Traffic Chaos In Bangkok As Protesters Close Main Roads

[h90]

Red or Yellow, these people need to stop this foolishness.

Thailand is rapidly becoming the laughing stock of the world.

I am deeply ashamed of having any connection to Thailand and these petty antics.

I live in Indo now and these buggers are no better. My girlfriend had to vote today because she had already accepted the 100,000 RP to vote for a specific person.

Shame on Asia.

Taksin/Mahattir/Suharto/Marcos etc etc etc ~

When will the same old story end? When will they all learn?

My wife had recently a talk with a Cambodian cleaning women who was surprisingly politically interested.

And there it is even worse. If you vote for the wrong person, you may run in serious problems, you might even get killed in her area.

Recall that the yellow are these fighting the vote buying and corruption (even if the methods are something strange, the idea is right).

[mogoso]

Lovely, this will really endear the reds to Bangkokians.

Considering how the populace of Bangkok votes, I don't think the Reds care how they feel

[kurtgruen]

Red or Yellow, these people need to stop this foolishness.

Thailand is rapidly becoming the laughing stock of the world.

I am deeply ashamed of having any connection to Thailand and these petty antics.

I live in Indo now and these buggers are no better. My girlfriend had to vote today because she had already accepted the 100,000 RP to vote for a specific person.

Shame on Asia.

Taksin/Mahattir/Suharto/Marcos etc etc etc ~

When will the same old story end? When will they all learn?

They became that a long time ago, with Thaksin, Samak and the list goes on, but luckily most of the World has never heard of the other ones. Most of the World still thinks that Taipae is in Thailand and that we speak Taiwanese here.

[h90]

could we not keep the thread going with transport updates in the bangkok forum

this is just going to descend into a red/yellow shirt argument which is going to be torture to sift through for useful information

you are right, maybe 1 thread for just news+information and one for political discussion???

Moderator: wouldn't that be a good idea?

[ozzieman05]

Simple solution

Confiscate the taxis for being a public nuisance and sell the at auction

The police who confiscate the car will get 30% of the price as danger money

Watch how quick the taxies get off the roads

[Longduckdong]

Lovely, this will really endear the reds to Bangkokians.

a dose of their own medicine, since they rammed it down ours

seems Abhisit just has to learn the hard way

for all his intelligence and education, he should have seen this a MILE away, before he took on PM

Exactly, although I have no love for the reds. The yellows started it and brought upon themselves by closing down two major airports and vandalizing government house. You see, it is a vicious cycle. It will go on and on and on. I wonder what they were thinking. Surely they know that two people can play the game. Would have been better had both sides started talking and doing genuine reconciliatory actions before rather than chasing down an exiled politician and his party before taking it to the streets. Didn't the last elections prove that?

[mogoso]

This whole thing is totally retarded, just like most of the people in these protests and the police. The blind leading the blind. I have been living in Thailand 11 years, and i have started to hate the red shirts to be honest. Close airports, mess up normal peoples lives in Bangkok. oh much love to your cause. i think NOT!!!!! Bring out the tear gas and let the police grow a pair of balls for god sake!!!

I believe your recalling the activities of the yellow shirts, afaik not a problem at the airport with red shirts.

[LTGTR]

Red shirts occupy Democracy Monument, traffic closed

BANGKOK: -- The red shirts have relocated their rally site at Royal Plaza to Democracy Monument on Rajdamnoen Avenue.

Police have closed off traffic around two thoroughfares at Democracy and Victory Monuments.

The red shirts moved out of two rally sites, the Royal Plaza and Si Sao Thewes residence of royal chief adviser General Prem Tinsulanonda.

Many protesters still remain at the main rally site in front of Government House.

-- The Nation 2009-04-09

Typical Thai mutts!

[ozzieman05]

If Abhisit really wants democracy, why not call for elections and accept the result, whatever it is? If the majority really wants him, they will vote for him. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I haven't ever seen him talk about a date of the elections.

If any government did this they would set a precident

Any you would open pandoras box for the future

[eldar1]

That there are 100.000 jumping around in Bangkok is no reason. If it needs 100.000 to trigger elections than we would have new elections every 3 month.

if 100,000 people jumped up and down in bangkok i think half the buildings in the city would come tumbleing down

I still think abhisit is overall a better bet than thaksin. TRT/PPP/PT/UDD has been disbanded twice now and has split once (into the militia UDD and the political wing PT), it's time for them to give up since they can't seem to be able to hold it together and let someone else try to clean up their mess for a while. Maybe in 5-10 years time when they have matured a bit and regular thai people have had a breather can they try and see if they can come back into power and not screw up this time.

[rainman]

The main problem is in the very foundation of Thailand. Working all month, every day, for 6,000-8,000 Baht creates a paradise for corruption. Thais now have the huge shopping centers, as we have in the West. There are cinemas, fast food restaurants, expensive perfumes & shoes, students want/need to shop at Guess or other brand name stores. Otherwise you're "out" or "low-so".

If everyone earned 30,000-40,000 Baht, it would be much less attractive to accept a 'donation' to vote for this or that person. It doesn't take Einstein to discover that countries with high income have much less corruption than countries with low income.

But simple math tells me that:

Tourists avoiding Thailand + insecure export + instability + non-improving infrastructure = Low income = High corruption.

Surely Thaksin was corrupt and put a lot of money into his own pocket, but Thailand was on the right path while he was PM. For probably many decades, Thailand will likely always have PMs who put money into their own pockets, but the difference will be if they do something for the country or if they don't.

I haven't seen Abhisit do anything to improve tourism, export or confidence in Thailand. No compensations to the workers who have lost their jobs because of the airport occupation and the damage it has cause to the tourism industry.

I have however seen bonuses for government workers, which again are usually the ones who have higher salaries than the people working as maids cleaning hotel rooms or the ones serving food in tourist restaurants.

I seriously hope that the red shirts keep their demonstrations limited to the government buildings and the government itself, not like the yellow shirts.

In the end, between Abhisit and Thaksin, I have to say Thaksin is the better choice. It's either a chipmunk who does nothing or a chipmunk who does something.

Give me a better choice and I may well change my mind, but for right now that's what Thailand is stuck with.

[Pierrot]

I enjoy the fact that NOW the yellow-shirts are asking everyone to respect the rule of law.

The academic community is beginning to call for the government to be dissolved and for general elections to be held. I'm with them in believing this is the safest, most peaceful and most democratic way out of this situation.

Taken from the Nation URL: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2009/04/09...cs_30100030.php

Gov't should dissolve House to ease tension: academic

By The Nation

The government should push ahead with the political reform within for 50 days before dissolving the House to pave way for the elections, King Prachadhipok's Institute political scientist Pornchai Theppanya said on Thursday.

Pornchai urged the government to step down in order to overcome the political impasse triggered by the red-shirt crowd.

He said he would not comment on the demand for privy councillors to quit, arguing he could offer his idea on what was deemed within reason for the government to review and comply.

He reminded the Democrats that they once called for two governments under Samak Sundaravej and Somchai Wongsawat to quit under similar circumstances.

I really wish someone could dig the post here on TV warning PAD supporters there were setting a very dangerous precedent.

On the bright side, it's obvious the red crowd definitively outnumbers the yellows even at their peak. When it comes to counting people, in the ballot or in the street, the result is obviously always the same ! Thaksin rules !

Edited April 9, 2009 by Pierrot

[kurtgruen]

TURMOIL IN CITY

PM set to address nation

By The Nation

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has flown back from Pattaya for a national TV address this evening, as pro-Thaksin protesters blocked all entrances to Victory Monument, and are now targetting Hua Lampong and Democracy Monument. Red-shirted protesters, who are taxi drivers of of the community radio clubs, parked their vehicles on all roads leading to the Victory Monument which is one of the busiest centre of Bangkok.

The anti-government protesters also onto the roads circling the monument, causing chaos. More red-shirted protesters are planning to move from the residence of Privy Council head Prem Tinsulanonda to the Victory Monument soon.

They vowed to block the access for three days if Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva did not agree to the protesters' demands for him to resign and dissolve the House.

"Everything happened quite fast," said a man who called The Nation. "When I came to the Victory Monument in the early afternoon, there was nothing. Then all of a sudden, I am now trapped and I can't go anywhere."

Taxi radio earlier in the day called on a gathering at the Vibhavadirangsit Soi 3, a taxi radio headquarters, "to receive instructions."

Ramathibodi Hospital bore the blunt of the blockade, with its director going on TV asking those who planning to come to the hospital to go to other hospitals instead. She also said some patients wanting to go home were having difficulties leaving the hospital.

Red-shirted protesters have also appeared at the Hua Lampong train station, another busy and key logistic area of Bangkok. It was not immediately clear if the intention was to stop train service.

The red-shirted movement is also said to be planning a big gathering on the Rajadamnoen Avenue around the Democracy Monument. "Very symbolic," an observer said. "After "victory", now "democracy".

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said his government learnt in advance that red shirts protesters will block access to the Victory Monument. Arriving in Pattaya where he would host Asean Summit plus six, Abhisit said that the government already prepared how to solve the problems.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Theugsubhan echoed what Abhisit said, saying the government knew in advance of the movement.

Suthep said in Bangkok that police will use tow trucks to tow taxis as many as possible from the roads.

BTS allowed stranded travellers to use the skytrain service without having to buy tickets at the Victory Monument stations. The passengers were instructed to pay at their destination stations.

Government sources said it was feared the blockade could be just the beginning, and that security forces were on alert for potential bigger trouble in the evening.

Reporters were trying to locate the last remaining members of the "Shinawatra" clan after Thaksin Shinawatra's ex-wife Pojaman, their three children, his brother Chaisit Shinawatra and brother-in-law Somchai Wongsawat had left the country.

Unconfirmed reports said Thaksin's sisters _ Yaowapa Wongsawat and Yingluck Shinawatra _ may have also left the country.

The unconfirmed departure would leave the red-shirted movement with no immediate, on-hand guidances, the sources said. This could either weaken or, on the contrary, galvanise the movement and things could get out of control.

[xminator]

If Abhisit really wants democracy, why not call for elections and accept the result, whatever it is? If the majority really wants him, they will vote for him. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I haven't ever seen him talk about a date of the elections.

The stringholders wont let him. His thrown into the fighting cage and will stay until someone let him out. Not that the puppet is unhappy to be where he is. This is what his wanted for years, his dream and ambition.

I dont think the reds will be able to break the deadlock of this conflict. The government have something that at least look like a legit platform to work from, and there is no reason to believe that the courts will dissolve any parties that form that platform. Mostly because there is strings attached to the courts as well.

Some want to see Thaksin in jail or dead, but good luck dealing with a martyr. He is less dangerous where he is right now.

[rainman]

Simple solution

Confiscate the taxis for being a public nuisance and sell the at auction

The police who confiscate the car will get 30% of the price as danger money

Watch how quick the taxies get off the roads

You're suggesting the police getting 30% of every car they confiscate?

As if we needed more police corruption.

[h90]

Simple solution

Confiscate the taxis for being a public nuisance and sell the at auction

The police who confiscate the car will get 30% of the price as danger money

Watch how quick the taxies get off the roads

3 minutes!

You would only need to send one policemen.

The Taxi are all rent, so he would give 10 % of the price for every taxi driver who drive the taxi to the collection point themself.

[rainman]

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said his government learnt in advance that red shirts protesters will block access to the Victory Monument.

Little genius, isn't he?

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Theugsubhan echoed what Abhisit said, saying the government knew in advance of the movement.

Another genius.

Edited April 9, 2009 by rainman

[h90]

I really wish someone could dig the post here on TV warning PAD supporters there were setting a very dangerous precedent.

On the bright side, it's obvious the red crowd definitively outnumbers the yellows even at their peak. When it comes to counting people, in the ballot or in the street, the result is obviously always the same ! Thaksin rules !

The yellow demonstrated 193 days and no new election was called.

outnumber :D

[JRinger]

On the bright side, it's obvious the red crowd definitively outnumbers the yellows even at their peak. When it comes to counting people, in the ballot or in the street, the result is obviously always the same ! Thaksin rules !

More like 'money rules'...do you think any of the Red shirts would be there 'protesting' if they had to use their own money? I think not.

[katasyd]

My dream of 40 baht to 1 AUD might eventuate if this drags out for months causing the economy to tank..

*fingers crossed*

[asiawatcher]

Boring as batsh*t. Reds have been and always will be the poor people (Pareto Principle) so 80/20 rules. 20% (the Yellow shirts) employ 80% of the population. This is only about Thaksin getting his 'money' released. Govt has it, he don't. Boo hoo... but yes, whilst Thailand gurgles down the toilet even further, ignorance is bliss for the red shirts who mostly are here even without shoes. No education, deliberately not informed about the world issues (who cares?). Can't blame them for the hand out at 500 Baht a day can you? As for the taxis - they won't even get a parking ticket. Thaksin was a cop. He may be a felon, and convicted bail jumper, but he wont return - at least not yet. They will try him on the other 9 charges and leave his sorry ass in the jug for the rest of his days. No - this is all about paying nuisance money to get his assets release and a possible pardon on the passing of our existing royalty.

[Oberkommando]

Unconfirmed reports said Thaksin's sisters _ Yaowapa Wongsawat and Yingluck Shinawatra _ may have also left the country.

The unconfirmed departure would leave the red-shirted movement with no immediate, on-hand guidances, the sources said. This could either weaken or, on the contrary, galvanise the movement and things could get out of control.

Irresponsible nonsense journalism.

[kurtgruen]

TAN Network has live updates and is speaking about Abhisit's upcoming speech right now (English Program)

http://www.thailandoutlook.tv/

[rainman]

My dream of 40 baht to 1 AUD might eventuate if this drags out for months causing the economy to tank..

*fingers crossed*

It won't happen. Thailand will artificially hold it steady. Notice how the USD didn't move when the yellow shirts took the airports and Thailand lost billions in tourism and export revenues?

Corruption at every level!

[realitymanagement]

I don't think the military will refuse to step in if asked this time.

[rainman]

Unconfirmed reports said Thaksin's sisters _ Yaowapa Wongsawat and Yingluck Shinawatra _ may have also left the country.

The unconfirmed departure would leave the red-shirted movement with no immediate, on-hand guidances, the sources said. This could either weaken or, on the contrary, galvanise the movement and things could get out of control.

I'm pretty sure they have video conferencing, mobile phones and other top secret communication methods.

[edwardmoulton]

The main problem is in the very foundation of Thailand. Working all month, every day, for 6,000-8,000 Baht creates a paradise for corruption. Thais now have the huge shopping centers, as we have in the West. There are cinemas, fast food restaurants, expensive perfumes & shoes, students want/need to shop at Guess or other brand name stores. Otherwise you're "out" or "low-so".

If everyone earned 30,000-40,000 Baht, it would be much less attractive to accept a 'donation' to vote for this or that person. It doesn't take Einstein to discover that countries with high income have much less corruption than countries with low income.

But simple math tells me that:

Tourists avoiding Thailand + insecure export + instability + non-improving infrastructure = Low income = High corruption.

Surely Thaksin was corrupt and put a lot of money into his own pocket, but Thailand was on the right path while he was PM. For probably many decades, Thailand will likely always have PMs who put money into their own pockets, but the difference will be if they do something for the country or if they don't.

I haven't seen Abhisit do anything to improve tourism, export or confidence in Thailand. No compensations to the workers who have lost their jobs because of the airport occupation and the damage it has cause to the tourism industry.

I have however seen bonuses for government workers, which again are usually the ones who have higher salaries than the people working as maids cleaning hotel rooms or the ones serving food in tourist restaurants.

I seriously hope that the red shirts keep their demonstrations limited to the government buildings and the government itself, not like the yellow shirts.

In the end, between Abhisit and Thaksin, I have to say Thaksin is the better choice. It's either a chipmunk who does nothing or a chipmunk who does something.

Give me a better choice and I may well change my mind, but for right now that's what Thailand is stuck with.

I agree but I would if you don't mind, add to your equation:

Tourists to Thailand plummeting + exports plummeting + growing political and economic instability + stagnant infrastructure + lowering education standards + growing corruption + growing legal injustice = Low income + High dissatisfaction = High corruption + High Crime = Tourists to Thailand plummeting and so on in a vicious circle!

As I keep saying, it is not about the personalities here, it is about saving the country from disaster. The ONLY way is an election and then a democratic government whoever wins or whoevers in the coalition.

[katasyd]

My dream of 40 baht to 1 AUD might eventuate if this drags out for months causing the economy to tank..

*fingers crossed*

It won't happen. Thailand will artificially hold it steady. Notice how the USD didn't move when the yellow shirts took the airports and Thailand lost billions in tourism and export revenues?

Corruption at every level!

One can dream..

[asiawatcher]

TURMOIL IN CITY

PM set to address nation

By The Nation

.

Reporters were trying to locate the last remaining members of the "Shinawatra" clan after Thaksin Shinawatra's ex-wife Pojaman, their three children, his brother Chaisit Shinawatra and brother-in-law Somchai Wongsawat had left the country.

Unconfirmed reports said Thaksin's sisters _ Yaowapa Wongsawat and Yingluck Shinawatra _ may have also left the country.

Like Rats from a sinking ship. The clan is on the run - good riddance. Leave Thailand run with an incorruptible PM and et him run his term. Then vote if you can read the ballot paper!

[rainman]

I don't think the military will refuse to step in if asked this time.

Coups'R'Us