Tanks Mobilised In Bangkok

[wxpwzrd]

Most of you seem to have a problem with the way the Thais go about things. I have read your vitriol over the past few days about the ineptitude of everyone in this Country from the PM, army, police, farmers etc. In most countries this would have turned into a blood bath by now. Thank god for their "ineptitude". This is a day at the fair compared to your football hooligans every weekend back home. Thank god for the Thais and their culture which is what brought you all here in the first place. I dont imagine any of you packing your bags in a hurry to go find a better place to live. This country will never "go to the dogs" because people like most of you will keep coming here to live out your last sad old days as exchange rate studs. Some posters have called this country "a joke". Correction. The US administration and banking system is a joke. ......

Here here, I want to buy Asean a drink, the sort of person I want to share a meal with, insightful, honest, and with a knack for describing people for what they really are. The phrase "exchange rate studs" will be immediately incorporated into my vocabulary as further ammunition against the neo-sahib mentality that is dominant on these boards.

Yeah it was pretty funny... and sadly true. That is a great phrase.

[George4]

SKy News is constantly rporting that Thaksin is calling for a revolution in Thailand. No arguments about which side is right or wrong but this is treason.

Lord Haha used to broadcast the same message to the UK from Germany. He was charged with Treason and executed. What will happen to Thaksin?

Shows how much he cares about his own people!

Surely the Thais/reds wouldn't be so stupid as to listen to this power crazed maniac?

The more violence that takes place the less the numbers will become IMO.

All I am seeing is pictures of young thugs with little or no organisation and Sky News scaring the crap out of

people in other countries trying to make it look bigger than it actually is.

Has anyone seen large crowds anywhere today? Like a Man Unt V Liverpool game sized mob?

[Richard W]

Wrong. If this is a democracy (they keep telling us it is!!) then any fraudulent activity in an election would result in a re-election.

And where it was detected, a by-election was ordered and held.

This government is NOT legitimate. The previous government was NOT legitimate!

What was illegitimate (but lawful) was the previous coalition (PPP + minor parties). The minor parties had promised to oppose Thaksin, but were being steered into helping him.

This was corrected in the current coalition (Democrats + minor parties), which could have been formed after the 2007 election, but would have been too fragile. What made the difference was the break-away of the 'Friends of Newin' from the Thaksinist camp.

Huh? Please tell me where that rule is that fraudulent activitity on one point invalidates an entire election.

The by-elections following the PPP dissolution demonstrated that the new coalition as a whole commands majority support - larger than would have been extrapolated from the 2007 election results. So, while the vote installing Abhisit was helped by the PPP dissolution, it was validated by the subsequent by-elections.

The primary effect of the TRT and PPP dissolutions has been the disqualification of the abler politicians, excluding them from office, though not actually excluding the more influential* of them from politics.

*I mean this word in the normal English sense, not as the Thai English euphemism.

[britmaveric]

Red Power!!! Time for the illegitimate govt to dissolve!!! Call for new elections!!!!

[edwardmoulton]

Just watching it on the BBC in the UK. They are not tanks that have been taken they are Armoured personel carriers. The soldiers in them were laughing and smiling with the Reds.

They have also taken at least one tank, most probably two, plus some armored vehicles. Anyhow the army should be very careful if people get killed they will be vilified. Precisely because of that the police will never ever interfere anymore. When they took rightful action on the yellow shirts they were accused of using extreme violence, which they did not, at least not for Thai standards.

The red shirts have been giving the army food as seen on Thai TV, not in my imagination. THey do not want to fight each other. The majority of the army and police sympathise with the red shirts. Fact.

Wrong. The majority of the police sympathise, the majority of the armed forces do not.

No you are wrong and you will see so.

[Data]

Think positive - It has stopped the police from handing out bogus fines to motorcyclists!

[dukkha]

And now the end is near, We've faced the final curtain, my friends I did.....RIP THAILAND

[JackSterling]

I thought that it was wrong to be confrontational here in Thailand...???

[rayw]

As I keep saying in other threads in the past few weeks, Thailand must have new elections before the end of the year BUT they MUST BE MONITORED by an organisation that is external, unbiased and fully internationally recognised and respected like say the UN. Having such monitored elections the Thai people and the World can then accept the results as truly democratic and not rigged with vote buying and corruption like what happen all over Thailand in the previous elections. Those areas that had by-elections were just the tip of the iceberg and the ones where it was blatantly obvious so there was no choice.

I just want to see either side get back in to power, or even a new peoples party, as long as it is the free will of the people and no bribes this time by having closely monitored elections. Either way Thaksin must never be part of a new Government that would really make Thailand look very stupid as he is a proven fraudster and needs to serve Thailand in jail for a few years.

[sekondnature]

Always knew they should have been colonised by the Brits and had some common sense and honesty knocked into them. You don;t get this sort of carry on in Singapore now do you?

I agree DragonFly. Iam not a Brit. However Iam sure if the Thais were colonized, they

would have alot more common sense . eg Malayasia,Singapore

Haha... yeah, and Cambodia, Vietnam, and Burma. Common sense indeed!

And the Philippines, "controlled", for hundred of years! LMAO

I agree. Such statements bring to mind white supremacists in the states. I would hope that someone living in a foreign country would be a bit more open minded and accepting.

[Seizhin]

I was just back after the Hat Yai Songkran, and I was oblivious to the changes, surprised at what happened... Wow.. I'm speechless..

[TonySoprano]

Are they going to use soldiers from the South? Aren't the majority of soldiers poor kids from the North? Will they shoot their own parents dead in the street at the orders of their commanders?

[Insight]

What was that joke about a French gun for sale?

[TonySoprano]

Who gives a monkey's ? As long as Lolita's - and the mouths of the girls inside - remain open, I'm alright . . .

Seriously though, this'll be over by next week. Let's all just enjoy Songkran and be grateful for the opportunity to live in what is still a lovely and interesting country. From what standpoint can the majority of us (expats) offer truly informed comment given our lack of understanding of their culture ?

Let 'em get on with it and pour me a cold one . . .

Those are some lucky girls' mouths.

[thaiman]

Who gives a monkey's ? As long as Lolita's - and the mouths of the girls inside - remain open, I'm alright . . .

Seriously though, this'll be over by next week. Let's all just enjoy Songkran and be grateful for the opportunity to live in what is still a lovely and interesting country. From what standpoint can the majority of us (expats) offer truly informed comment given our lack of understanding of their culture ?

Let 'em get on with it and pour me a cold one . . .

Well said hardenedsoul! I mean seriously, why do people even begin to discuss and care about thai politics. Thailand really has only one thing to offer, and we all know what that is

[pampal]

What was that joke about a French gun for sale?

If my memory serves me correctly, It was Italian rifles for sale, only dropped once.

[goofie]

Like the previous PAD negatively publicity, Airport closure, this is really bad for the Thais that even indirectly make an income from tourism and foreign investment. This has been the lead story around the world all day. Unfortunately future tourist would think that the whole city is chaos and out of control instead of just little tiny pockets. I hope for everyone, this is sorted out quickly and safely.

The British Gov travel advisory today.

“In view of the deteriorating security situation anyone considering going to Bangkok should urgently review their plans”.

Australian Gov travel warning to Thailand.

We advise you to exercise a high degree of caution because of the high threat of terrorist attack and because of political instability in Thailand.

Also, British Airways has made alternative arrangements for passengers traveling to Thailand on BA if they wish to change there plans.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-New...stry_Is_Stormed

Some ugly video footage

Anyway, back to Lolita's

Edited April 12, 2009 by goofie

[peecee]

Who gives a monkey's ? As long as Lolita's - and the mouths of the girls inside - remain open, I'm alright . . .

Seriously though, this'll be over by next week. Let's all just enjoy Songkran and be grateful for the opportunity to live in what is still a lovely and interesting country. From what standpoint can the majority of us (expats) offer truly informed comment given our lack of understanding of their culture ?

Let 'em get on with it and pour me a cold one . . .

Well said hardenedsoul! I mean seriously, why do people even begin to discuss and care about thai politics. Thailand really has only one thing to offer, and we all know what that is

There's the sun and the sea and that makes three!

[sunny747]

can i still go and play water at khao san?

[ding]

... Later, Thaksin informed Monson that he was going to operate the Cable TV concession himself. When Monson asked about the contracts and payments from Clearview to Thaksin for the business, Thaksin's response was "This is Thailand". After Chalerm became the Minister overseeing MCOT he reversed MCOT approval of Clearview for the contract corrupting the process of granting the concession for Clearview's benefit. Police confiscated Monson's equipment and filed Criminal Charges against him and his staff. After 7 years the Supreme Court cleared them of all these charges. During this period it was extremely difficult for Monson to travel to and do business in Thailand. Civil courts have ruled that Monson's company owned the equipment. Thaksin's IBC received the concession using Monson's equipment and without bidding. When IBC went Public the value of the company in the Stock Market was $760,000,000 USD giving Thaksin the base for his future telecom empire. Monson claims losses of $4.5 billion USD dollars.

On December 1, 2008 the Court accepted the case and appointed the Counter Corruption Commission to investigate.

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

Thanks for this info. Interesting, kinda goes to motive doesn't it.

Long live the King!

[colino]

Songkran has been cancelled

well thats what was posted,

And how are they going to stop khao san from having it . any ideas ?

[gbswales]

Once you allow people to believe that they can influence how they are governed - other than through elections then any country is on the road to disaster. Factions do not have to even be that large these days to cause major disruption. It doesnt matter what colour shirts people wear or what the politics are - the job of the police and army should be to eforce the law equally - clearly they are not doing this. If they do not follow the edicts of the elected government then surely they are breaking their oath of allegance to their King and country - its that simple.

The job of a soldier or pollice officer is to follow orders - among the British and American servicemen in places like Iraq - there are people of all different political beliefs , some of whom will be politically opposed to the war but who will fight it because this their duty. With a conscripted army drawn from a lottery that many young people dread and an underpaid, probably poorly trained, police force what more can you expect. The soldiers depicted celebrating with protestors should be identified and court martialled irrespective of whether the protesters were red, yellow, blue or any other colour!

As for Britain's history - no of course we didn't get things right all the time, and some of the colonists were as self interested as most politicians are - but in most countries we tried to put an infrastructure in place to provide for the protection of law and justice. However in many cases the people who took over stood for quite different things and consequently used these systems for their own ends - eg Mugabe. However it is impossible to judge the record as much of the colonisation was broken up suddenly by the second world war and so these processes were not fully established by the time we left.

However back to the main point - allowing mobs of people to dictate whether a government is allowed to govern is simply revolution and anarchy - and like the democratic or any other system gives the advantage to a small number of people. The only way that country functions well is where people worry about the areas that are properly within their domain, their family, friends and neighbours. Sadly I suspect that these few years of troubles will do more to devastate Thailand's ailing tourist industry than did the horrific Tsunami - I am sad for all the people who will lose their jobs in that industry (and as a consequence people in other industries) even sadder that these people will become part of these mobs and make the situation even worse.

Thailand needs a call for unity from a non partisan leader (I dare not say more!) There needs to be an independent judicial review of all governement and political bodoies that is open to public view and which has the authority to make decisions not based along party polical lines. Their aim should be to reform the whole structure to eliminate the ability of politicians, army and the police to make personal gains from their position - and given the level of corruption that exists it must mean the reform of people known to be corrupt in the past. You cannot blame Thaksin or any politician for taking advantage of a system that is endemic at every level - from getting the best table in a restaurant, buying your children out of the army to influencing multi million pound deals - it all has to change. At the same time you need the expertise of formerly corrupt people to change things - bringing in a host of new younger people simply wont work as a: they have the same potential to become corrupt and b: they wont have the experience to avoid being drawn into the game

[capt_canada42]

Most of you seem to have a problem with the way the Thais go about things. I have read your vitriol over the past few days about the ineptitude of everyone in this Country from the PM, army, police, farmers etc. In most countries this would have turned into a blood bath by now. Thank god for their "ineptitude". This is a day at the fair compared to your football hooligans every weekend back home. Thank god for the Thais and their culture which is what brought you all here in the first place. I dont imagine any of you packing your bags in a hurry to go find a better place to live. This country will never "go to the dogs" because people like most of you will keep coming here to live out your last sad old days as exchange rate studs. Some posters have called this country "a joke". Correction. The US administration and banking system is a joke. ......

Here here, I want to buy Asean a drink, the sort of person I want to share a meal with, insightful, honest, and with a knack for describing people for what they really are. The phrase "exchange rate studs" will be immediately incorporated into my vocabulary as further ammunition against the neo-sahib mentality that is dominant on these boards.

Yeah it was pretty funny... and sadly true. That is a great phrase.

I hope all you exchange rate studs are all out there living out your last sad days.

[Thai at Heart]

Once you allow people to believe that they can influence how they are governed - other than through elections then any country is on the road to disaster. Factions do not have to even be that large these days to cause major disruption. It doesnt matter what colour shirts people wear or what the politics are - the job of the police and army should be to eforce the law equally - clearly they are not doing this. If they do not follow the edicts of the elected government then surely they are breaking their oath of allegance to their King and country - its that simple.

The job of a soldier or pollice officer is to follow orders - among the British and American servicemen in places like Iraq - there are people of all different political beliefs , some of whom will be politically opposed to the war but who will fight it because this their duty. With a conscripted army drawn from a lottery that many young people dread and an underpaid, probably poorly trained, police force what more can you expect. The soldiers depicted celebrating with protestors should be identified and court martialled irrespective of whether the protesters were red, yellow, blue or any other colour!

As for Britain's history - no of course we didn't get things right all the time, and some of the colonists were as self interested as most politicians are - but in most countries we tried to put an infrastructure in place to provide for the protection of law and justice. However in many cases the people who took over stood for quite different things and consequently used these systems for their own ends - eg Mugabe. However it is impossible to judge the record as much of the colonisation was broken up suddenly by the second world war and so these processes were not fully established by the time we left.

However back to the main point - allowing mobs of people to dictate whether a government is allowed to govern is simply revolution and anarchy - and like the democratic or any other system gives the advantage to a small number of people. The only way that country functions well is where people worry about the areas that are properly within their domain, their family, friends and neighbours. Sadly I suspect that these few years of troubles will do more to devastate Thailand's ailing tourist industry than did the horrific Tsunami - I am sad for all the people who will lose their jobs in that industry (and as a consequence people in other industries) even sadder that these people will become part of these mobs and make the situation even worse.

Thailand needs a call for unity from a non partisan leader (I dare not say more!) There needs to be an independent judicial review of all governement and political bodoies that is open to public view and which has the authority to make decisions not based along party polical lines. Their aim should be to reform the whole structure to eliminate the ability of politicians, army and the police to make personal gains from their position - and given the level of corruption that exists it must mean the reform of people known to be corrupt in the past. You cannot blame Thaksin or any politician for taking advantage of a system that is endemic at every level - from getting the best table in a restaurant, buying your children out of the army to influencing multi million pound deals - it all has to change. At the same time you need the expertise of formerly corrupt people to change things - bringing in a host of new younger people simply wont work as a: they have the same potential to become corrupt and b: they wont have the experience to avoid being drawn into the game

Diolch yn fawr iawn

Sense if I ever heard it.

[HardenedSoul]

Democracy is dangerous in an electorate comprised largely of ignorants.

[kratiam]

I totally agree with gbswales.......

I really hope sense prevails and there's an end to all of this.....

Good luck, Thailand!

[luangtom]

Thailand made it very clear to me they said I am only a guest here so what happens here is none of my business

what is my business is what Thailand banks gives me for my USD and I am tired of paying for inflated over valued Baht

maybe these riots will bring the true value of the baht

Here Here! Let's have 70 baht to the pound, and $2 to the pound again....

Things may look bad at the moment, but a crash of the dollar is probably still more likely than a crash of the baht.

Yup, just like the baht was so great in '97 and its crash did SO much to improve its world standing. Just another

Banana Republic having its growing pains......and trying to be in the 21st century.

[toret]

Thailand made it very clear to me they said I am only a guest here so what happens here is none of my business

what is my business is what Thailand banks gives me for my USD and I am tired of paying for inflated over valued Baht

maybe these riots will bring the true value of the baht

As opposed to the horribly inflated USD for a decade or so?

[britainmal]

The Reality is that the PAD are the real trouble makers. Thaksin did not commit any crimes by selling his own company to a Singapore firm. Thailand was a peaceful country before PAD made troubles. As far as the land deal goes, his wife should have received the jail sentence not Thaksin. The current PM was hand picked by PAD not the true population of the Thai People. The Yellows need to know that the poor people in Thailand matter. Every politican is corrupt or has some form of corruption. Both parties are xenophobic although, but I think the reds are better than the yellows.

[wasabi]

Who here thinks the red shirts have a legitimate grievance? I ask because I'm still trying to understand if they have a right to be mad or if they are simply being manipulated.

Edited April 12, 2009 by wasabi