Suvarnabhumi PAD Protest Continues

[NanLaew]

People's Alliance for Democracy leader Chamlong Srimuang meets City police chief Lt Gen Suchart Muenkaew on Sunday to ask him to provide security following daily attack on protesters. is this a joke or what the nation

And the police chief said, 'Sure Chammy, just as soon as you give us back the cop your goons kidnapped at Swampy the other day."

[NanLaew]

what was the debt rate of Isan people before Thaksin came to power and what is their debt after all the handouts and so called free loans Thaksin gave to them.

Sod off Henry. You trying to sell me that PAD are concerned for the financial education of the 'great unwashed'?

Pull the other one, it's got bells on!

[dtarasin]

People's Alliance for Democracy leader Chamlong Srimuang meets City police chief Lt Gen Suchart Muenkaew on Sunday to ask him to provide security following daily attack on protesters. is this a joke or what the nation

And the police chief said, 'Sure Chammy, just as soon as you give us back the cop your goons kidnapped at Swampy the other day."

Didn't they let her go already?

[Carib]

OK, i've heard\seen enough.

Right, if you (\police\army) can't be bothered to do anything about this obvious TERRORISM....

I'm off....

I'm off on the 12 DEC to SOMEWHWERE ELSE to spend my money and enjoy my Xmas and New Year.

Lived in Thailand for 4 years, been back in UK for 5 years. Love LOS to bits, love Thai people to bits, but if this is the way you wanna play it...

Grow up Thailand, you are not a child, sort yourselves out and give the rest of us a call when you are adult enough to recieve guests.

Yours truly (patience worn out)

NS\

Well you had that planned already, or your life here was not all that much if you can decide to pack up in two weeks.

Have fun wherever you are going and good luck.

[sriracha john]

The situation is slowly escalating, and the core problem is a class conflict.

As is always the case with Thai culture, what you see on the surface is not necessarily the reality. Behind the gentle wais, or traditional Thai greeting, and friendly smiles has always lurked deep-rooted social contradictions. A dynamic, burgeoning urban middle class looks down on a huge, poor rural class which has been awakened by Thaksin Shinawatra's Peronist-style populism.

There is a game going on with the "last stand" of the anti-Thaksin forces holed up in the airport. The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) - once hugely popular with the rabidly anti-Thaksin urban class - has steadily lost support with its increasingly illegal and thuggish tactics which have badly affected the economy. The PAD wants to force the hand of the players - the military to launch a coup, or the government to resign.

source?

[Plus]

Small corruption is mostly eradicated in developed countries, but I am not sure if big corruption is. For instance, take the example of Dick Cheney and Karl Rove. It is quite well known that they were the sources that exposed the CIA operative, Valerie Plame, to revenge her husband's exposure of White House lies to justify the invasion of Iraq. How come they are not in jail, and not even any legal process ongoing? This is nothing but big corruption.

Because they don't have PAD?

[Head Snake]

last night about 10:30 pm, about 9 planes took off from Suvarnhubumi. All of them looked to be small planes.

I Don't know for what reason these airplanes were allowed to leave. I expected the big Thai airplanes to leave but did not see that.

[dtarasin]

Small corruption is mostly eradicated in developed countries, but I am not sure if big corruption is. For instance, take the example of Dick Cheney and Karl Rove. It is quite well known that they were the sources that exposed the CIA operative, Valerie Plame, to revenge her husband's exposure of White House lies to justify the invasion of Iraq. How come they are not in jail, and not even any legal process ongoing? This is nothing but big corruption.

Because they don't have PAD?

Maybe Americans aren't willing to burn their house down just to kill a few rats.

[Jupiter99]

I think they should open up the bank accounts of the PAD leaders and toss all the money out the window from the BTS- starting from the On Nut station.

[Wiresok]

My concern about all this is now that the PAD have had the temerity to hijack the airports, how long will it be before they are hijacking flights mid-air?

Lets face it, this is the next step for the PAD, and as such the risk rating of international airlines landing in Bangkok has now gone sky high.

Imagine you are the CEO of a an international airline, would you want to risk flying to Bangkok.

Worse still would YOU want to risk a flight into Bangkok with these fanatics around,possibly on-board?

Scary.

[sriracha john]

Another day in PADland I am afraid and this is truly the voice of a madman.

Can't be long now before even the Army are ordered to grow some backbone and shoot some of these thugs.

Just when was it that the State of Emergency was issued?

[nathansouthall]

Mind that the door don't bang you on the arse on the way out Nathan.

How can it bang me? if i havent arrived yet. You muppet

Upset are we Nathan?

Yes, yo be honest i am.

Whilst i accept that Thai people are well and truly 'fed up' with the 'uber-corruption' etc, it is nonetheless an act of TERRORISM to disrupt the function of a country's main international airport.

This current action is nothing but a contradictory act of misplaced idiocy. Because of this protest:

Vital medical supplies aren't being delivered and lives ARE being lost.

Businesses WILL move abroad in favour of more a stable environment.

Tourists WILL cancel holidays and not come in future.

Thai farmers WILL lose export crops and future export orders.

Thailand WILL lose face.

Thailand WILL lose money. (lots)

I feel most sorry for my Thai friends who WILL\ARE losing money and their businesses because of this crminal activity by the PAD.

Yes, i may sound a bit 'stiff-uper-lip' but that's because i am an Englishman and that's the way we are, we don't take b*llsh*t lighty. Tell you what, come and try this in Heathrow and see how long you last. I give you about 6h at best.

Yours respectfully (and not wishing to fall out with anyone, just make my point)

Nathan S\

[Jupiter99]

Thank the Gods that Thailand doesn't have a nuclear power plant!

[ozfarang81]

I'm starting to mellow about all this now. Ive realized there is little point in working yourself up into a frenzy. It seems the government will be finished this week, by the court, I think everyone is just waiting on this decision now. It seems somchai will be gone within a couple of days. Either that or perhaps it will be solved on the 4th with the speech.

I think once it all is sorted things at the airport will return to normal within a couple of days, albeit with a lot less foreigners coming through the doors.

[venturalaw]

[/indent]

There is a game going on with the "last stand" of the anti-Thaksin forces holed up in the airport. The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) - once hugely popular with the rabidly anti-Thaksin urban class - has steadily lost support with its increasingly illegal and thuggish tactics which have badly affected the economy. The PAD wants to force the hand of the players - the military to launch a coup, or the government to resign.

PAD has become the catalyst to enable Thaksin's return to power.

Well done PAD (sarcasm)!

[dtarasin]

I'm starting to mellow about all this now. Ive realized there is little point in working yourself up into a frenzy. It seems the government will be finished this week, by the court, I think everyone is just waiting on this decision now. It seems somchai will be gone within a couple of days. Either that or perhaps it will be solved on the 4th with the speech.

I think once it all is sorted things at the airport will return to normal within a couple of days, albeit with a lot less foreigners coming through the doors.

See, that's the thing that worries me though. IF the ruling government is kicked out or disbanded, the PAD (and many others) will attribute this takeover of BKK airport as playing a huge role. After that, everyone will think that all they need to do is hold the country's infrastructure hostage to get what they want politically. So when does it end?

If the PAD does get their way, Somchai resigns, and the PAD supporters get the government they want, what's gonna stop the redshirts from closing down airports and taking over government house to bring Somchai and the PPP back?

[NanLaew]

Another day in PADland I am afraid and this is truly the voice of a madman.

Can't be long now before even the Army are ordered to grow some backbone and shoot some of these thugs.

Just when was it that the State of Emergency was issued?

srj, in case you missed it, it's a localised State of Emergency, confined to the airports and Govt House.

Thailand boasts of it's special Thai-style democracy so we must assume that this is a special Thai-style State of Emergency.

All very noom nim IMHO.

[Nampeung]

Wiresock, Nathan, take a chill pill

[RenzoInOz]

My wife advises that Thai media are reporting Thaksin is now in Cambodia. Anyone seen anything about this in English-language media? Or is it just more rumour mongering designed to fuel PSD supporters??

Apparently he needed to meet Somchai. Hope it doesn't interrupt Somchai's golf round.....

[NanLaew]

Mind that the door don't bang you on the arse on the way out Nathan.

How can it bang me? if i havent arrived yet. You muppet

Upset are we Nathan?

Yes, yo be honest i am.

Whilst i accept that Thai people are well and truly 'fed up' with the 'uber-corruption' etc, it is nonetheless an act of TERRORISM to disrupt the function of a country's main international airport.

This current action is nothing but a contradictory act of misplaced idiocy. Because of this protest:

Vital medical supplies aren't being delivered and lives ARE being lost.

Businesses WILL move abroad in favour of more a stable environment.

Tourists WILL cancel holidays and not come in future.

Thai farmers WILL lose export crops and future export orders.

Thailand WILL lose face.

Thailand WILL lose money. (lots)

I feel most sorry for my Thai friends who WILL\ARE losing money and their businesses because of this crminal activity by the PAD.

Yes, i may sound a bit 'stiff-uper-lip' but that's because i am an Englishman and that's the way we are, we don't take b*llsh*t lighty. Tell you what, come and try this in Heathrow and see how long you last. I give you about 6h at best.

Yours respectfully (and not wishing to fall out with anyone, just make my point)

Nathan S\

No worries Nathan, just keep your eyes open and ear to the ground as the opportunities that will open up in Thailand after the Civil War will be truly mind-boggling. You may have to wait a bit, but for a young entrepreneurial type like yourself who already has knowledge of the swings and roundabouts here, it should be pretty interesting.

Where you headed for the hols btw?

Yours,

muppet

[sriracha john]

PM stays away from Bangkok

Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat yesterday visited a Buddhist holy site in Nakhon Phanom while red-shirted crowds threatened to form vigilante posses to punish yellow-shirted government opponents.

Somchai went to pray before Buddha's relic at Phra That Phanom Temple, People Power Party MP Paijit Srivorakan said.

He would spend the night in Udon Thani where a pro-government rally was held before returning today to his temporary office in Chiang Mai, he said.

Northeastern constituents as well as their MPs would gather to give moral support to the prime minister, he said.

A Special Branch Police source said Somchai had departed Chiang Mai after his security team received intelligence reports that some military groups wanted to take him hostage.

A military officer ranked as lieutenant general would lead 12 squads including 72 patrol soldiers to capture Somchai, the source said.

Somchai left his residence for a safe house in Chiang Mai before travelling to the northeastern province.

In Chiang Mai, several pickup trucks packed with government followers drove to crowded public places where they roused the people to take the law into their own hands and attack the yellow-shirted protesters and their sympathisers.

In the message, people were encouraged to find and shut down businesses and shops run by or linked to the protesters led by the anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy.

On Friday night, some red-shirted men forced a noodle soup vendor in Nong Hoy market to close down for watching anti-government programmes aired by the ASTV satellite station.

Between Friday and yesterday, red-shirted crowds distributed flyers in English to foreign visitors criticising the hijacking of two major airports at Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi.

In Bangkok, Democrat Party spokesman Buranat Samutarak warned that the chances for a negotiated settlement were fast disappearing as time dragged on.

The country is heading for unprecedented violence and bloodshed, he said.

Interior Minister Kowit Watana, who is in charge of crowd control, should quickly enter into peace talks with the PAD before it was too late, he said.

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra should be blamed for resuming his political activities which have in turn inflamed the situation, he said.

The political stand-off might turn into mayhem following yesterday's rally by the red-shirted crowds at Sanam Luang, he said.

In Udon Thani, about 10,000 red-shirted villagers rallied to back the government and safeguard Somchai during his overnight stay, organiser Kwanchai Praipana said.

Each northeastern electorate would send about 20,000 people to rally in Bangkok tomorrow against the expected dissolution of the ruling party, he said.

The government should allow red-shirted crowds to disperse the yellow-shirted protesters if police failed to do their jobs, he said.

Two MPs from Lop Buri, Suchart Lainamngern and Amnuay Klangpha, predicted that more than 100,000 red-shirted people would turn out to rally by tomorrow in order to counter the PAD-led protests.

The PAD has been mobilising protesters from the 14 southern provinces to reinforce the anti-government camps at the three rally sites - Government House, Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi.

PAD's Nakhon Si Thammarat chapter leader Osoth Suwansawaet said each local chapter was responsible for dispatching 200-300 protesters daily to the three rally sites.

Osoth said PAD-led protesters were fully braced for crowd dispersal measures and would fight if red-shirted mobs descended on them.

He threatened to seize every provincial hall and block inter-provincial roads in the South if police cracked down on protesters at the two airports.

Nakhon Si Thammarat governor Panu Uthairat and his Songkhla counterpart Sonthi Techanan said they had taken precautionary measures to avert any attempts to blockade provincial halls.

Government spokesman Natthawut Saikua said it was evident from news clips that PAD-led protesters had tried to use weapons on vulnerable police.

"Armed protesters should immediately stop violent attacks against the unarmed authorities," he said.

The prime minister and his government have remained fully functioning although the situation has to be reassessed on a daily basis, he said.

Tomorrow's Cabinet meeting is expected to proceed but the venue has yet to be picked, he said.

The government-sponsored merit-making ceremony is on track for tomorrow although it is unclear whether Prime Minister Somchai will leave Chiang Mai to personally preside over the event, he said.

Somchai also remains uncertain whether he can attend ceremonies for His Majesty the King's birthday.

The government refuses to step down either by resigning or dissolving the House because this would amount to handing victory to the PAD, he added.

- The Nation / 2008-12-01

[hawker9000]

Mind that the door don't bang you on the arse on the way out Nathan.

How can it bang me? if i havent arrived yet. You muppet

Upset are we Nathan?

Yes, yo be honest i am.

Whilst i accept that Thai people are well and truly 'fed up' with the 'uber-corruption' etc, it is nonetheless an act of TERRORISM to disrupt the function of a country's main international airport. [...and so on and so forth...]

Nathan S\

You DO know that simply because you SAY it's terrorism, Nathan, doesn't make it terrorism, right? (Just checking....)

[robee]

It might be time for the international community to threaten Thailand with a trade embargo.

It will have to effect to PAD.

good point, at this time i see boycott affecting no party, just the masses and countries economy.

[Nampeung]

Hey all of you complainers - Thai tourism will not take a knock except for this immediate few weeks. There's no way all the back packers, package holidayers and se* tourists are concerned -

this won't affect them travelling to Thailand at all. Grow up and realise that Thailand needs change, a lot of change. Mega change...

[oceano]

Mind that the door don't bang you on the arse on the way out Nathan.

How can it bang me? if i havent arrived yet. You muppet

Upset are we Nathan?

Yes, yo be honest i am.

Whilst i accept that Thai people are well and truly 'fed up' with the 'uber-corruption' etc, it is nonetheless an act of TERRORISM to disrupt the function of a country's main international airport.

This current action is nothing but a contradictory act of misplaced idiocy. Because of this protest:

Vital medical supplies aren't being delivered and lives ARE being lost.

Businesses WILL move abroad in favour of more a stable environment.

Tourists WILL cancel holidays and not come in future.

Thai farmers WILL lose export crops and future export orders.

Thailand WILL lose face.

Thailand WILL lose money. (lots)

I feel most sorry for my Thai friends who WILL\ARE losing money and their businesses because of this crminal activity by the PAD.

Yes, i may sound a bit 'stiff-uper-lip' but that's because i am an Englishman and that's the way we are, we don't take b*llsh*t lighty. Tell you what, come and try this in Heathrow and see how long you last. I give you about 6h at best.

Yours respectfully (and not wishing to fall out with anyone, just make my point)

Nathan S\

The tourist come back the same(sharm el sheik,taba 3 bomb many dead people, many tourist, after 2 month the tourist come back the same i was living there) and already now the agency in some country have people want boking for come here.

Vital medical supplies can be delivered and lives ARE not being lost can be in chang mai, puket and hoter airport around thailand, in singapore, in cambodia taiwan ecc.

Businesses WILL move abroad in favour of more a stable environment.Already now from 1997 the big company prefer vietman, cambodia and laos the same.

Thai farmers WILL lose export crops and future export orders. In short time the bath must to start to lose again whit dollar and euro and business is business so export will start again same before, and the 90% travel whit Ship not airplane.

Thailand WILL lose face. They lose the same....in other ways everydays from long time

Thailand WILL lose money. (lots)....visa more expensive, more tax for us, ticket price more high and hoter thinks...dont worry the rich people in thai will be rich the pour will be pour the same as usual...(some italian come back yesterday in Rome...they said nobody pay them the 2000 bath, nobody help them ,thai and ambassy, so the only i worry are the touris whit low bugget and the old people that have very big problem and NOBODY help them)

ciao

[Wolfie]

Hey all of you complainers - Thai tourism will not take a knock except for this immediate few weeks. There's no way all the back packers, package holidayers and se* tourists are concerned -

this won't affect them travelling to Thailand at all. Grow up and realise that Thailand needs change, a lot of change. Mega change...

Your dreaming... the knock on effects for tourism are huge. The tourists are loosing confidence in Thailand fast, watch as bookings for 2009/2010 drop significantly

[brahmburgers]

If/when police are planning to storm the facilities, here's some unsolicited advice from afar;

Allow those protesters who want to stay non-violent - to escape the ensuing melee. If mobilizing at night, have a place for them to walk/run to. Suggest; a bank of bright blue lights at a major exit portal, with the assurance that all who exit there will be allowed to go unscathed. another way, is the more common method, used at Entebbe, where everyone is told by authorities to stay prone on the ground. Those protesters who choose to fight with weapons will more likely stand-out - and can more readily be disabled and/or arrested. Regardless, it should be made clear that all those offering no armed resistance will be allowed to go home - whereas any who fight (or are otherwise violent) will be dealt with dynamically.

Police should consider a multi-pronged mobilization, starting with one or two large frontal assault used as feigns (to draw many of the armed fighters from the PAD) - while simultaneously having other groups of cops forcibly enter the premises from other places to actually do the dirty work - (the tarmac, the sides, rappelled to the roof, workers' entrances, etc). The cops used as feigns in the initial assault - can be mobilized for action later -if needed. Also have back-up troops - to deploy as needed.

It's a dire shame that protesters allow children and elderly in their midst. It is quite possible that many will be injured if/when an assault takes place. Tear gas and stray bullets don't discriminate about age.

If the Thai military and police aren't willing to take back the airports and Gov't House - then they're directly or indirectly complicit in the protests - and if so, they're partially responsible for the harm to Thailand's economy.

Unless Somchai and his ilk step down, it's doubtful the protesters will voluntarily split from the scene. I don't agree that a Court decision on Tuesday will clear out the PPP. If the PPP are required to formally, disband, they'll reform in another name - they've already started the organization and have its name. It they're banned for 5 or so years, they'll put proxies in their place. Regardless, they'll appeal any unfavorable verdict. Thaksin is still rich and as eager as ever - to bankroll his minions to further his plans of controlling Thailand (directly or indirectly) - regardless of whatever else happens in the next week or so.

[Jupiter99]

be dealt with dynamically.

It's a dire shame that protesters allow children and elderly in their midst. It is quite possible that many will be injured if/when an assault takes place. Tear gas and stray bullets don't discriminate about age.

They're called "Human Shields" They are the front line so their leaders can make their escape.

[cmsally]

If they keep fighting like this, there will be nothing left to rule. Can't we just send these "protesters" from both sides to someplace where they won't do any damage? I'm thinking Wasilla, Alaska.

Post of the day right there!

Oh, this is a classic. Anyone have Sarah Pailin's tel. no.?? She'll sort them out.

[RenzoInOz]

Hey guys - ease up on Nampeung. She's clearly a fully paid up member of People Against Democracy and just doing her job by pushing its arguments in an attempt to justify its illegal and violent activities. She has a hard job given 99% of the forum users don't share her view - and at least she adds some colour and entertainment to the forum.