime Minister was showing. Whatever one's views of the man are, the fact is that very few people would have the stamina to take the beating and abuse he has been taking. If you consider him an enemy, then you would be wise to respect his strengths if you plan to beat him. I do not believe it is untoward to respect a 73 year old (I erred when I wrote 71) that can keep up the work pace he has. He has been called names, threatened, suffered cheap shots and yet he can still stand tall. A boxer may not like his opponent but he can respect the other's abilities and prepare himself for a fight on that basis.

As for elected governments go .... gee the EC has found Samak's party guilty so ... here's the news for you .. They didn't win an election.

Ahh, and here comes the dilemma. You have not addressed the legitimacy of the EC. It was an appointed group. Who appointed the EC? If the process was one that was manipulated and the people put in by the opponents of the current government, with an intent to disrupt the transition, then what legitimacy does it have? Maybe they are clean, but can you state that for a fact. Do you know where they come from and what their individual relationships are with PAD, the military etc.?

Exactly the whole point.

Further, with Thaksin conveniently allowed to flee the country, the whole of the present fracas is to get rid of his surrogate government and to accomplish that in such a way as to preclude PPP "winning" another election. Even if that were to mean not having another election.

I don't say I approve, but that's what I see playing out before our eyes the past few weeks.

Thais and only Thais can work this through, which means everything's going in all directions simultaneously and seemingly inefinitely. However, the central theme, movement and direction is as I'm stating it. Agreed.

Edited September 6, 2008 by geriatrickid

[junkofdavid2]

Al Jazeera channel's ticker last night said "2 students protesting against Thai govt. were shot dead".

Is Al Jazeera misinformed or are they talking about some other case?

[chuck_s]

As the great PM Samuk would say. 'Whose side were they on, Communists. dam_n Communists."

[Richard W]

Ahh, and here comes the dilemma. You have not addressed the legitimacy of the EC. It was an appointed group. Who appointed the EC?

So far as as I am aware, the current members were appointed before the 2006 coup.

[geriatrickid]

Ahh, and here comes the dilemma. You have not addressed the legitimacy of the EC. It was an appointed group. Who appointed the EC?

So far as as I am aware, the current members were appointed before the 2006 coup.

Thank you. Who appointed these members and what were their political affiliations before appointment?

[sriracha john]

Ahh, and here comes the dilemma. You have not addressed the legitimacy of the EC. It was an appointed group. Who appointed the EC?

So far as as I am aware, the current members were appointed before the 2006 coup.

Thank you. Who appointed these members and what were their political affiliations before appointment?

First cast aspersions on Ram U. (the university of this thread's title, btw) students and then follow it up with attempts to lay a seed of doubt on the Election Commission with similar unfounded, yet negative, generalizations.

Meanwhile, heap praises on a disheveled old maniac...someone the entire Nation is turning against... including his so-called allies...

You're on a roll, kid.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

===================================================

It's worth remembering that the current Election Commission was formed under the old Thaksin government during its caretaker days in September 2006 and that the coup group then reconfirmed their appointment.

And actually very strident anti-Thaksin individuals who were going to be part of the Electoral Commission were knocked out of the selection process in the Senate in 2006.

So this is an ECT that comes from the Thaksin era

- Michael Connors, Senior Lecturer, Melbourne's LaTrobe University, in a Radio Australia interview / Jan 9, 2008

[dezeure]

Its about time that he steps down, cause this is just gonna turn into a bloodshed otherwise.

I can already see how bad tourism is in Phuket. In the so-called high season last month I made less money than I made in the low season as more than 45% of flights were cancelled due to the high fuel surcharges and now again flights are being cancelled in Europe after CNN and BBC warned about the political unstability of this country.

The economy down here is very bad already and everyday I see shops closing and going bankrupt.

Time to get things straight here and back on track!