Suvarnabhumi PAD Protest Continues

[oceano]

I just read a report that 50,000 Thai citizens are outside of Thailand and can't return home because there are no inbound flights. Their visas are expiring and their funds are surely not infinite either. What about them?

I think you have a 0 in excess...

"Tour agencies estimate that at least 3,000 Thais could be stranded in international airports abroad." Nation

http://nationmultimedia.com/2008/11/30/bus...ss_30089771.php

They are happy...do you know how is difficult have a visa now in europe or usa?

european governament are a little bit different from thai...so free hotel, on time information ecc ecc....

im not sure but the 90% probably are lady that stay in europe whit farang man for holliday or sometings like that..ciao

[cattoc]

The main focus of the police and military should be to block the access to the protest sites. Not move into them. Not only to stop the flow of people supplying and reinforcing the protesters, but also to stop anyone from attacking them.

Riot police trying to recapture the airport(s) would be a disaster. Not only because of human casualties, but also because of property damage. Thailands best bet is to get the air traffic flowing trough airports outside Bangkok. As someone else said earlier, opening the Suvarnabhumi is not going to happen over night.

The police roadblock yesterday is nearly too good to be true for PAD. There is something fishy about a blockade of ONE road. There is something even more fishy when PAD actually decide to attack that roadblock - when they have free access to the airport other ways. Sounds like abefire hollywood setup to me.

Actually all four major roads into the airport are blocked with barracades - Kin Kaew Rd / Onnuch.... from the ChonBuri express way... from BangNa Trad Highway (south of the airfield) and from LatKrabang... the bloackades are certainly not amatueristic - profesionally constructed with razor wire. The blockade Saturday was outside the mail centre - before the turnoff to the passnge terminal and was intended as a control point for people entering from the north and Chon Buri express way - via the cargo & service area.

It is possible to walk past the PAD blockades - as long as you are not wearing a red T shirt or Taxi waistcoat.

[dtarasin]

I just read a report that 50,000 Thai citizens are outside of Thailand and can't return home because there are no inbound flights. Their visas are expiring and their funds are surely not infinite either. What about them?

Count me in as one of them. I'm supposed to be flying to BKK tomorrow. Doesn't look like it's gonna happen

[jdinasia]

Sticks and slingshot??? Didn't you see their guns and bombs?? (

) The so-called People Alliance for Democracy are calling for anything but democracy and they are absolutely not doing this peacefully. After that incident that you mentioned, they detained one policeman for questioning!! and people still call them peaceful??? what kind of a crazy world is this????

And yes the Red are the majority still .. even in the last elections. PPP is still the largest members of the Parliament, just not enough to rule alone. Vote for vote the Democrats got the most?? I think you must have looked in Wikipedia, where it said that PPP got less votes (39.60% against 39.63% of Democrats) but got more seats (34 VS 33) than the Democrats. I found this impossible, so I checked with some other Thai websites (e.g. http://www.prachatai.com/05web/th/home/pag...ey=HilightNews) and found different results which i find more reasonable (41.08% VS 40.44% with the same seats result). Anyway, for the whole house PPP got more than 100 seats over the Democrats.

Point 1 --- we were discussing the "attack" on the police checkpoint not something on youtube that may have been a set-up (not gonna even bother looking at the link) Since it is apparent that the motorcycle stop that yielded weapons just before the reports were due out on the Oct 7th incident was a set-up (no news since)

Point 2 ---You can't be the "majority" if you can't rule alone. You are instead the largest minority. Go back and do the math on the voting and you will see the Demos got more votes and less seats .. because the demos are strong in major urban areas.

[rainman]

Seeing police trucks full of police officers in riot gear driving towards Suvarnabhumi tonight gives me hope something is happening soon.

[Nampeung]

It's all sounding very dodgy with this redneck thing going on tmrw etc. But the dynamics are so different from 1992 or 1976 so it seems impossible to imagine what might happen :0

[bangkokrick]

Seeing police trucks full of police officers in riot gear driving towards Suvarnabhumi tonight gives me hope something is happening soon.

Do you live bear the airport Rainman. How many trucks?

Cheers, Rick

[xminator]

Re the bombs inside the protest sites. How come the PAD guards are able to identify civil police, but fail to stop an attack inside their powerbase?

[sassienie]

I have just heard this from a Thai in the office that they are opening fire on the PAD protesters...

My own view is they have it coming, it is not as if they were not warned !!! .. i hope this makes them think twice about accepting 700 THB a risking their lives for a couple of Thais that cannot accept they didnt make it to power!

I hope innocent people are not hurt...

The problem is that there are many women, young children and old people in there.

Let us hope that these people see sense and end this madness before it`s too late.

[johntrev]

Manager: Police Open Fire at Suvarnabhumi PAD Protesters

ASTV Manager Online reported that police have fired shots at PAD protesters who are gathering at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The news agency reported that at 9.23 a.m. this morning more than 200 police officers have moved in on the PAD protesters who are gathering at Suvarnabhumi Airport. The police have reportedly fired shots at the protesters near Gate No. 4 of the passenger terminal.

In a another development, at 9.40 a.m., riot police units have set up a police checkpoint and used a mobile jail unit to block off 1 lane of traffic leading to the Suvarnabhumi Airport. More than 100 riot police officers are stationed at the checkpoint.

Source: Thailand Outlook - 29 November 2008

[rainman]

Seeing police trucks full of police officers in riot gear driving towards Suvarnabhumi tonight gives me hope something is happening soon.

Do you live bear the airport Rainman. How many trucks?

Cheers, Rick

I do. I counted 5 trucks with probably at least 20 police in each, maybe more. No idea if more passed before I saw them.

[BeauKarl]

Think they gonna need at least 50 times as many

[rainman]

Can someone translate this?

http://www.thairath.com/online.php?section...;content=113348

[bangkokrick]

Seeing police trucks full of police officers in riot gear driving towards Suvarnabhumi tonight gives me hope something is happening soon.

Do you live bear the airport Rainman. How many trucks?

Cheers, Rick

I do. I counted 5 trucks with probably at least 20 police in each, maybe more. No idea if more passed before I saw them.

Thanks for the info Rainman.

Cheers, Rick

[scratt]

According to PAD leaders, they are now threatening to seize seaports next.

You really are a troll!

The wailing and moaning, venom and bile of the anti-PAD people in these threads is akin to the exorcism of demons IMO.

Roll on the 2nd of December....

Edited November 29, 2008 by scratt

[rainman]

According to PAD leaders, they are now threatening to seize seaports next.

You really are a troll!

The wailing and moaning, venom and bile of the anti-PAD people in these threads is akin to the exorcism of demons IMO.

Roll on the 2nd of December....

I'm a troll? Do you read the news? PAD leaders themselves said it and it's all over the news. What rock are you hiding under, yellow shirt?

Maybe if the PAD wouldn't hold the country hostage, people wouldn't need to wail and moan so much.

Edited November 29, 2008 by rainman

[jdinasia]

Can someone translate this?

http://www.thairath.com/online.php?section...;content=113348

They are announcing that today/tmw there will be an announcement from the Metropolitan Police Commander that no vehicles will be allowed in or out ? of Swampy and Don Mueang ... and that people attempting to enter will be promptly arrested. (if I got that right)

[hanuman1]

Can someone translate this?

http://www.thairath.com/online.php?section...;content=113348

Hi

My Thai language isn't great, but it is something about preparing to give a second warning about not aloowing any vehicles into or out of the 2 airports under seige. Also something about 5-10 injured people, but not sure what.

Cheers

H.

[dtarasin]

According to PAD leaders, they are now threatening to seize seaports next.

You really are a troll!

The wailing and moaning, venom and bile of the anti-PAD people in these threads is akin to the exorcism of demons IMO.

Roll on the 2nd of December....

I'm a troll? Do you read the news? PAD leaders themselves said it and it's all over the news. What rock are you hiding under, yellow shirt?

Maybe if the PAD wouldn't hold the country hostage, people wouldn't need to wail and moan so much.

Can everyone please calm down? We're all on the same side. It's back-and-forth vitriol like this that got us here in the first place.

[jdinasia]

Sorry Rainman --it looks as if you don't get your violence tonight--- unless that is just more disinformation from the police (and yes you do seem to ask for a violent end to this often ... and that is not nice)

[marc651]

Concerning the attack on ASTV; living near the riverside not too far from that place we clearly heard two loud 'bangs' sometime after midnight.

I immediately suspected these were bomb explosions and not fireworks. We could hear gunfire right after the second explosion.

The gunfire lasted for minutes.

After that it became silent again.

[rainman]

Sorry Rainman --it looks as if you don't get your violence tonight--- unless that is just more disinformation from the police (and yes you do seem to ask for a violent end to this often ... and that is not nice)

Go back in my 2000+ posts on TV and you'll see that I'm very anti-violence. PAD leaders have been asking for violence from day 1 and all their statements say they are "ready to die". There is no other solution to this. Giving them more time will just allow for more people to bring more elderly and children and cause even more injuries.

They made it clear they will not leave peacefully and are forcing the government to use force.

Get real.

Edited November 29, 2008 by rainman

[tropo]

Folks .. these BOMB attacks are terrorism ... sitting in at an airport are not! Sitting in at an airport is civil disobedience!

They're not just sitting at the airport, you know. They have taken it over, rendered it unoperational and attacked the police. They even took one hostage.

Think about it, would people just "sitting in at an airport" be armed with wooden stakes, sling shots, iron bar etc. By their own words, they're staging the "final battle".

It's far more than civil disobedience. It's an act of terrorism. It's an act of treason. Yes, treason because that's exactly what trying to overthrow you're own government is called.

[xminator]

(BangkokPost.com)

Police on Saturday afternoon surrounded and cordoned off Suvarnabhumi airport as the prime minister denounced the virtual international isolation - signs a violent end game is approaching.

The no-nonsense police cordon came after PAD protesters scuffled with officers and kidnapped two earlier in the day.

Airlines and officials helped thousands of frustrated tourists escape through U-Tapao air base, but announced the besieged Suvarnabhumi international airport would remain closed for at least two more days.

Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat warned that the protests against his administration risked casting Thailand into international isolation.

The sigge "is extremely dangerous. It will make foreign countries lose confidence in Thailand. They will not fly their aircraft in or allow their citizens to travel here," he said.

Police in the morning were forced by angry demonstrators to abandon five large trucks near a checkpoint, which were left with their tyres deflated, and another security post at the airport.

Late Saturday 2,000 police officers were deployed to set up four more checkpoints on the road to Suvarnabhumi.

The AFP news agency quoted airport security Pol Maj Gen Rarshane Reunkomol as saying, "We have set them up just for weapons checks."

A peaceful end to the protest was still the goal, he said. "The government is still in the process of negotiations and I have asked my men not to use force whatever happens. The gunfire will not be heard from police."

The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) rejected calls to negotiate. Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang will remain closed until Somchai resigns, said PAD founder and leader Sondhi Limthongkul.

"If we have to die today, I am willing to die. This is a fight for dignity," he said on a broadcast by his own ASTV station.

PAD opponents will rally on Sunday at Sanam Luang.

There was chaos at U-Tapao, a military airbase with almost no civilan flight facilties.

"We were originally told we were booked on a flight but they are reselling people tickets," said Mark Underwood, 23, from Southampton in England. "We have no money. I am annoyed and we want to get home." (with reports by AFP)

[oceano]

"We were originally told we were booked on a flight but they are reselling people tickets,"

So they care so muuucchhhhhh tourism hahahahahahahahah

[keemapoot]

Sorry Rainman --it looks as if you don't get your violence tonight--- unless that is just more disinformation from the police (and yes you do seem to ask for a violent end to this often ... and that is not nice)

Go back in my 2000+ posts on TV and you'll see that I'm very anti-violence. PAD leaders have been asking for violence from day 1 and all their statements say they are "ready to die". There is no other solution to this. Giving them more time will just allow for more people to bring more elderly and children and cause even more injuries.

They made it clear they will not leave peacefully and are forcing the government to use force.

Get real.

Yes, I agree with you Rainman, Civil Disobedience has its place. But, crippling an entire country and economy, destroying the livelihood of so many Thais who depend on tourism and High Season for their living; and wreaking havoc on innocent international travellers cannot be considered as such. JDinAsia is wrong on this point. Dead wrong.

[baht&sold]

I was posting my thoughts on today's events (well yesterday's) but it seems there's yet another so-called 'bomb' incident now which should genuinely please some here... (a few of whom I suspect would also eat their own young...) Tragic report of the explosion at Govt House, especially considering in all probability this current episode ends on Tuesday, with the PAD finally leaving and the PPP dissolved... yet this won't end quietly with more likely to come (again, some will be absolutely salivating on their keyboards at the prospect of even more limbs severed, more juicy blood, and hey, maybe even actual live scenes of heads being blown off... sick fks)

Anyways, here were my thoughts on the day:

According to Terdsak's petition, the pro-government crowds physically attacked him 15 times before killing his father. "Please investigate these cases. The killing took place in the presence of policemen," Terdsak added.

Terdsak was later sent to Dusit police station for causing havoc in Parliament House.

The video of this attack by the Chiang Mai reds was chilling... like a pack of rabid dogs, ending in an execution. Police stood by and did nothing to intervene. And now the son is sent to the police station for acting out in Parliament as UDD Weng was speaking.

The UDD's red-shirts pro-govt protest leader Weng is the one sponsoring the constitution change bill to remove vote-fraud clauses, which is what the current conflict is really about...

Meanwhile, Democrat deputy spokesman Boonyod Sooktinthai has also urged media to remain neutral and provide factual information to the public.

'Fair and balanced' in Thailand is like watching FOX news... Especially considering the Govt has it's own channel NBT and de-facto controls the rest of the free-to-air stations which are the only ones the folks in the NE get. Thus, we have Govt spokespersons and PPP MP's hosting 'The Truth Today' with non-stop messages of support for Thaksin and the PPP...

Then, there's ASTV which is privately owned by Sondhi's Manager Group and is just as vehement in their condemnation of Thaksin and the PPP... difference being, no one in the NE will ever see ASTV unless they have a dish that carries it, or a laptop.

The other main difference is, ASTV isn't funded by taxpayers dollars, NBT is.

PAD guards capture plainclothes policewoman, parade her before protesters

'Parading' the lady-cop was low in my humble opinion. Some may 'perhaps' understand after the Oct 7 police raid on the PAD which left 2 dead and hundreds maimed they probably aren't very enamoured with the boys (and girls) in brown but this was extremely low. Glad she was escorted out to a taxi in safety (although a friend trying to get back from the airport right after the closure said the driver demanded 1500 baht to go to Sukhumvit - she found another ride).

PM says he ready to talk to Chamlong - But he insisted that he will neither dissolve the House or resign.

No doubt quivering coat-hanger-esque PM Somchai is under extreme pressure from all sides. But I venture his wife 'Yo-WHOPPA' (Thaksin's petite sister;) and the self-proclaimed 'victim' in all this (Thaksin, or 'Mandella' as he likens himself) have the poor puppet-like man in an absolute vice (no sneaking off to love motels now...)

OF COURSE he won't resign or dissolve the house, he CAN'T since the PPP absolutely MUST remove vote-fraud clauses from the constitution FIRST in order to survive (besides, if he did resign or dissolve the house, 'Yo-Whoppa' and 'the victim' would have his tiny balls).

Nevermind, it seems the NCCC may now announce the PPP's and coalition's dissolution on Dec 2 (this Tuesday). The PPP are now desperately trying to get the NCCC impeached on a technicality stating they didn't get signed in before HM The King (yet only Cabinet members and high-ranking military officials are required to).

Thus with a 1000% likelihood the govt are in effect 'dead men walking' it would be reprehensibly tragic if their last act were to create more real deaths...

Protesters holding airport won't negotiate

Well, that's not entirely true as Chamlong did offer to talk with PM Somchai - if Somchai came to Bangkok (that was pure cheeky baiting of course).

The PAD followers see themselves as the only thing standing between the Govt's desire to bannish vote-fraud clauses, whitewash charges, bring back Thaksin and the already banned 111 TRT members. They fear if not successful, the PPP (or their waiting 'rescue-party' Puea Thai) will then return for a possible dynasty to gourge away at the public trough, get rid of watchdogs, take over independent agencies and run a kind of democratic dictatorship with no real checks or balances.

Sondhi on the other hand appears suspect (to me at least) more driven by a long-standing feud with Thaksin over a telecoms and loans fall-out. Also, like Thaksin, Sondhi also seems prone to megalomania and bouts of delusion...

Regardless, taking over the main Intnl airports isn't going to win hearts or minds and it IS causing hardhip to thousands of innocent travellers, not to mention untold damage to tourism, the economy and Thailand's already diminished image overseas.

Most foreign travellers don't know or care about all the complexities behind this, nor should they have to. They simply want to get home, or get here to Thailand to spend their money.

Many Expats living in Thailand know all the details and some passionately care, some passionately don't, few I know are pleased though. Then there are the Expats whom get 'up in arms' if anything gets between them, their beer, their girls or their sleep. Some tend to fly off the handle at even little things, thus closing the airports is causing some to go berserk demanding action ala 'napalm em'.

As for the Thai people themselves, no foreigner can really know how they feel about the situation but most would like calm to return (although under the surface, things haven't been calm in some years whether it was apparent or not, such is the Thai way). However, it's certain you could likely split the country in two...

Bottom line then, since it appears quite likely the PPP and coalition (thus Govt) are DONE on Tuesday (when their dissolution may be announced), why not simply pack it in NOW? There IS a chance the Cabinet could use some trickery, call an 'emergency extraordinary session', form a quorum in Somchai's living room in CM and pass life-saving constitution changes, but that would happen anyways. So strategically, there's NO need to keep occupying the airports...

PM: People should not to support criminals

The PM is quite obviously excluding his OWN actions then, by not revoking Thaksin's diplomatic passport, full-stop.

On the United Front for Democracy Against the Dictatorship (UDD)'s rally on Sunday, the premier said the pro-government group had never violated the law

Well, the UDD/DAAD have certainly broken a lot of heads though... (just that the police whilst witnessing, rarely seem to stop them or charge them)

VIDEO of the UDD in action, led by a Govt PPP MP's brother (NOT for the faint hearted!) :

http://www.4shared.com/file/56523422/99437f64/

the government may have to pay about one billion baht to about 500,000 stranded Thais and foreigners at Suvarnabhumi airport, or about 2,000 baht per person a day.

Foreigners sometimes complain about dual pricing but one wonders if the stranded Thais will actually get 2000 baht a day as well?

Interior Minister Pol Gen Kowit Watana held a meeting of senior metropolitan police officers Saturday morning to discuss measures for dispersing protesters at the Don Mueang Airport.

With the reluctant former police chief suddenly sacked, Interior Minister Kowit has a new 'team player' on board now but one wonders if many of the commanders below feel willing to go along with might be a bloodbath. Especially knowing the Govt and Kowit could be gone just a couple days later, then, the rank and file commanders are left facing inquiries, possible transfers, demotions, etc, etc...

Minister Kowit himself knows how fickle the politcal winds can be - he was police chief in charge of leading the investgation into the still unsolved new years eve 2006 Bkk bombs following Thaksin's ouster and was sacked allegedly for lack of will to do so...

The Army remains in the background (but monitoring events very closely no doubt) and at the first volley of shots fired, will likely make it's prescence known. A coup? Not likely. A massacre? Entirely likely.

Thus, as it stands, the police rank and file are in a difficult position, having showed admirable restraint thus far and probably not really wanting to 'get into it'. The other option is to 'employ' the UDD/Reds to again do some 'black-ops' dirty work at the airport(s) to create a truly violent situation requiring deadly force... (didn't work out so well last time though and would bring in the Army this time)...

That leaves the self-proclaimed 'victim' and master behind all this (Thaksin) to make a choice via his brother-in-law PM knowing they may be done anyways - go out with a potential blaze of bullets (on protesters) or do nothing and wait until Tuesday for a possible PPP dissolution verdict...(and with vote-fraud rules intact, that means many MP's couldn't run again, under any banner). One expects they'll 'try' to do something of course, as they must be very desperate right about now (and Thaksin absolutely seething)...

However, with dwindling needed support from those sensing the Govt's end is near anyways, it may not be easy... (or the airport would have been cleared by now).

Thus, it looks like the airports 'may' be shut until Tuesday (but don't bet on it, expect many 'black-ops' between now and then from the throes of an expiring era)...

Edited November 29, 2008 by baht&sold

[amarka]

Folks .. these BOMB attacks are terrorism ... sitting in at an airport are not! Sitting in at an airport is civil disobedience!

They're not just sitting at the airport, you know. They have taken it over, rendered it unoperational and attacked the police. They even took one hostage.

Think about it, would people just "sitting in at an airport" be armed with wooden stakes, sling shots, iron bar etc. By their own words, they're staging the "final battle".

It's far more than civil disobedience. It's an act of terrorism. It's an act of treason. Yes, treason because that's exactly what trying to overthrow you're own government is called.

yes this is treason.. you are right.

they are disregarding the police, the government and the courts...

so in the end there can only be one outcome

[animatic]

Folks .. these BOMB attacks are terrorism ... sitting in at an airport are not! Sitting in at an airport is civil disobedience!

They're not just sitting at the airport, you know. They have taken it over, rendered it unoperational and attacked the police. They even took one hostage.

Think about it, would people just "sitting in at an airport" be armed with wooden stakes, sling shots, iron bar etc. By their own words, they're staging the "final battle".

It's far more than civil disobedience. It's an act of terrorism. It's an act of treason. Yes, treason because that's exactly what trying to overthrow you're own government is called.

yes this is treason.. you are right.

they are disregarding the police, the government and the courts...

so in the end there can only be one outcome

You don't seem to see what's coming the OTHER direction.... Watch out.

[rainman]

You don't seem to see what's coming the OTHER direction.... Watch out.