State Of Emergency Declared

[alwayslean]

No information whatsoever is available in the UK. Thailand was not mentioned on BBC news at 10. What the hel_l is happening? I think it is interesting that Mumbai has so much news coverage, but the protests in Thailand have so much more public support. I suppose only violence will get it back on TV.

[xtof2]

Chamlong Srimuang, a co-leader of the People's Alliance for Democracy, woke up protesters inside the government House complex at 6 am Saturday, telling them to get ready to travel to the Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

The protesters were told to board buses at the Nang Lerng Racecourse at 7 am.

The were told to bring along foods and drinking water.

The nation

[BusyBee123]

you are right, could be worse... we could be in Manchester with a load of red top muppets.

People leaving the airport on tv, edit... leaving another PAD rally.. looks like don muang.

it's ok the derby is on sunday and the blues will kick butt

[RenzoInOz]

As the damage to Thailand's reputation as a country - and to its economy - continue, I cannot understand why some simple, effective measures are not being taken already. Talk has achieved nothing at all.

1. Stop movements of people from Government house by bus to the airport.

2. Shut down mobile phone communications towers from which people at the airports can communicate.

3. Shut off landlines and power to the airports. Without power, the stage, video screens, sound systems, etc won't work. Nor will TVs so they won;t know what's going on outside.

At the moment, these people are organising themselves via communication and getting updates constantly about what is happening. Cut the communications lines and confuse them. That's the first step in gaining some sort of control.

4. How did PAD manage to find and position a water tanker on the approach road to Suvarnabhumi without anyone trying to stop them? Set up a cordon further out from the airport and stop all traffic movement in and out of that cordon. Don't let food in there or other supplies. I'm sure they've looted every food shop in the airport - and no doubt helped themselves to all the duty free products, so they're not going to starve for a while.

In other words cut them off, confuse them and tighten the noose. Eventually they'll either be more vulnerable for a forced evacuation - or forced to leave of their own accord.

None of this seems like rocket science to me, just common sense. By the government's jaw-dropping ineptitude and lack of action, these rebels who have illegally seized control of a public facility worth billions of baht and a cornerstone of the Thai economy, are gaining a greater mandate for their actions with the passing of each hour. This has long since morphed from peaceful protest to criminal behaviour to treason against the nation they pretend to love....

[marshbags]

Nation

No negotiation: Sondhi declares

Sondhi Limthongkul, No-1 leader of People's Alliance for Democracy, told protesters not to believe that the People's Alliance for Democracy would give in and negotiate with police to move protesters out of the Suvarnabhumi International Airport and Don Mueang Airport .

"PAD leaders will never negotiate with police," Sondhi told the crowd at the government House.

Sondhi also warned police not to listen to orders from Interior Minister Kowit Wattana, saying the People Power Party would be dissolved by the Constitution Court after December 2 and the House would be dissolved and Kowit would lose power.

The nation

I can see Sondhi at the front line with all the faithful facing the incoming police. :D

He is considerably nearer to the sitiuation, like on the spot, which is more than anyone can say about that evil cowardly Self Serving Bastard Thaksin who is directing the ongoing scenario from Dubai.

Several of his ilk are already fleeing the nest in anticipation that they need to save their scrawny necks, while leaving the chaos they have put in place to the less fortunate citizens / protectors of the institutions and it,s much beloved.

Sadly if he were to achieve his dishonourable, cowardly intentions, the scum will be welcomed as a hero of North / North East no brainers / thugs.

marshbags and

[rick75]

Yes it makes perfect sense to me.

Cheers

[monty]

Please, we do NOT discuss in any way the Royal Family on here. Infractions will be immediately removed!

[LaoPo]

I wonder how many of these PAD followers are going to go home after all of this to find out they are now, out of work or bankrupt, as a result of the economy they helped to destroy?

Well, they will still have their cloths for the next period of freezing cold...

LaoPo

[steffi]

Why has their been no discussion of the fellow suggesting civil war ie. red shirts vs yellow shirts?

[solent01]

I wonder how many of these PAD followers are going to go home after all of this to find out they are now, out of work or bankrupt, as a result of the economy they helped to destroy?

Well, they will still have their cloths for the next period of freezing cold...

LaoPo

My wife told me about 30mins ago, that on the news was a story that Royal Thai Airlines were handing out blankets and food to the Protesters at Swampy this morning?

[Jai Dee]

Things can only get bloody from here on

It's not too late for warring factions to defuse the situation by putting Thailand's well-being first Thailand has reached a critical juncture in its modern history, and if warring parties do not take a step back at this moment, the entire country may end up going down a bloody path with wounds that would take generations to heal. Thailand, it seems, is walking on thin ice that has yet to crack. The country has found itself in what is popularly referred to as a "Mexican stand-off" - an impasse in which neither side will strike first for fear that it could endanger their own existence.

But that equation is quickly giving way as the red shirts are preparing for an all-out battle with the yellow shirts. Needless to say, the outcome will be bloody.

At the ground level, pockets of violence are already emerging in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, the government's temporary seat, and innocent people are being dragged into a conflict that is bringing the entire country down.

Immediately after a state of emergency was declared, the anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy guards braced themselves for an assault by putting up three-kilometre-long barbed wire fences around the airport, blocking access as they prepared themselves for a bloody confrontation.

At the political level, Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat upped the ante by declaring a state of emergency and vowing to take back the airport from the PAD demonstrators.

However, his goal is being made virtually impossible by the military and the police's unwillingness to use force to clear the demonstrators from the airport. This is not the first time that the prime minister and the army chief have been at loggerheads. The last time Somchai declared a state of emergency, General Anupong Paochinda handed him unarmed soldiers.

Moreover, as of last night, national police chief General Patcharawat Wongsuwan, who is seen as being too close to the military, was removed from his post. No explanations were given, but it was understood that this was done as a stern warning to Anupong. If that was the reason, then one wonders what kind of effect, if any, this will have on the military.

For the time being, the entire country is waiting to see the outcome of the negotiations between the police and the PAD. Some sort of progress report should be announced today, so let's pray something good comes out of it.

Apart from the airport, all eyes are on embattled Somchai to see if he will remove Anupong, who has twice called on the government to dissolve Parliament and hand back the mandate to the people.

In a normal situation, an effective premier would have already dismissed any military general for making such a demand. But this is not a normal situation and this elected PM is not his own man but a proxy of a convicted tycoon guilty of greediness.

Ousted thaksin Shinawatra may talk about democracy, but one wonders if his interest in any of this is to protect his own coffers.

Threats from the red shirts have sent chills down the spines of so many people. Not only will the outcome become a bloody one, but the incident could place a psychological divide in the country - splitting one region against another.

Already, Somchai has made the northern city of Chiang Mai his de facto capital from where he hands out his commands and instructions. The bulk of the red-shirt foot soldiers come from the North and Northeast, while the moral support of the Southerners towards any anti-government initiative remains unwavering.

While things may not be at the scale of Lebanon in the 1980s, the psychological scars would be unthinkable. Regardless of which warring faction came out victorious, it would be a lose-lose situation for the country as a whole - no matter how one looks at it. Any healing would take generations. However, it's not too late for warring factions to defuse the tension. If they place the interest and well-being of the country before their political interests, they will take a tactical steps to defuse the tension.

This is because in the end, it is not just the blood of the red or the yellow shirts that would be spilled. Innocent bystanders would be damned as well.

Source: Editorial Opinion from The Nation - 29 November 2008

[JacknDanny]

He's outsmarted the elite for starters.

I liked the news items posted on here today. All totally scathing of the failed Coup in progress and the Thai Army and Police.

Not like the old days is it BlancmangeApong when a Coup was... turn off the radio and tv stations... bang bang your dead and we are boss not.... tv back on and smiles all round from an in the dark population.

this is being played out in their living rooms and they now see they have nothing to fear from these bodies as they are being pushed around by old ladies and mothers with babes in arms.

PPP win hands down and somebody should through the towel in for sondhi and the army before they are maimed for life.

i'm new here.

grandpops is a parotty poster, right?

Most people tend to ignore him

I put it down to feeling sorry for old folk who tend to jibber on and on about a load of nonsense

Senile dementia may have set in.

[JacknDanny]

.... Look through Thai history...it's just repeating itself over and over.

This may not be a characterization of the pattern you allude to, but here goes:

Major Thai demonstrations, in the past few decades, have been broken up - either with a whimper or a bang.

In other words, some demonstrations were broken up with excessive force, with many protesters shot dead - who would have dispersed if allowed to run off. There's no middle ground.

Thais have a general character trait that's similar in that; situations are either 'very cool or boiling hot' ('jai yen' or 'jai ron'). For example, if you have a dispute with a Thai, that person will grin and act cool cool cool, until - all of a sudden - he/she will go ballistic.

As with public demonstrations, so too with Thai temperments, there is no middle ground.

Currently, the demonstrations at the airports all appear quite cool - with no active confrontations. All that can change in an instant - with mayhem and heads bashed, bullets fired. Better dynamic would be a dialogue, and hopefully leading to a diffusion of the situation.

But, just as Thais aren't adept at discussing contentions, person to person - so too the airport situation will likely lead to injuries or worse.

Excellent post

So, so true.

[Jai Dee]

Airport shutdown costs electrical companies Bt1 bn a day

Electronics and computer companies are losing Bt1 billion a day since the shutdown of Suvarnabhumi Airport, which has suspended the supply of parts to assembly lines and exports, according to the Board of Investment (BoI). At least 200,000 workers are at risk if production stops temporarily.

In addition, the Bank of Thailand has estimated a Bt140 billion drop in tourism revenue and an expected current account deficit this year. Japan's rating agency R&I has changed Thailand's rating outlook from "Positive" to "Stable", due to a mixture of international and domestic factors.

"Given the prospects for political and social instability to be prolonged, and the fact the economic slowdown trend worldwide has become more pronounced, the possibility that Thailand will be unable to avoid a further economic slowdown in the future has emerged," it said in a statement.

BoI deputy secretary-general Sudjit Inthaiwong said after a discussion with the Electronic and Computer Employers' Association that some of these companies have to shoulder penalties of US$100,000 (Bt3.53 million) per hour for delayed shipments and they risk losing business for the next few years if clients shift orders to other countries.

"We'll ask the Royal Thai Air Force to ship the products with C130 aircraft if the shutdown continues," he said.

The sector generates Bt700 billion a year.

To ease goods shipments to Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, the BoI has joined hands with the Customs Department to provide around-the-clock clearance at Dan Sadao in Songkhla. U-tapao International Airport's service hours will also be extended. Thai Airways International will provide carriers and more equipment to move goods shipments at U-tapao.

A preliminary survey by the Protection and Welfare Department showed that 222 mostly electronics factories - hiring 106,000 workers- have been affected by the airport shutdown as the supply of parts and exports is suspended. Another 12 plants with about 500 workers are also suffering as they cannot export agricultural products.

Manus Kosol, chairman of the national Congress of Thai Labour, said the airport shutdown has affected factories that produce auto parts, electronic devices, gems and jewellery for exports. Mostly, they are located in the industrial estates in Bang Poo and Bang Phli. While the airport shutdown bars imports and exports, it also affects the travelling safety of workers and traders.

On Saturday, 100 members of the national congress will convene to evaluate the situation and the impact of the protests as well as the global crisis.

During December 3-7, a large volume of orchids - which could not be shipped - will be sold at discount at Rose Garden. It is estimated that if the exports stopped for a week, damage to about 4,000 growers would reach Bt100 million.

Source: The Nation - 29 November 2008

[Jai Dee]

Protesters seizing airports must respect law : Convicted Thaksin

Fugitive ex-Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has called for anti-government protesters who seized Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang airports to respect the laws or face legal action.

He warned that if they did not respect the law, "law enforcement must be done."

Thaksin has been on the run after being sentenced in absentia to two years in jail on corruption charges in Thailand.

He was referring to seizing of the airports by protesters led by People's Alliance for Democracy, which reached the fifth day on Saturday.

Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, who is Thaksin's brother in law, has issued state of emergency both airports. The move was seen as a tool to allow police to disperse them.

"The airports must be reopened and the protesters must respect not only the law, but the citizens of Thailand," thaksin said. "If no one respects the law, then law enforcement must be done."

He also warned that should the military launch a coup, it would be much more bloody than the previously occasions. He also warned the army to stay out of politics, predicting bloodshed if they stage a coup.

"If the coup were to happen, there's going to be bloodshed. It's not going to be an easy coup like in the past because the people are in hardship since dictatorship came to Thailand," thaksin said.

Thaksin urged his supporters to "protect democracy": "If you protect Democracy you may be painful for a while, but if you allow dictatorship to take over Thailand you are going to have a nightmare for your whole life."

Thaksin said without elaboration, "so-called independent agencies or courts had been mobilised to bias against the government. That's very bad.

Thaksin's message to the military: "They are officials whose salary is paid by taxpayer money, so they have to do what is wanted by the whole of the Thai people, not just for minority groups. They must respect Democracy. They must play by the rules. Being neutral means you have to observe the law."

Thaksin was speaking to Thomas Crampton, a freelance blogger in a videotaped interview. Crampton said the interview came out when he had coffee with Thaksin. "He spoke passionately about this week's events in Thailand," he wrote.

The date and time of the interview was not known. It was posted on Crampton's blog on Friday.

Source: The Nation - 29 November 2008

[Jai Dee]

US criticises PAD, urges end to airport crisis

The United States on Friday criticised protesters who have seized Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports and said it was "deeply concerned" about the situation.

State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid said that occupying the airports is "not an appropriate means of protest" by the People's Alliance for Democracy. The demonstrators should "walk away from the airports peacefully," he said.

More from the Bangkok Post here.

[bubba]

Somehow, this makes sense to me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mouav0ph9Fc

[anotheruser]

How will the drug dealers cope??

[regfrancis]

The same as any war: The rich and powerfull use the poor and ignorent to empower them selves.

Once the dust settles and everyone see what has happened there will be some red faces.

[Kerryd]

I hope you are not trying to compare India with Thailand, you can't in anyway compare the two.

No. You can't compare India with Thailand. India has mastered a much bigger and more difficult crisis in less than 48 hours. Thailand has absolutely failed and disappointed.

I'm out for real. Goodnight all.

There is no comparison between what happened in Mumbai (and isn't over yet) and what is happening in Bangkok. Not even remotely.

A small group of terrorists deliberately attacking various hotels and other areas, purposely shooting people (over 125 dead so far, hundreds more wounded) is entirely different than huge groups of protesters occupying airports and inconveniencing people.

I have no doubt that if the yellows (or the reds) were to suddenly start a murderous rampage though the city, that the police/army would react in a similar fashion as the Indians have.

The current protests in Bangkok have had sporadic acts of violence, but nothing even close to what happened in Mumbai.

[animatic]

The traveller can wait.

I'd rather not.

no doubt.

read an article on bangkokpost

saying over 200,000 factory workers

around BKK were laid off due to

lack of raw materials and export

total financial cost of this

airport terrorism thing could cost

Thailand over 200 BILLION baht

PAD is destroying the country

they claim to love so much.

some of the people on here

think Thailand can survive without

tourists or export.

those guys are idiots.

While agree they should vacate the airport,

Most raw materials and most export comes in via ship from the seaports.

Only perishables and express stuff goes via the MUCH more expensive air.

I do feel bad for the orchid farmer with 100k stems sitting in lock up right now.

[animatic]

Thailand has made the list of the Top 20 Most Dangerous Places as compiled by the Telegraph newspaper of London.

The latest edition of the list puts Thailand as the seventh most-dangerous spot for travellers behind Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya, South Africa, Somalia and Sudan. Thailand is said to be more dangerous than Colombia and Haiti at the moment.

now that IS Funny! Shows that the Telegraph writers are clueless!

It's easy to sit back and say self knowing what a bunch of rubbish. I'm sure death and injury counts were taken to compile the most dangerous list. Thailand is not safe but it puts on a good lie that it is. They used to hand out papers to each visiting person about potential for violence and scams...but now that the government is no longer pretending not to be corrupt, they stopped that, too (after all, it's likely their relatives doing the scamming and murdering--God forbid someone warn them, it would reduce victim business)!

u have land in Roi Et

but i dont think you live here

ive never even had someone

look at me wrong in Roi Et or anywhere

up in the Northeast.

any murder happening

is down at the beaches or in

very bad parts of BKK

mostly drunk wanke_rs

doing something stupid

last time i was down

at the US embassy in BKK

there was this 60 year old dude

scraped up and drunk at 9am

lost his passport

and got shredded cuz he ran

his motorcycle into a car

drunk of course.

if u die in Thailand

u are either over 80

or u dont know how to live

other than idiots in BKK & Phuket

Thailand is mostly peaceful farmland.

oh, and survival of the fittest !

Well, other than the cop executing the guy in the street in Pai,

and the shoot out in the Chaing mai cafe,

by the theoretically ex narcotics cop from OZ.

Nah nothing happens up north...

Oh yeah, lets not forget the murders of hilltribe people

for not going along with drug lord's and police set-ups.

[bubba]

Somehow, this makes sense to me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mouav0ph9Fc

I just had a look at the profile of the person who posted this Thaksin interview. Looks like he's in Hong Kong. And by the way, this interview is very fresh, posted only an hour ago.

[scratt]

Let me get this straight....

The shutting of the airport is costing electronics firms 30 Million $$ per day?

Why o why do the airports bother with tourists, if the shipping of computer chips in and out of Thailand is so lucrative?

And the tourism figures sound like some mad police estimate for the "street price" of drugs when a huge haul is pulled in...

And the icing on the cake is a convicted criminal, on the run from the Thai authorities, lecturing the PAD on respecting the law!!

TiT

:D

[BowmoreIslay]

Running away and hide himself in Chiang Mai is a sign of weakness. If he was a man and a real leader of the country, he will go to Suva and talk and listen to the demonstrators, and answer their questions, believe me he will gain respect from all the Nation. Now he act like an coward, and we all know that nobody respect a coward

The Art of War by Sun Tzu. Chapters 7

Maneuvering explains the dangers of direct conflict and how to win those confrontations when they are forced upon you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_War

[permanent_disorder]

didn't you read about the courts today? Around the 13-15th the PPP and Chart Thai will be dissolved, because of MASSIVE vote buying. so they are elected but not democratic.

PPP and it's allies was buying the election result but were not democratic elected.

The real winner still was the democratic party with the most real votes. But they didn't had money enough for to "buy" coalition partners and even wasn't "offering" enough benefit to them before the election?!

But let wait and see on the December 2. 2008 w2hile the Leaders of the ruling parties need to be in person at the Court Hearing of the Supremecourt regarding the dissolution case against their parties. That hearing will be public AFAIK.

Cheers.

it' said again and again written in captals etc : MASSIVE vote buying

problem - why should i believe that?.

please, bring a link, quote a source. do you have a chart or table where i can see those evidence of massive vote buying.

and isn't it the Constitutional Court with the burocratic military junta constitution? with those democrats nobody didn't really want to da a shake hand.

[Jai Dee]

Somehow, this makes sense to me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mouav0ph9Fc

Very convincing isn't he?

[animatic]

Permanently_Disbelieving

tis common knowledge,

I saw it first hand in 2005.

I don't need a link, I saw it.

Edited November 29, 2008 by animatic

[grandpops]

Somehow, this makes sense to me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mouav0ph9Fc

Very convincing isn't he?

Starting to look like Robin Hood as well. Took all that Tax revenue from the Rich "Educated Bangkok" Thais and gave the poor cheap health care, village loans, roads airport upgrades etc.

Only the rich can lose now as the poor never had anything to lose. All the wallets and business that is hurting now are rich wallets and businesses. A lot of poor workers will just carry on being poor if they lose their jobs.

Somchai and Thaksin have rung rings round PAD and elite. Somchai in Chaing Mai looking more and more like Little Lord Fauntelroy. Army really going to go up there with their tanks? Perfectly behaved and seperated the Angelic Thaksin and PPP/TRT from the Fascist Elite that are running Bangkok into the 18th Century. This is how it is looking outside of ASTV guys.

No way, BlamanceApong is now going to feel the heat from his rich backers to do something before they become.... Mods I hope this is not too strong for this forum POOR Oh my god!!! Educated Bangkok Thai Poor!!! Please delete if that is too offensive to PAD lovers.

Edited November 29, 2008 by grandpops

[robee]

Any PAD supporters still holed up at the airport have ZERO sympathy from me if they get hurt or killed. They know what they did, they know what's coming. You can't just seize an international airport and expect to be greeted with flowers and cookies.

ditto. no doubt they have some idea what is coming. do they believe in becoming martyrs is the answer? don't understand their value system enough to follow any train of thought they may have on where this is going to end...