Rousing Welcome For Pm

[webfact]

BURI RAM VISIT

Rousing welcome for PM

By THE NATION ON SUNDAY

Published on July 12, 2009

Boost for Democrat hopes of breakthrough in Northeast

The unstinting welcome for Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva in Buri Ram yesterday has raised the Democrat Party's hopes of planting its flag in the stronghold of Newin Chidchob, a core leader of its coalition partner Bhum Jai Thai Party.

Though Abhisit's choice of Buri Ram as the first province on his tour of the northeastern region has aroused much controversy and conflict within his party, colleagues were confident the visit would boost his popularity, which is already high there.

PM's Office Minister Satit Wongnongtaey, a senior figure in the ruling Democrat Party, described the trip as "very satisfactory" given the warm welcome the prime minister got from the locals.

Abhisit, however, said only: "The inspection of the area was fine" when questioned by reporters after returning to Bangkok in the evening.

Newin did not show up while Abhisit was in the province. Abhisit said Newin had not needed to as they had kept in phone contact.

A source close to Abhisit said Newin had stayed away because he did not want to be seen as trying to steal the show or invite criticism that the PM was visiting Newin's stronghold to boost his clout.

Democrat Party Ubon Ratchathani MP Supachai Srila said the party estimated that Abhisit's job-approval rating in the northeastern region was more than 70 per cent and the party was expected to win at least 15 parliamentary seats in the region in the next general election.

He said the Democrat Party would not engage in "political collusion" with the Bhum Jai Thai Party, especially in Buri Ram province, and would field an outstanding candidate in constituency 1 for a free and fair competition.

"We have a very good chance in Buri Ram constituency 1. We will select a very prominent candidate, because Isaan people go for the in-dividual over the party,'' Supachai said.

Transport Minister Sophon Saram brought a locally assembled Etaen truck for Abhisit and his team to take into remote villages and hear complaints from rubber and sugarcane farmers. The PM's team arrived to a cheering crowd, who tied a pha kao ma multi-purpose cloth for men around his waist in the local welcoming tradition.

The farmers asked Abhisit to raise the rubber price from Bt50 per kilogram to Bt60 and that of sugarcane to Bt12,000 per tonne. Abhisit agreed to help them.

Abhisit thanked the people of Buri Ram for their support, saying that if all his local visits went as smoothly he believed all of the government's policies would be implemented with great success. The PM vowed to visit every area to see what problem each faced.

The Democrat Party's Isaan commander, Sutasn Ngenmune, who had threatened to quit following the Democrat Party decision to kick off the PM's tour in Buri Ram, did not turn up to welcome Abhisit's team.

Police threw a security blanket over Abhisit, setting up checkpoints at every intersection. Police helicopters checked the areas he was to visit throughout yesterday.

-- The Nation 2009/07/12

[mauGR1]

Good news.I was holding my breath,it seems like Khun Abhisit took the bet and won.I hope he can do something real now to improve the lives of those in the countryside.Not only words Mark,please

[terrier123]

Q.

Anyone Know if any future visits to Isaan planned and/or dates?

[webfact]

Blue-shirts guard PM on tour

3,000 POLICE FOR BURI RAM VISIT, BUT RED SHIRTS KEPT AT BAY BY NEWIN GROUP

By: SURASAK GLAHAN

Published: 12/07/2009 at 12:00 AM

Newspaper section: News

BURI RAM : Blue-shirt government supporters encircled about 200 red-shirt protesters in Buri Ram yesterday to ensure the prime minister's tour of the province encountered little resistance.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva visited the Northeast - stronghold of the opposition Puea Thai Party - to boost the Democrat Party's popularity among northeastern voters.

He took along with him promises of big spending from the government's economic stimulus package.

Red shirts vowed to disrupt his tour, but found themselves unable to budge for most of the day as 500 blue-shirts encircled them on the road and kept them hemmed in with six-wheeler trucks.

story continues: http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/2008...uard-pm-on-tour

-- Bangkok Post 2009/07/12

[losworld]

Kudos for the PM. This really isn't rocket science. He has to reach out to the disenfranchised North Easterners and chip away at Thaksin's base. Once he does this Thaksin is sunk.

He should be making speeches and drafting policies of inclusion not exclusion. One simply must ask why Thaksin had the support of the northeast. Sure he bought votes but aside from this he paid attention and at least gave the impression he was listening.

The answer is not to polarize one group against the next but to implement politics of inclusion.

[Insight]

Love the bit on the BKK Post article about demanding an apology to the residents of Buri Ram from the Red Shirts

[Plus]

Kudos for the PM. This really isn't rocket science. He has to reach out to the disenfranchised North Easterners and chip away at Thaksin's base. Once he does this Thaksin is sunk.

He should be making speeches and drafting policies of inclusion not exclusion. One simply must ask why Thaksin had the support of the northeast. Sure he bought votes but aside from this he paid attention and at least gave the impression he was listening.

The answer is not to polarize one group against the next but to implement politics of inclusion.

Why don't you practice it yourself, I feel excluded from the meaning of your post.

Do you have any particular examples of Abhisit polarizing one group against another, of not reaching out to Isanese?

Apart from that, why does he have to be the favourite politician of each and every Thai? It is simply not possible, he just has to settle on being acceptable to all Thais, and he does it a lot better than Thaksin who pissed off half the country and made in ungovernable.

Personally, I'd be appalled if Abhisit pretends to be an Isan farmer with four years of education and love for som tam just to score their loyalty. He doesn't have to win their respect by drinking lao kao either. That's be just so.... Thaksin.

[lopburi3]

The "Rousing Welcome" does not sound that rousing on front page of The Bangkok Post

At several events, Mr. Abhist's address on stage received lukewarm reception from the crowds.

[losworld]

Kudos for the PM. This really isn't rocket science. He has to reach out to the disenfranchised North Easterners and chip away at Thaksin's base. Once he does this Thaksin is sunk.

He should be making speeches and drafting policies of inclusion not exclusion. One simply must ask why Thaksin had the support of the northeast. Sure he bought votes but aside from this he paid attention and at least gave the impression he was listening.

The answer is not to polarize one group against the next but to implement politics of inclusion.

Why don't you practice it yourself, I feel excluded from the meaning of your post.

Do you have any particular examples of Abhisit polarizing one group against another, of not reaching out to Isanese?

Apart from that, why does he have to be the favourite politician of each and every Thai? It is simply not possible, he just has to settle on being acceptable to all Thais, and he does it a lot better than Thaksin who pissed off half the country and made in ungovernable.

Personally, I'd be appalled if Abhisit pretends to be an Isan farmer with four years of education and love for som tam just to score their loyalty. He doesn't have to win their respect by drinking lao kao either. That's be just so.... Thaksin.

I think you are misinterpreting my remarks. I am a solid supporter of the PM and what he is doing. I am merely saying this is the best path. He does not have to dress or act like an Isaan farmer (although nothing wrong with that) but he does have to do more to compensate for perceived neglect of the region. No politician can be everything to everyone but Thailand needs someone to reconcile the country more than ever. The current divisions are only digging a deeper hole that Thaksin could easily crawl out of.

[rogercw]

So 3,000 police and 500 blue shirts kept 200 red shirts under control while the local "influential figure" turned out a large crowd to greet the PM. So what? There are no permanent opponents or allies in Thai politics it is said. Did anyone really expect Thaksin's people to make a major effort to create trouble on Newin's home territory? That would not help an effort to get him back into the fold, a political place that the last two by-elections have made look a little more attractive to him.

[justanothercybertosser]

the nation headline:

Rousing welcome for PM

is somewhat offset by the second last sentence of the Bangkok Post coverage:

"At several events, Mr Abhisit's address on stage received a lukewarm reception from the crowds."

Also interesting to note here is that the Nation article makes no mention of hundreds of Blue Shirts hired by Bhum Jai Thai, as reported by Bangkok Post, who have encircled Red Shirt protesters.

Isn't it illegal to hire a militia to hinder people to use their democratic right to protest, and in case protests might turn violent, you let state security forces deal with those protesters?

[Thai at Heart]

Irrespective of whether it was a rousing greeting or not, kudos for him going.

It was a pretty safe place for him to go being Newin's heartland. Let's see if he or any of the cabinet are men (or women) enough to explore at little bit more in the north east.

I wholeheartedly disagree with the concept that he shouldn't try to appear to be more a man of the people. At least by going and participating he can appear to connect a bit more. It may or may not come naturally to him, but this is politics, not pageantry.

[Ferwert]

The English Language media in Thailand is agenda driven. Quotes and news releases from them ought to be taken with a "grain of salt". Unfortunately, they are the only source for farangs, and as evidenced by the comments in this section, Farangs are clearly influenced by them. A Prime Minister with no electoral legitimacy needing guarding by Blue shirt militia's, Thailand's Basijls, should be a clue as to the reality of things. This reality will again be demonstrated at election time, if a fair poll is possible.

[mauGR1]

the nation headline:

Rousing welcome for PM

Also interesting to note here is that the Nation article makes no mention of hundreds of Blue Shirts hired by Bhum Jai Thai, as reported by Bangkok Post, who have encircled Red Shirt protesters.

Isn't it illegal to hire a militia to hinder people to use their democratic right to protest, and in case protests might turn violent, you let state security forces deal with those protesters?

Don't you think he could be right in being a bit suspicious about the " peaceful" protests by the Reds ?

[Orac]

[

The farmers asked Abhisit to raise the rubber price from Bt50 per kilogram to Bt60 and that of sugarcane to Bt12,000 per tonne. Abhisit agreed to help them.

It doesn't say what the current price for sugarcane is but the if he can be seen as responsible for a 20% rise in income for rubber farmers he should pick up quite a few votes.

[Datsun240Z]

I feel this is more a internal battle between Thaksin and Abhisit. Offcourse the poor people will always say yes and thank you sir.

[Ferwert]

Kudos for the PM. This really isn't rocket science. He has to reach out to the disenfranchised North Easterners and chip away at Thaksin's base. Once he does this Thaksin is sunk.

He should be making speeches and drafting policies of inclusion not exclusion. One simply must ask why Thaksin had the support of the northeast. Sure he bought votes but aside from this he paid attention and at least gave the impression he was listening.

The answer is not to polarize one group against the next but to implement politics of inclusion.

North Easterners are not disenfranchised yet, unless Abhisit and his PAD friends have their way. They are the ones who have the arrogance to suggest that North Easterners are too intellectually challenged to vote. So disenfranchise "em. As far as Mr. Thaksin being sunk...dont count on it. "The Petition" has now exceeded 1 million signatures and is growing by leaps and bounds.

FERWERT

[Ferwert]

I feel this is more a internal battle between Thaksin and Abhisit. Offcourse the poor people will always say yes and thank you sir.

This is a battle for one-person-one vote Democracy (Red Shirts) and the elitist PAD with their appointive process, disenfranchising huge swaths of the population because they didn't vote correctly. This holier-than-thou focus on vote buying is the red herring to eliminate voting altogether. I would suggest that one-person-one-vote electoral processes become an inalienable right of all citizens, and vote-buying be criminalized - applicable to the 'seller' and 'the buyer'.

FERWERT

[Ferwert]

[

The farmers asked Abhisit to raise the rubber price from Bt50 per kilogram to Bt60 and that of sugarcane to Bt12,000 per tonne. Abhisit agreed to help them.

It doesn't say what the current price for sugarcane is but the if he can be seen as responsible for a 20% rise in income for rubber farmers he should pick up quite a few votes.

He has never won an election yet, and he wont win the next one. Under the code words of "National Reconciliation" and "Electoral Reform" he hopes to eliminate electoral politics in favour of an appointive process that will be his only avenue to retaining his ill-gotten Prime Ministership

FERWERT

[Ferwert]

the nation headline:

Rousing welcome for PM

Also interesting to note here is that the Nation article makes no mention of hundreds of Blue Shirts hired by Bhum Jai Thai, as reported by Bangkok Post, who have encircled Red Shirt protesters.

Isn't it illegal to hire a militia to hinder people to use their democratic right to protest, and in case protests might turn violent, you let state security forces deal with those protesters?

Don't you think he could be right in being a bit suspicious about the " peaceful" protests by the Reds ?

Blue shirts=Iranian style Basijls......The pro-democracy Red Shirts will not succumb. Their cause is just and Democratic. "The Petition" has now well exceeded 1 million.

[webfact]

Kudos for the PM. This really isn't rocket science. He has to reach out to the disenfranchised North Easterners and chip away at Thaksin's base. Once he does this Thaksin is sunk.

He should be making speeches and drafting policies of inclusion not exclusion. One simply must ask why Thaksin had the support of the northeast. Sure he bought votes but aside from this he paid attention and at least gave the impression he was listening.

The answer is not to polarize one group against the next but to implement politics of inclusion.

North Easterners are not disenfranchised yet, unless Abhisit and his PAD friends have their way. They are the ones who have the arrogance to suggest that North Easterners are too intellectually challenged to vote. So disenfranchise "em. As far as Mr. Thaksin being sunk...dont count on it. "The Petition" has now exceeded 1 million signatures and is growing by leaps and bounds.

FERWERT

of course you can provide a reliable source to prove that...? Or is it only wishful thinking...?

Edited July 12, 2009 by webfact

[Plus]

If you want to compare Thailand and Iran - it was PAD who have lost the elections and took to the streets to overthrow Thaksin's regime, as Iranian opposition does now, and reds are basij militias who protect Supreme's Leader grip on power. Of course Iran is a couple of years behind Thailand, they just started their fight against a dictator.

>>>

The petition is a non-starter, they might just well have signed under "I'm too stupid to understand what I'm signing for" statement. Just demonstrates how many idiots are there who think they are politically active.

>>>

Losworld, I was simply saying that your appeal to Abhisit was rather vague and implied that he doesn't work towards reconciliation.

[justanothercybertosser]

Don't you think he could be right in being a bit suspicious about the " peaceful" protests by the Reds ?

Yes, and that is why you have security forces to deal with possibly unruly protesters, and not shady citizens militias in Blue Shirts doing the government's dirty work. Militias who have already once initiated violence by shooting at Red Shirts in Pattaya, and against whom so far no investigations have been initiated, and no English language dailies here have made any investigative stories about.

[Datsun240Z]

I feel this is more a internal battle between Thaksin and Abhisit. Offcourse the poor people will always say yes and thank you sir.

This is a battle for one-person-one vote Democracy (Red Shirts) and the elitist PAD with their appointive process, disenfranchising huge swaths of the population because they didn't vote correctly. This holier-than-thou focus on vote buying is the red herring to eliminate voting altogether. I would suggest that one-person-one-vote electoral processes become an inalienable right of all citizens, and vote-buying be criminalized - applicable to the 'seller' and 'the buyer'.

FERWERT

How does the majority of Thais actually think from Abhisit? I mean Abhisit is born in the UK. Thaksin is born in Thailand.

[dee123]

Kudos for the PM. This really isn't rocket science. He has to reach out to the disenfranchised North Easterners and chip away at Thaksin's base. Once he does this Thaksin is sunk.

He should be making speeches and drafting policies of inclusion not exclusion. One simply must ask why Thaksin had the support of the northeast. Sure he bought votes but aside from this he paid attention and at least gave the impression he was listening.

The answer is not to polarize one group against the next but to implement politics of inclusion.

Why don't you practice it yourself, I feel excluded from the meaning of your post.

Do you have any particular examples of Abhisit polarizing one group against another, of not reaching out to Isanese?

Apart from that, why does he have to be the favourite politician of each and every Thai? It is simply not possible, he just has to settle on being acceptable to all Thais, and he does it a lot better than Thaksin who pissed off half the country and made in ungovernable.

Personally, I'd be appalled if Abhisit pretends to be an Isan farmer with four years of education and love for som tam just to score their loyalty. He doesn't have to win their respect by drinking lao kao either. That's be just so.... Thaksin.

Here Plus! I found something "Do you have any particular examples of Abhisit polarizing one group angainst another,of not reaching out to Isanese?" THE REAL ELECTION RESULT http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_legislat...ion,_April_2006

Edited July 12, 2009 by dee123

[TAWP]

"The Petition" has now exceeded 1 million signatures and is growing by leaps and bounds.

FERWERT

of course you can provide a reliable source to prove that...? Or is it only wishful thinking...?

Don't bother asking that re-registering Red Fan for evidence...

[sriracha john]

PM reaches out to poor on daring visit to Issan

When US President Barack Obama wanted to put out feelers to his country's poor, he assigned Vice-President Joe Biden to tour the country. Not here in Thailand. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has himself taken on the task of reaching out to those in outlying areas.

He undertook the challenging mission with a visit to the northeastern region on Saturday, which is considered the political base of the opposition Puea Thai Party. The Buriram roadshow was only the prime minister's second visit to the region since taking office. On his first tour a few months ago he paid homage to the late Grandma Niem in Ubon Ratchathani.

Saturday's visit reflected the Oxford-educated premier's need to try to win the hearts of the people in the country's largest constituencies.

Continued:

-- Bangkok Post 2009-07-13

[doggie888888]

Rent-a-crowd?

[hammered]

Don't you think he could be right in being a bit suspicious about the " peaceful" protests by the Reds ?

Yes, and that is why you have security forces to deal with possibly unruly protesters, and not shady citizens militias in Blue Shirts doing the government's dirty work. Militias who have already once initiated violence by shooting at Red Shirts in Pattaya, and against whom so far no investigations have been initiated, and no English language dailies here have made any investigative stories about.

Blue and red are no different. The red also had their time as government supporting militia during the governments of Somchai and Samak. Newin himself was very instrumental in setting up the UDD after the coup. Pre-coup days Thaksin had his own street mobs that were quite violent against protestors and even manged to once surround the Nation building and threaten to rape every woman in it. Condemn one condemn them both or all. It is just a matter of whether it is your turn to have your mob as a government supporting mob or an anti-government mob. Tio dat eblue violence hasnt reached the levels of red or yellow and hence wont be as newsworthy. Now if they riot in Bangkok and threaten tio immolate local residents or seize an airport or two then that may change.

BJT, PTP and PAD party all have their own street gangs. BJT and PTP(ex-TRT) have used them while in government. The PAD party has never yet been in government. Now is the the time of the street gang politcally.

[sriracha john]

PM thanks Buri Ram residents for warm welcome upon his visit

BANGKOK, 12 July 2009 (NNT) - The Prime Minister expressed thanks to local residents for their warm welcome and understanding over the government's administration upon his one-day visit in the Northeastern province of Buri Ram, while assuring that he had a lot of confidence to work for the country.

Over a warm welcome ceremony during his official visit to the Northeast province of Buri Ram, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told the people that he would like to monitor the progress of the government's work and policies in all areas, especially the "Strong Thai" scheme, which would be implemented in other provinces across the country.

He reiterated that the government had a plan to press ahead with several projects including the health care scheme for the public and the elderly, as well as improvements on the public health system and local health units, which would be targeted in the next three years.

-- NNT 2009-07-12