Thailand to impose security law for Thaksin protests

[animatic]

It is needed. Well done.

Stop talking rubbish, this is thailand and the thai,s have a right to demonstrate how they chose fit,this is one sure way of over reaction, when will us farang just keep our mouths shut and mind our own business,

Yes, they have the right to demonstrate. Nobody tries to stop them.

Oh really? What is the security act for then?

It is not to stop them demonstrating, but to REGULATE that demonstration if needed.

During the replacement ASEAN summit the red were told;

you can do what you want anywhere but Phuket and Hua Hin near the summit,

and if you are not violent nothing will happen to your rally.

And surprise the Reds took the hint and surprise nothing happened to them.

Their speaches were just as rancid and attacking, but were not where they could

physically get at the ASEAN delgates and heads of state a second time.

ie do harm to others by their actions if things go bad.

The ISA is not to stop a rally from happening, just provide a sure way of stopping it

IF it goes out of control due to external or internal influences etc.

This is not 200 people outside the CSD office we are talking about,

but a large scale public demo, with stated aim of bringing down the government.

[TravellinB]

This is is bigger than Thailand alone, but that happens to be the stage on which it will happen. This is about the battle between human beings and the elite.

LOL... no, it's not. It's about money and a fugitive trying desperately to get it and the power he had before back.

This will be a peaceful battle against apartheid, basically.

LOL... that one's even funnier... but no, it's not. It's about a corrupt politician getting the treasury money he looted.

Thaksin is not Mandela, he's not Gandhi, he's not a role model, he's a convicted criminal and has financed great turmoil for years now against his own motherland.

As a matter of fact, in their day, both Mandela and Gandhi were convicted criminals.

However, despite this, their people stuck by them and they eventually triumphed and were vindicated

.

[bmurlowe]

Agreed. Given their history, this move seems prudent and needed. If there is a repeat of their action from last April, but with a million of them loose this time, the ability to control that sort of situation is paramount.

This will be the Grand Final, just like a footy game, but not with rubber balls.

They've been proclaiming Final Countdown, Grand Final, Do or Die, Million Man March about 12 times now.

Coupled with their not ever denouncing the lunatics in their group (of which they have quite a few), credibility is not their strong suit.

[animatic]

6. Compel any person to issue statements; appear in person or hand in "any documents or evidence"

VE HAV VAYS OF MAKING YOU TALK.....priceless

If only they had good 100% CLEAR translations for this stuff...

[anotherpeter]

Last year in Pattaya while the protest was still peaceful I saw the "blue shirts" coming in at the back of pick ups, armed with iron bars and walkie talkies, they were all quite young with crew cuts, my girlfriend had the opportunnity to ask them where they were from...turns out they were strait out of the Sattahip barracks. One guy even said he didn't want to go as he was sympathetic to the red's cause, but was given little choice.

Where do the "blue shirts" fit in? I have seen a couple of posts mentioning them and vaguely remember them being mentioned in news articles, but don't know much about them.

[dutchethai]

Why did they not invoke the ISA when the yellow shirts took over the airports? - obviosly another case of double standards.

[RPETER65]

It is needed. Well done.

Stop talking rubbish, this is thailand and the thai,s have a right to demonstrate how they chose fit,this is one sure way of over reaction, when will us farang just keep our mouths shut and mind our own business,

No reasonable government in the world would sit back and allow free rein to a violent terrorist movement massing in their capital. If you actually believe the red shirts are a peaceful movement, I would agree with you. However, I think the proof is overwhelming that they are a violent movement willing to do anything to achieve their goals. That is simply not acceptable.

Unlike the peaceful yellow shirts who only forcefully blockade an international airport causing untold misery to tens of thousands. What happened to the reasonable government who sat back and allowed free rein to that violent terrorist movement massing in their capital?

So your suggesting because the govt. at the time of the yellow shirt protests was not capable of keeping things under control, the current govt. should allow the protesters to get out of hand?

[lovelomsak]

I find it amazing that so many people believe the yellow shirts blocking the international airport is 'acceptable'. If it is okay to do, why did Abhisit tell the red shirts not to block the airport or they would be removed by force? While at the same time, the trial against the yellow shirts is barely moving forward. DOUBLE STANDARDS.

The yellow shirts did not attack people, did not ride by on motorcycles shooting dead residents opposing them, did not sewt up gasoline trucks in front of low-income housing and threaten to explode it, did minimal damage to the airports themselves (my flight out was in fact on time just a few days after it ended). Whether it was right or wrong is not for me to judge but there was a world of difference between what the yellow shirts did and what the red shirts did a few months later. A world of difference.

You are so right granuaile there was a big difference. The yellow shirts removed an elected party from government replaced with a party of their liking.The redshirts were fighting to get democracy back. So you say it is ok to take over an airport have armed quards protect the people who took it over. Have a political party put in power that works for the interests of the the yellow shirts. Did you ever stop to think politics may have been involved in press coverage of what happened and the masses never got to hear what the yellow shorts actually did. They were better armed than the police. Red shirts were fighting for democracy Yellow shirts were fighting for the old class system that serves them so well.

How about the killing the yellow shirts did at angkor wat just a little while ago. Nothing came of that.

Edited March 8, 2010 by lovelomsak

[RPETER65]

Why did they not invoke the ISA when the yellow shirts took over the airports? - obviosly another case of double standards.

Obviously a different govt.

[animatic]

It is needed. Well done.

You should go live in Myanmar or North Korea if you approve of this - you'd feel at home.

Been to Myanmar in the last year,

even WITH the ISA, this does NOT feel the same.

Certainly the military leaders here

come across as MUCH saner in most peoples books.

Tan Shwe or Anupong... gee wiz easy choice between.

[anotherpeter]

Why did they not invoke the ISA when the yellow shirts took over the airports? - obviosly another case of double standards.

Yes ... it must be something to do with the double standards of the current government.

The fact that it was a different government at the time didn't have anything to do with it.

[SeanMoran]

I find it amazing that so many people believe the yellow shirts blocking the international airport is 'acceptable'. If it is okay to do, why did Abhisit tell the red shirts not to block the airport or they would be removed by force? While at the same time, the trial against the yellow shirts is barely moving forward. DOUBLE STANDARDS.

The yellow shirts did not attack people, did not ride by on motorcycles shooting dead residents opposing them, did not sewt up gasoline trucks in front of low-income housing and threaten to explode it, did minimal damage to the airports themselves (my flight out was in fact on time just a few days after it ended). Whether it was right or wrong is not for me to judge but there was a world of difference between what the yellow shirts did and what the red shirts did a few months later. A world of difference.

You are so right granuaile there was a big difference. The yellow shirts removed an elected party from government replaced with a party of their liking.The redshirts were fighting to get democracy back. So you say it is ok to take over an airport have armed quards protect the people who took it over. Have a political party put in power that works for the interests of the the yellow shirts. Did you ever stop to think politics may have been involved in press coverage of what happened and the masses never got to hear what the yellow shorts actually did. They were better armed than the police. Red shirts were fighting for democracy Yellow shirts were fighting for the old class system that serves them so well.

Good will prevail next week, or else all hope is lost. If there is a God, then this nation will overcome the dictatorship, or else there is no God.

[jdinasia]

It is needed. Well done.

Stop talking rubbish, this is thailand and the thai,s have a right to demonstrate how they chose fit,this is one sure way of over reaction, when will us farang just keep our mouths shut and mind our own business,

I for one will keep my mouth shut about Thailand and her politics about the same time I move out of Thailand. (Yes I know there are plenty of negative and a few positive posters that have moved away from Thailand .. but my personal emotional investment in the country will end when I leave and that isn't in the plans) Until then I will certainly voice my opinions when and where I deem it appropriate

[firestar]

Last year in Pattaya while the protest was still peaceful I saw the "blue shirts" coming in at the back of pick ups, armed with iron bars and walkie talkies, they were all quite young with crew cuts, my girlfriend had the opportunnity to ask them where they were from...turns out they were strait out of the Sattahip barracks. One guy even said he didn't want to go as he was sympathetic to the red's cause, but was given little choice.

Where do the "blue shirts" fit in? I have seen a couple of posts mentioning them and vaguely remember them being mentioned in news articles, but don't know much about them.

Officially a group of people who spontaneously decided to counter protest the red shirts in Pattaya but what I saw would rather indicated they were quickly assembled to "pick a fight".

Edited March 8, 2010 by firestar

[Sunderland]

Foul, dude.

Be careful, be very careful about making idiotic assumptions about what people of various nationalities think. Yes, I am American, and let us explore that a bit.

-- I am an American who thinks George W. Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, and Dick Cheney are war criminals who should be locked up

-- I also think Thaksin should be charged with thousands of extra-judicial murders against his own people

-- I am an American who thinks that fear of terrorism has been used very effectively to suppress the freedoms of my people and for cynical political gains (and profits)

-- I am an American who will always believe Bush stole the presidency from Gore in 2000 so he was not a legitimate president in the first place. This point is very relevant to the Thai situation now. Yes I know many red shirts Thais passionately feel Abhisit is not a legit PM. But in my case, even though I felt Gore should have put up a fight, I never for one second thought the pro-Gore forces should --

attack the life and property of GW Bush

break up international conferences

threaten to light gas trucks in urban slums

throw bombs at banks

defend pro-Gore people who would be arrested for promoting violence and bombing

throw Molotov cocktails

effect political murders (as in Chiang Mai, etc.)

burn buses, etc. etc. etc.

continue to support Gore if he was convicted of massive corruption and also fled the country like a coward to avoid facing the consequences (as Thaksin, the leader of the red shirts, has)

So be clear on this, my politics (US and Thai) are consistent and logical and I am not the stereotyped ugly American you clearly love to hate.

I agree with you on all points.

I agree with you on many points but I am not sure about the ugly American part. How can you be so sure?

[anotherpeter]

Good will prevail next week, or else all hope is lost. If there is a God, then this nation will overcome the dictatorship, or else there is no God.

There is no god, but that has nothing to do with the politics and protests in Thailand.

[Jingthing]

Blue shirts, schmue shirts. Typical Truth Today revisionist history tripe. Did the red shirts violently storm and occupy the Asean summit in Pattaya and force the world leaders to run away in helicopters or did they not? THEY DID. It is a documented fact, unlike this blue shirt red herring. A force like this, supported by a leader like Thaksin is bad news, very bad news. It would be tragic if Thaksin takes power again.

Edited March 8, 2010 by Jingthing

[elcent]

Why did they not invoke the ISA when the yellow shirts took over the airports? - obviosly another case of double standards.

Obviously a different govt.

the army was reluctant to help and to evict them from government houses and the airports when ordered to do so. The police couldn't do it alone or have done so without major loss of of humans.

[Jingthing]

Abhisit is being proactive. That is smart. The rule of the mad mob has got to stop. Why not now?

[anotherpeter]

Last year in Pattaya while the protest was still peaceful I saw the "blue shirts" coming in at the back of pick ups, armed with iron bars and walkie talkies, they were all quite young with crew cuts, my girlfriend had the opportunnity to ask them where they were from...turns out they were strait out of the Sattahip barracks. One guy even said he didn't want to go as he was sympathetic to the red's cause, but was given little choice.

Where do the "blue shirts" fit in? I have seen a couple of posts mentioning them and vaguely remember them being mentioned in news articles, but don't know much about them.

Officially a group of people who spontaneously decided to counter protest the red shirts in Pattaya but what I saw would rather indicated they were quickly assembled to "pick a fight".

They spontaneously all happened to be wearing blue shirts. That's very convenient for them.

I hope they aren't planning to spontaneously turn up to the reds protest this weekend.

[TheJoker12]

Myanmar #2

[SeanMoran]

Good will prevail next week, or else all hope is lost. If there is a God, then this nation will overcome the dictatorship, or else there is no God.

There is no god, but that has nothing to do with the politics and protests in Thailand.

Next week we will know whether you are right or not.

[Dap]

Yes indeed ... when????

It is needed. Well done.

Stop talking rubbish, this is thailand and the thai,s have a right to demonstrate how they chose fit,this is one sure way of over reaction, when will us farang just keep our mouths shut and mind our own business,

[animatic]

"10. Order the "training at a special location" of suspects, in lieu of pressing charges against them, for up to six months (Article 31) – such training apparently requires the "consent" of the suspect, but with the threat of criminal procedures as alternative, the voluntariness of consent to such "training" is doubtful. In the absence of freely given consent, such training is therefore likely to amount to arbitrary detention.

Unless otherwise stated, none of the above provisions requires court authorisation for the powers to be exercised."

this is an imprisonment without a charge and without the court - just an administrative decision. No much less than "prisoner of war"

Both the red shirts and yellow shirts have set up international media and fund raising organizations. If any person from whicherver side is subjected to this "order", it will be claimed that they are a prisoner of war - and the World (with the exception of China) will hear and will take notice with negative consequences for Thailand.

The Red Shirts have ALSO

set up hundreds of Indoctrination Red Academies across the north east

to INDOCTRINATE good little Democrat and Elite hating Issaneese for the cause.

So this could be re-education for sure, since it would be showing an opposing point of view

we KNOW rarely gets a proper hearing in Thaksin land.

It would clearly be counter mind control.

But we know which side historically prevents the others words from being heard up north.

Who came first chicken or egg.

[bmurlowe]

Why did they not invoke the ISA when the yellow shirts took over the airports? - obviosly another case of double standards.

"They" were not in power then.

Amazing how unfamiliar some people seem to be with the basic timeline on these issues that they are commenting on. Until the fundamentals like this are less muddled, the opportunity for greater discussion of details is put on hold.

[anotherpeter]

Good will prevail next week, or else all hope is lost. If there is a God, then this nation will overcome the dictatorship, or else there is no God.

There is no god, but that has nothing to do with the politics and protests in Thailand.

Next week we will know whether you are right or not.

Next week won't change my opinion what ever the result of the protests.

[Sunderland]

"Do you know where the hotspots in Bangkok will be? I'm staying down at Siam Paragon area. "

A poster has asked about the locations of protests. Does anyone have any information about where they will be gathering?

A Thai forum reported that the UDD men planned to gather at the following places later this week:

1. Protesters from the northern area at Nakhon Sawan

2. Protesters from the north-east at Nakhon Ratchasima

3. Protesters from the central provinces at Ayutthaya

From Friday onwards they were rumoured to be first grouping at the following locations:

1. Wongwian Yai

2. Lak Si

3. Lumphini Park near Khung Vajiravudh Statue

4. Thong Song Hong Police station

5. Bang Na Intersection

6. Thai - Japan stadium

7. Nonthaburi Provincial Hall

8. Klong 4 - Thanyaburi district near Dhammakaya

9. Klong 4 - Lam Lookka District

10.Samut Prakarn Provincial Hall

Presumably from these places they intend to move into central Bangkok with the main focus of their protests taking place on Ratchadamnoen Avenue (Democracy Monument) but in view of the possible numbers, you could expect groups to spill into areas around Victory Monument and Siam Square.

[SeanMoran]

Good will prevail next week, or else all hope is lost. If there is a God, then this nation will overcome the dictatorship, or else there is no God.

There is no god, but that has nothing to do with the politics and protests in Thailand.

Next week we will know whether you are right or not.

Next week won't change my opinion what ever the result of the protests.

I will value your opinion just as mucnh next week as I do now, and in the mean time, all I can say is LONG LIVE THE KING.

I will pray now. Goodnight.

[bmurlowe]

The yellow shirts did not attack people, did not ride by on motorcycles shooting dead residents opposing them, did not sewt up gasoline trucks in front of low-income housing and threaten to explode it, did minimal damage to the airports themselves (my flight out was in fact on time just a few days after it ended). Whether it was right or wrong is not for me to judge but there was a world of difference between what the yellow shirts did and what the red shirts did a few months later. A world of difference.

You are so right granuaile there was a big difference. The yellow shirts removed an elected party from government replaced with a party of their liking.The redshirts were fighting to get democracy back. So you say it is ok to take over an airport have armed quards protect the people who took it over. Have a political party put in power that works for the interests of the the yellow shirts. Did you ever stop to think politics may have been involved in press coverage of what happened and the masses never got to hear what the yellow shorts actually did. They were better armed than the police. Red shirts were fighting for democracy Yellow shirts were fighting for the old class system that serves them so well.

How about the killing the yellow shirts did at angkor wat just a little while ago. Nothing came of that.

Goodness, so much muddled and erroneous info, especially the Angkor Wat bit.

You're saying yellow shirts went to Anghor Wat and killed people there? In what millennium did this occur?

[jdinasia]

You are so right granuaile there was a big difference. The yellow shirts removed an elected party from government replaced with a party of their liking.The redshirts were fighting to get democracy back. So you say it is ok to take over an airport have armed quards protect the people who took it over. Have a political party put in power that works for the interests of the the yellow shirts. Did you ever stop to think politics may have been involved in press coverage of what happened and the masses never got to hear what the yellow shorts actually did. They were better armed than the police. Red shirts were fighting for democracy Yellow shirts were fighting for the old class system that serves them so well.

How about the killing the yellow shirts did at angkor wat just a little while ago. Nothing came of that.

Pardon me?

Let's set some records straight.

1)The "yellow shirts" never removed anyone from office.

If you mean Thaksin he was an on again off again CARETAKER PM that had himself dissolved parliament and then failed to get the snap elections to seat a government legally. The MILITARY not the yellow shirts removed his quite unconstitutional caretaker government (and the constitution along with it but that isn't the issue you raised) The military installed a government that soon set new elections etc etc etc....

If you mean Somchai, then PPP was disbanded and the execs barred from office for 5 years due to proven electoral fraud. (There is a case pending against the Democrats that could knock them out of office as well.)

Airports etc are ancient history but if you look at the bodycount to date the vast majority can be laid at the feet of the reds.

Since when did the yellows or any other Thai group go to Angkor Wat?

Now ---- with that bit of silliness out of the way ---- This thread isn't about the yellows pinks chartreuses blues blacks (unless you mean Sae Daeng's troops) etc .. it is about imposing the ISA.

I kinda hate the idea of the ISA being invoked BUT I hate the idea of Thai killing Thai even more!