Pm Rejects Daad Claims Songkran Rioting Planned By Govt

[webfact]

PM rejects DAAD claims Songkran rioting planned by govt

By The Nation

Published on May 9, 2009

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday dismissed allegations that the Songkran rioting had been planned by the government, insisting that he was in the car that was battered by anti-government protesters at the Interior Ministry.

Abhisit said the government had not plotted the violence that broke out at the Interior Ministry and at the meeting venue of the Asean Summit in Pattaya on April 11-12.

He said he was surprised that the Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship (DAAD) leaders had distorted the facts surrounding what happened on those days despite ample evidence that he was facing a life-threatening situation.

Pheu Thai Party MP Jatuporn Promphan had on Thursday said Abhisit and Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban were not in the cars that were attacked by red-shirted protesters at the Interior Ministry. He claimed that the government had soldiers wear red shirts and act violently so as to frame charges against the DAAD.

The Democrat Party leader's personal spokesman, Thepthai Senpong, said he believed Jatuporn had levelled the allegation in order to justify the red-shirt rally tomorrow.

Niphon Promphan, secretary-general to the prime minister, dismissed the allegation made by Jatuporn, saying the red shirts did not attack an empty car and hundreds of protesters and reporters had witnessed the incident.

Army spokesman Colonel Sansern Kaewkamnerd denied that some soldiers had put on red shirts and attacked the prime minister's car, saying there were uniformed military officials standing guard at the Interior Ministry.

Jatuporn said he had pictures that had not been shown anywhere else but that he would expose during tomorrow's rally. The pictures allegedly show Abhisit and Suthep changing cars and leaving the ministry while leaving the other car to lure the red-shirt attacks.

Veera Musigapong, a red-shirt leader, said he would hold a rally at a field near Wat Pai Kiew in Bangkok's Don Muang district tomorrow. He will make a speech titled "Truth Today: Who Hurts Thailand?"

He said former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra would not phone in to the event but that he, Veera, would expose the truth that Abhisit was not in the bulletproof car as he claimed. "He just had the violent scene plotted and made up to justify his imposition of the state emergency,'' he said.

Although Veera said the red shirts would not stage more protests at the Asean Summit in Phuket, another of their leaders, Arisman Pongruangrong, has threatened to lead a protest in Phuket.

Arisman denied that the red shirts had intended to block the Asean Summit in Pattaya. He said they had been assaulted by the blue shirts.

He said the red shirts filed complaints against the blue shirts but police had not taken legal action against them.

However, he added, the red shirts were taking drastic action over what happened. He said he would gather evidence and file a complaint with national human-rights organisations and country leaders who are joining the coming Asean Summit in Phuket.

"If the government does not take any action against the blue shirts, it will certainly see the red shirts in Phuket. We are not going to block the Asean meeting, but only do what we are entitled to do,'' he said.

[Guest Reimar]

Related to Thailand News.

///MOVED

[LawnGnome]

Ahh, the red shirts have turned to the "Conspiracy Theory". They have lost most of the following they had among the average Thai citizen. Thaksin's ego finally got the best of him.

[flying]

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday dismissed allegations that the Songkran rioting had been planned by the government, insisting that he was in the car that was battered by anti-government protesters at the Interior Ministry.

All else aside...............When I saw this car with the heavy tinted windows drive into the red crowd I wondered what the &^%$ is that?

Then they came on & said it was the PM's car.... I immediately thought....It may be his car but there is no way he is in it. Nor would there be any reason for him to be in it & drive into a crowd of red shirts. If anyone saw the actual footage they know what I'm referring to. Car drives in stops ....let folks beat on it awhile...drive slowly to another spot....stop let folks & a monk beat on it .......etc...etc...etc...

Does that seems like a logical thing to do?

It would be the same as G Bush driving his limo through Iraq after getting a shoe tossed at him.

All the world's a stage & so was this.

Edited May 9, 2009 by flying

[Plus]

It wasn't the same car. Abhisit has left the Ministry at that time already.

[LawnGnome]

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday dismissed allegations that the Songkran rioting had been planned by the government, insisting that he was in the car that was battered by anti-government protesters at the Interior Ministry.

All else aside...............When I saw this car with the heavy tinted windows drive into the red crowd I wondered what the &^%$ is that?

Then they came on & said it was the PM's car.... I immediately thought....It may be his car but there is no way he is in it. Nor would there be any reason for him to be in it & drive into a crowd of red shirts. If anyone saw the actual footage they know what I'm referring to. Car drives in stops ....let folks beat on it awhile...drive slowly to another spot....stop let folks & a monk beat on it .......etc...etc...etc...

Does that seems like a logical thing to do?

It would be the same as G Bush driving his limo through Iraq after getting a shoe tossed at him.

All the world's a stage & so was this.

I'll need something more than your "qualified analysis" of the situation before I call the PM a liar.

[flying]

I'll need something more than your "qualified analysis" of the situation before I call the PM a liar.

Nothing exists to help a closed mind

[mc2]

the government couldn't organise security for the pattaya conference , I doubt they could have planned the rioting.

but there are other groups that could be behind it. the motive is there - to discredit the reds.

its quite possible for a group of paid thugs to put on a red shirt and work as agent provocateurs in order to sway public opinion.

if it did actually happen, it was a very effective and inexpensive tactic.

[sriracha john]

its quite possible for a group of paid thugs to put on a red shirt and work as

red shirts.

[mc2]

its quite possible for a group of paid thugs to put on a red shirt and work as

red shirts.

very funny but i meant a group of anti-red shirts putting on red shirts as agent provocitors.

[rixalex]

Nothing exists to help a closed mind

Nothing exists?

Well you may be right, but please don't give up looking.

[flying]

Nothing exists?

Well you may be right, but please don't give up looking.

Sorry lazy it is a get it your D%# self service world

[dominique355]

the government couldn't organise security for the pattaya conference , I doubt they could have planned the rioting.

but there are other groups that could be behind it. the motive is there - to discredit the reds.

its quite possible for a group of paid thugs to put on a red shirt and work as agent provocateurs in order to sway public opinion.

if it did actually happen, it was a very effective and inexpensive tactic.

Yeah right, and the guy on TV who called for the revolution wasn't Thaksin, but a government man who has undergone plastic surgery to look like Thaksin. It's all just a big cover-up from the government. The Red Shirts have never even been in Bangkok. All you saw where policemen dressed up like Red Shirts.

Oh please, give me a break!

[webfact]

Arisman denied that the red shirts had intended to block the Asean Summit in Pattaya. He said they had been assaulted by the blue shirts.

Is denying a more polite word for lying?

/edit type error

Edited May 9, 2009 by webfact

[Samuian]

Losing grounds - they turn desperate - lies, lies, deception, deceit, followed by lies, desinformation...

Interviewer:

"do you support these people?"

Thaksin:

"no, ahem' No, no, no, no...!"

In his "phone-in":

"when the soldiers are out on the streets, i'll be with you!"

and everywhere images of him, if on a phone-in diplayed on tv-screens, the crowds cheer at him!

Not a supporter - do the red shirts support him then?

Well, let's see the "evidence" then...what made them wait that long to come out with it?

Edited May 9, 2009 by Samuian

[Meridian007]

I can see it now:

"No, no, no we didn't do anything on those days, all red-shirts stayed home to take care of their poor, old grandmothers! It was all a lie! The government created zombie robots to impersonate thugs to impersonate red shirts! Yes! And anything bad you saw related to us was caused by government satellites effecting your brainwaves! We will now wear red shirts and tinfoil hats to all of our 'non-protests that didn't happen unless we look good from them', jing jing!"

As they fall further, they're grabbing at thinner and thinner straws. The attempt to obfuscate through denial and accusations of little meaning will hopefully be seen for the tissue it is.

What does it matter if he was in the car? If there is an angry mob outside your place, it is common practice for those in the public eye to have a second car prepared for personal safety. That doesn't mean it was planned, it just means that his security is good.

I think most people are satisfied with how things are being run now, and are bored of these shenanigans.

[mc2]

the government couldn't organise security for the pattaya conference , I doubt they could have planned the rioting.

but there are other groups that could be behind it. the motive is there - to discredit the reds.

its quite possible for a group of paid thugs to put on a red shirt and work as agent provocateurs in order to sway public opinion.

if it did actually happen, it was a very effective and inexpensive tactic.

Yeah right, and the guy on TV who called for the revolution wasn't Thaksin, but a government man who has undergone plastic surgery to look like Thaksin. It's all just a big cover-up from the government. The Red Shirts have never even been in Bangkok. All you saw where policemen dressed up like Red Shirts.

Oh please, give me a break!

my suggestions were reasonable.

your statements are absurd.

The stakes are so high, the power players in this struggle have the resources, the motive is certainly there.

I remain completely open to the possibility of agent provocateurs being used to discredit opponents, simply because it is effective, inexpensive and (if done through 3rd parties) reasonably risk free.

I am not saying it happened - only that it is a definite possibility. It would be a mistake to rule it out completely because the motive is too strong and there is no evidence to prove otherwise.

[webfact]

the government couldn't organise security for the pattaya conference , I doubt they could have planned the rioting.

but there are other groups that could be behind it. the motive is there - to discredit the reds.

its quite possible for a group of paid thugs to put on a red shirt and work as agent provocateurs in order to sway public opinion.

if it did actually happen, it was a very effective and inexpensive tactic.

Yeah right, and the guy on TV who called for the revolution wasn't Thaksin, but a government man who has undergone plastic surgery to look like Thaksin. It's all just a big cover-up from the government. The Red Shirts have never even been in Bangkok. All you saw where policemen dressed up like Red Shirts.

Oh please, give me a break!

Yeah, that mc2 guy seems to be a fan of "Mission Impossible"

[Plus]

There were several arrests made after that incident at Interior Ministry. I haven't heard that people caught on camera and later arrested denying their affiliation with red shirts.

And I think it does require some serious evidence to declare that Abhisit is lying about his personal experiences on that day, and not just exaggerating, but making up the whole "My car has been attacked" story.

[webfact]

There were several arrests made after that incident at Interior Ministry. I haven't heard that people caught on camera and later arrested denying their affiliation with red shirts.

And I think it does require some serious evidence to declare that Abhisit is lying about his personal experiences on that day, and not just exaggerating, but making up the whole "My car has been attacked" story.

A few politicians come into my mind who might be capable to fabricate such a story like "my car has been attacked".

Not Abhisit! He would be the least I would think of.

I remember occurrences in the past. A bomb on a TG airplane (with a prime minister inside)..., another one with a murder attempt on a prime minister (a car was involved)...

[Ricardo]

Pheu Thai Party MP Jatuporn Promphan had on Thursday said Abhisit and Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban were not in the cars that were attacked by red-shirted protesters at the Interior Ministry.

<snip for brevity>

He said former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra would not phone in to the event but that he, Veera, would expose the truth that Abhisit was not in the bulletproof car as he claimed.

Jatuporn seems to believe, that just because he claims the PM wasn't in the car, it makes the actual attack OK ? His vision of justice & true democracy seems to include the right of his followers to attack cars like this. Scary but revealing too.

Why can't he admit, his people got out-of-control, or were instructed and incited to do this ? Oh, that's right, they weren't his people at all, but soldiers dressed-up in red-shirts, or alien lizards, erm ... erm

Black is now white, hot is now cold, in Thaksin's World !

[noahvail]

I can see it now:

"No, no, no we didn't do anything on those days, all red-shirts stayed home to take care of their poor, old grandmothers! It was all a lie! The government created zombie robots to impersonate thugs to impersonate red shirts! Yes! And anything bad you saw related to us was caused by government satellites effecting your brainwaves! We will now wear red shirts and tinfoil hats to all of our 'non-protests that didn't happen unless we look good from them', jing jing!"

As they fall further, they're grabbing at thinner and thinner straws. The attempt to obfuscate through denial and accusations of little meaning will hopefully be seen for the tissue it is.

What does it matter if he was in the car? If there is an angry mob outside your place, it is common practice for those in the public eye to have a second car prepared for personal safety. That doesn't mean it was planned, it just means that his security is good.

I think most people are satisfied with how things are being run now, and are bored of these shenanigans.

Agreed. But...which "bullet-proof" car had its window smashed in by a bicycle helmet?

[Siripon]

So will Jatuporn be claiming the fat red shirted woman who tried to pull the driver out of Aphisit's car in Pattaya is in fact an army cook in disguise?

[Jingthing]

I am not sure Abhisit should have even dignify the slanderous accusations with a denial. Clearly, the reds are beyond desperate. They were desperate already over Songkran and they went for broke. When you go for broke, one possible result is actually going broke. They went broke.

Edited May 9, 2009 by Jingthing

[ThNiner]

Some news station should have recorded the red leaders including Nattawut and Jatuporn repeatedly calling for Abhisit's head on the reds' stage at the Govt House prior to the actual attacks. It was aired on Dstation. They should have it and should run it on their tv stations when they report this news.

[Samuian]

I can't grasp that the reds - any single one of those making up these "denials" -

that they think for a nano second that there might actually be someone out there

except in the paddy's, thickets and bushes that believes them one of these nutty

explanations?

have they ever had a spark of dignity?

[mc2]

I think the real question is "are the red opponents cunning enough to put troublemaking baiters amounsts the red shirts with the intent of discrediting the movement as a whole? "

It would be a bold and crafty move no doubt. I rate it as the single most effective way to discredit a peaceful protest movement.

We have had a recent assassination attempt, this may be an indication of how ruthless things have become.

[kaiwatnok]

I'll need something more than your "qualified analysis" of the situation before I call the PM a liar.

Nothing exists to help a closed mind

Nor does anything exist to quell the ridiculous..... some people on this forum must have very little to do

Thai secret service are poorly organized.... and do not benefit from the same level of training as we see in the west. They would not have been able to organize such a set up. you can attribute the erratic, illogical driving and lack of action by the guards....quite simply a lack of preparedness... they were just not ready for such flagrant disregard of authority.

One of the main problems in thailand stems back to the education system, people are taught to believe what they are told by their superiors, and not question it, nor think of other possiblities... parrot fashion. As a result, ridiculous ideas are allowed to spread as if they were genuine, very easily.

[webfact]

I'll need something more than your "qualified analysis" of the situation before I call the PM a liar.

Nothing exists to help a closed mind

Nor does anything exist to quell the ridiculous..... some people on this forum must have very little to do

Thai secret service are poorly organized.... and do not benefit from the same level of training as we see in the west. They would not have been able to organize such a set up. you can attribute the erratic, illogical driving and lack of action by the guards....quite simply a lack of preparedness... they were just not ready for such flagrant disregard of authority.

One of the main problems in thailand stems back to the education system, people are taught to believe what they are told by their superiors, and not question it, nor think of other possiblities... parrot fashion. As a result, ridiculous ideas are allowed to spread as if they were genuine, very easily.

I'll second that without hesitation! 100% true!!!

[Scott]

Planning isn't a cornerstone of Thai society in general, and certainly not in the gov't.