Abhisit Vejjajiva Elected New Prime Minister Of Thailand

[jdinasia]

Its called democracy when the social midfield unite and organize themselves to demonstrate and take actions against a government who they think is trying to change laws in their benefit and not benificiary for the country as an whole. If you lived long enough in a democracy, you will know that this happend many times in every democratic country.

There is nothing democratic about 3-5,000 people holding a countries airport hostage. Thailand has roughly 61-65million people

60,000,000people not protesting, 5,000people "protesting" doesn't sound like the majority of the people to me. Nothing democratic about it.

We are still waiting on your answers ....

but yes protesting your government is a cornerstone of democracy

[erobando]

for those that want to believe the PAD airport had very little effect on tourism: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Free-Tickets...nd-t230085.html

why does AirAsia see it different? but what do they know, its not like they are a major airline with allot invested in the thailand tourism industry

Air Asia regularly offers such deals.

Prior to airport closing, I bought 0THB tix BKK to Hong Kong... well, 0THB plus taxes and fees.

[BigSnake]

Some change for Thailand, I think(?) Thing will be better depend on how many of the old GUARD, Mr Newin will try to get in the Cabinet. His support of the new PM is not without cost. Mr Newin is now out on bail on Graft choices, NUFF SAID

[erobando]

Can say the same about your average worker in middle America vs NY

or other major city players in much the same way.

Those that create jobs employ those that need them.

Cities attract those that create jobs and by extension

the distribution networks to deliver products

AND many of those wanting jobs.

Worked much the same in any social system left or right,

no matter what political patina was overlaid..

My point exactly!

Maybe a stupid time to come out with a statement like this, but it is in fact the truth.

Cheers, Rick

Actually, you can't make the same type of statement about the US.

The people who are "servants" to NYC are usually either New Yorkers or recent immigrants. People don't move from the suburbs or middle America to find working class jobs in NYC.

And the "masters" aren't always native New Yorkers, either.

A person could, for example, come from Ohio, go to university at Duke, get a Wall Street job and move up from there.

[erobando]

The right-wing extremists are already busy discounting the truthful article by Ehrlich. They just can't stand to hear the truth. They'll start quoting the Bangkok Post and Nation pretty quick in rebuttal.

The Nation and Bangkok Post are right wing extremist newspapers?!?

[jbowman1993]

Its time to move on gentlemen. To many here are living and wallowing in the past.

[Ulysses G.]

but yes protesting your government is a cornerstone of democracy

So is the Army and Police stopping fascist thugs who are illegally blockading main streets and airports and destroying commerce, but that did not happen did it?

[siam4ever]

The right-wing extremists are already busy discounting the truthful article by Ehrlich. They just can't stand to hear the truth. They'll start quoting the Bangkok Post and Nation pretty quick in rebuttal.

The Nation and Bangkok Post are right wing extremist newspapers?!?

Not exactly, but they tow the army propaganda line pretty tight. That's why the PAD supporters always sound like Fox News boys and detest any news that comes uncensored from outside of Thailand.

[jdinasia]

hmmm must not have been any 'fascist thugs ...' doing that then

UG .. it's OK that you are a closet 'law and order' guy .... but really. Look at your country's history with protests!

[MyphuketLife]

Its called democracy when the social midfield unite and organize themselves to demonstrate and take actions against a government who they think is trying to change laws in their benefit and not benificiary for the country as an whole. If you lived long enough in a democracy, you will know that this happend many times in every democratic country.

There is nothing democratic about 3-5,000 people holding a countries airport hostage. Thailand has roughly 61-65million people

60,000,000people not protesting, 5,000people "protesting" doesn't sound like the majority of the people to me. Nothing democratic about it.

We are still waiting on your answers ....

but yes protesting your government is a cornerstone of democracy

I answered, I am starting to think you can't read. My answers are all online look at the WSJ article it recaps it well (what about that does not make since, not the article but my statement?). And TWAMP never answered me. You also never answered my questions about the TV station (are direct questions to hard for you, hard to spin the answers?)... many questions go un-answered mostly by you and TWAMP, while most of the questions that you ask that do get answered you don't seem to read or comprehend the answers.

Since you apparently can't navigate to a site or did not understand that you needed to navigate to the site to read an article I copied and pasted it for you:

Thailand's transition to a new government looks set to be completed within days. This is a welcome sign of normalcy in a country that's been wracked by unrest for months. But Thailand's democratic system remains deeply -- perhaps fatally -- wounded.

Yesterday Parliament elected Abhisit Vejjajiva, the leader of the Democrat Party, as the country's next prime minister. His coalition government plans to announce its cabinet appointments within six days. This will bring much-needed stability in the short term. But in the longer term, Mr. Abhisit's coalition is unlikely to resolve the fundamental conflicts that brought about this month's "silent coup" and may have trouble holding on to its tenuous grasp on power.

Mr. Abhisit's government has come to power by riding the dangerous wave of antidemocratic protest that brought the country to a standstill earlier this month. The previous government, loyal to former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was ousted by a combination of violent street protesters, with whom the military and police were largely complicit, and an activist judiciary operating under laws written by the military leaders who ruled from 2006-2007.

To get here, Mr. Abhisit's party has done what some describe as a "deal with the devil," luring away pro-Thaksin MPs by offering them important cabinet portfolios and undermining the Democrats' ability to steer policy. This fragile coalition appears to be united only by its desire to be in power. On top of that, the coalition has a slender parliamentary majority -- Mr. Abhisit was elected by a margin of 237-198 -- and by-elections next month will make that majority even slimmer.

The immediate task of the new government will be to help Thailand weather effects of the global financial crisis. Thai officials forecast GDP growth of 2% or less next year, and Thailand's tourism sector, which comprises around 6% of GDP, has been hurt by the recent airport occupations that stranded thousands of travelers. Mr. Abhisit, an Oxford-educated economist, says he will lead his economic team himself, and previously suggested that Thailand needs a large-scale stimulus package.

In the long term, however, the government must consider how to restore the power of elected officials and make Thailand a real democracy again. Elected politicians' roles have been undermined both by the 2006 coup, and by the military-imposed constitution, which mandates that only half the Senate is elected. Mr. Abhisit and his party have in the past said they would support constitutional amendments that would give more power to elected politicians. But given the fragile state of their coalition and the threat that anti-Thaksin protesters, who oppose such amendments, would return, they're unlikely to pursue this agenda.

Mr. Abhisit is Thailand's third prime minister in as many months. While he has the support of the military and the Bangkok elite, it will be difficult for him to win over pro-Thaksin rural voters, who remain angry at ouster of the duly elected government. Thailand's recent turmoil has been a battle between those who benefit from democracy, and those who don't. For now, the latter group is winning. Mr. Abhisit, despite his best intentions, may not be able to do much about that.

If you don't comprehend my answer this time don't ask again, as I am tired of repeating myself...

I would s...p...e...a...k sl....ow..ly but I don't think that will help you.

[siam4ever]

The airport army-supported terrorist seige was not a protest. It was a statement to either let them put in their proxy Abhisit or let the Thai people suffer endlessly.

[Ulysses G.]

hmmm must not have been any 'fascist thugs ...' doing that then

UG .. it's OK that you are a closet 'law and order' guy .... but really. Look at your country's history with protests!

We usually make some attempt to stop them from hurting other citizens,

[jdinasia]

hmmm flame away

but I read that and didn't see anything about a "silent coupe" (sic) --- so please answer the question you have been avoiding this whole time

But flaming me and TAWP was cute!

You obviously missed where I said I supported civil disobedience ... and you don't seem to know enough about what has occurred to make a rational statement about it without. Your list of silliness was so mixed up with things that didn't occur as to make most of your attempt to make a point just flop around like a fish out of water.

and again .. protesting your government is part of democracy

[MyphuketLife]

hmmm must not have been any 'fascist thugs ...' doing that then

UG .. it's OK that you are a closet 'law and order' guy .... but really. Look at your country's history with protests!

Ok let me try: protests happen and are part of being a democratic country. But when the protestors block things like airports or shut down streets the police move in and disperce the crowd. That did not happen here.

I don't think you will find one person on this board that thinks that the PAD had no right to protest. I am saying they had no right to overtake an airport, and the police should have stepped in.

[konangrit]

Somsak-Newin alliance to form a new party

Two faction leaders, Somsak Thepsuthin and Newin Chidchob, on Wednesday held a closed-door meeting with the aim to jointly form a new party to be part of the Democrat-led coalition.

MP Prajak Kaewklahan from the Friends of Newin faction said his faction might adopt the existing banner of Bhum Jai Thai Party, deemed an auspicious name, which came into existence following the disbandment of Matchima Thipataya Party.

The Somsak faction members from the disbanded party have already switched to the Bhum Jai Thai banner.

Prajak said the Somsak-Newin alliance will have a second largest block of more than 30 votes, trailing behind the Democrats in the Abhisit Vejjajiva government.

He said Somsak and Newin had reached an agreement in principle to form the alliance and that the deal would be formally sealed following formal meetings by respective factions.

Although the two factions have denied the alliance is designed to pressure for driving a hard bargain for Cabinet seats, Democrat Party secretary general Suthep Thuagsuban hints about upgrading the portfolios allocated.

The Somsak faction will get the commerce porfolio in lieu of the natural resources and environment allocated to it under the Somchai Wongsawat government.

The Friends of Newin faction will fill four Cabinet seats, including the trasport porfolio responsible for mega projects on mass transportation in Bangkok. Under the outgoing government, the faction was downgraded from four to two ministerial appointments.

The Nation

[MyphuketLife]

hmmm flame away

but I read that and didn't see anything about a "silent coupe" (sic) --- so please answer the question you have been avoiding this whole time

the dam_n title says Silent Coup, and the context of the article explains the silent coupe... you can't read

[Ulysses G.]

hmmm must not have been any 'fascist thugs ...' doing that then

UG .. it's OK that you are a closet 'law and order' guy .... but really. Look at your country's history with protests!

Ok let me try: protests happen and are part of being a democratic country. But when the protestors block things like airports or shut down streets the police move in and disperce the crowd. That did not happen here.

I don't think you will find one person on this board that thinks that the PAD had no right to protest. I am saying they had no right to overtake an airport, and the police should have stepped in.

Exactly!

[Ricardo]

The airport army-supported terrorist seige was not a protest. It was a statement to either let them put in their proxy Abhisit or let the Thai people suffer endlessly.

Personally I feel some sympathy for the army, they are damned for having a coup in 2006 to stop street-violence, and then damned again for not having done so this time round. They can't win !

[erobando]

The right-wing extremists are already busy discounting the truthful article by Ehrlich. They just can't stand to hear the truth. They'll start quoting the Bangkok Post and Nation pretty quick in rebuttal.

The Nation and Bangkok Post are right wing extremist newspapers?!?

Not exactly, but they tow the army propaganda line pretty tight. That's why the PAD supporters always sound like Fox News boys and detest any news that comes uncensored from outside of Thailand.

Neither paper is perfect, certainly.

But I'm not sure that foreign news sources do a better job, either.

They tend to oversimplify things and incorrectly frame information in political constructs (e.g., Left v Right) that westerners are familiar with.

[Thai at Heart]

The airport army-supported terrorist seige was not a protest. It was a statement to either let them put in their proxy Abhisit or let the Thai people suffer endlessly.

Personally I feel some sympathy for the army, they are damned for having a coup in 2006 to stop street-violence, and then damned again for not having done so this time round. They can't win !

On the basis that they have influenced the political landscape of the country more than any political party since the creation of democracy in Thailand, then add in the retired generals who have won elections and it is probably correct to say they are the dominant POLITICAL force in the country. It's amazing how easy it can be to take power with a rifle.

It is a little hard to feel sorry for them when after the last coup about the first thing they did was grant themselves a massive increase in budget. How many senior officers per head in the armed forces it is again?

[jdinasia]

lol ..

It is amazing that the same people that fault the military for the last coup are saying that them staying NEUTRAL in the recent political upheavals is bad !

[MyphuketLife]

On the basis that they have influenced the political landscape of the country more than any political party since the creation of democracy in Thailand, then add in the retired generals who have won elections and it is probably correct to say they are the dominant POLITICAL force in the country. It's amazing how easy it can be to take power with a rifle.

It is a little hard to feel sorry for them when after the last coup about the first thing they did was grant themselves a massive increase in budget. How many senior officers per head in the armed forces it is again?

Too many? maybe thats why they did not step and and take back the airport not enough "worker bees" and the senior officers aren't going to get their hands dirty

[MyphuketLife]

lol ..

It is amazing that the same people that fault the military for the last coup are saying that them staying NEUTRAL in the recent political upheavals is bad !

Overtaking the government, and disbursing people that illegally took over an airport are two completely different things.

Being that they are different things it is only natural that people would have different opinions.

But please keep on Spinning away....

Edited December 17, 2008 by MyphuketLife

[Thai at Heart]

lol ..

It is amazing that the same people that fault the military for the last coup are saying that them staying NEUTRAL in the recent political upheavals is bad !

Neutral?

When it is front page news that politicians of various parties had meetings with them last week?

[Jai Dee]

OK people... enough of the flaming.

Discussion on the forum is one thing... but arguments are something else.

Please take your arguments elsewhere... or suspensions may result.

[jdinasia]

Every party meets with the military ... but they certainly didn't make any effort to get rid of the PPP even though they stated their opinions.

[warfie]

coup d’état (pronounced /kuːdeɪˈtɑː/ AHD: [ko͞o"dā tä]), often simply called a coup, is the sudden unconstitutional overthrow of a government by a part — usually small — of the state establishment — usually the military — to replace the branch of the stricken government.

as in the events of 2006

the Military, by their INACTION, allowed the same to happen this year... IE: by refusing to obey the instructions of Prime Minister Somchai to disperse the PAD demonstrations allowing the overthrow of the Government... a "silent coup"

question answered... moving right along....

[Thai at Heart]

Every party meets with the military ... but they certainly didn't make any effort to get rid of the PPP even though they stated their opinions.

The fact that they have an opinion is in my opinion part of the problem. But that is the way it is unfortunately, but it may change one day. It was a pointed fact in most reports that only certain parties were INVITED to these meetings.

If anything good has come of this whole mess is that they didn't step in and make a coup. It would appear that after the last coup it would appear that despite some domestic support, the military worked out that coups lose Thailand a lot of friends in this modern day. It is something when people are thinking the best way out of political mess is a coup as some people were wishing for in recent months.

Edited December 17, 2008 by Thai at Heart

[Plus]

The whole PAD debacle is entirely of the govt making - they should have tried to govern the country rather than mess with judiciary and consitution to save Thaksin's ass.

Back in January they have been warned many many times not to provoke political confrontation.

When they first raised Const amendments in March PAD had shown up, as predicted. Still the govt didn't give up on the idea and PAD was forced to up the ante by staging "live in" rally from May on. The govt still didn't give up, so it lost Govt House in August.

After Samak lost his post Somchai had a chance to back off and negotiate, but chose to order a brutal police crackdown on Oct 7.

He promised to step down if found responsible, but didn't follow up. Instead the govt tried to sneak const amendment in secret and PAD had no other options but physically block the parliament from holding the amendment session.

When PAD went to the airport to greet Somchai I bet they didn't have any plans to hold it and were surprised how it turned out. Excited Chamlong said that if he'd known how successful airport takeove would have been, he'd have done long ago.

The govt still didn't give in, Somchai fled to Chiang Mai instead of dropping Thaksin agenda. The courts were forced to act instead and on Friday, the third day of airport blocade, it was clear that PPP would face the music. It was high time for the govt to negotiate with PAD and free the airport, the govt had nothing to lose but the face.

They have weighed their options carefully - save the face or free the airport? Face came first.

The government is solely responsible before the public for starting the war with PAD and losing it so badly, and not doing anything to protect people affected by it.

The govt was not elected to fight this war, it didn't have a public mandate for it, they had been warned that consequences would be disastrous for the country, and they still went ahead and not only started it, but led it all the way to the dead end, dead end not only for themselves but for the country as well.

This is a wonderful example of revisionist history. They say that the winner writes it the way he wants, not how it actually happened.

It happened exactly this way, play by play, regardless of who won.

Someone earlier also said that PAD took the airport to install themselves or Dems in power - nonsense. Their list of demands, their ultimatum, was posted somewhere here and it had nothing of the kind.

>>>>

If people demand the government to stand down - it's not a coup.

If Anupong briefly met with several party leaders half and how before they officially declared their new alliance, it's not a coup.

Nor the army nor the police were ordered to use force against PAD during the airport stand off, no one disobeyed any orders, so it wasn't a coup either.

According to the Nation, Suthep had met Newin in London and they flew back together, that's when they hatched the plan to form a new government, no generals were involved.

But hey, it's the Nation, they are on it, too, they lie to protect the conspiracy. Shh, everybody, it was coup, by someone no one dares to mention, someone so powerful that simply typing his name on Thaivisa will get you kicked out of the country (and it's not for lese majeste, apparently). They do not speak his name, even initials, that You Know Who, also known as IDKWFYATA - I Don't Know What the F You Are Talking About, or TOFBIA - The Original Fascist Behind It All, the one that spreads fascism through PAD, Democrat Party, The Nation, Bangkok Post, Thaivisa fascist tag team, typing their fascist messages on their fascist computers, drinking their fascist beer with their fascist bar girls.

>>>>

Western media, from Times to WSJ to BBC, rely on the same two extremely biased commentators - Giles and Thittinan, or at least some other leftists - there's not even a semblance of balance in their opinion gathering before they plunge headfirst into publishing their "analysis". The Economist conspiracy article created such a storm of replies and critisism that it was bound to be wrong simply because it was so widely rejected by mainstream society, but it surely flies by a moron like Giles.

[Thai at Heart]

The people (PAD) you mention is in no way representative of a measurable majority.

The PAD wouldn't have stepped down from the airport if the dissolution of the PPP hadn't delivered a ruling party that it approved of. That was part of it's demands.

The PAD's initial media message gave the game away about how some of the leaders feel inside about ill educated rural people. Very dangerous some/many would say fascist undertones.

The PAD has now issued it's wishes that it wants the new government to carry out. If as people cry "they aren't a political party" they should shut up and put up.

The inaction of the police or armed forces to follow orders was astonishing and implies obvious political bias.

Meetings were held between the Democrats and the army. Why?