Civil War

[F1fanatic]

A Revolution us upon us and the reds will emerge as the winners of the impending civil war

Possibly. But as a previous poster said, a military dictatorship is more likely.

Democracy isn't working at the moment....

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Riots is not a civil war. Look it up.

[Jingthing]

Riots is not a civil war. Look it up.

This is WAY beyond riots. Did you know that the red shirt insurgent terrorists have taken several soldiers of the Kingdom of Thailand as HOSTAGES? That isn't something that happens in any riot I have ever heard of, and I know about riots.

[eggomaniac]

This poll is now irrelevant in view of today's historic events. The poll needs to be redone now, don't you agree?

are you agreeing that Thailand is in a state of civil war?

please explain what wording you you asking me to agree on for a new poll?

we could do a fund raiser and sell raffle tickets on what day martial law will be imposed?

can I grab 3 days after songkran?

Anything around 'recognizing' the EXTENT of the problem is NOT 'irrelevant' to me. I am actively dialogging with a few Thai academics to try to get a few Thai dignitaries to examine My Solution and Plan.

My Solution is 100% guaranteed to bring stability, peace and prosperity to Thailand.

[lift Travel warnings too aint those purrity!]

"The Plan however? How about 3% chances of being implemented, [i'm not a Don Quixote] especially as I am a lowly farang, who could not know anything, even though I can tell anybody what was the biggest mistake the Khana Ratsadon made. [not allowed to say it here though, so much for 'enlightenment']

Edited April 10, 2010 by eggomaniac

[elkangorito]

When there are clearly two or more significant portions of the population allied against the government, I think a status of 'civil war' is likely to exist. If a small group of people become aggressive toward the government, a state of 'civil war' clearly does not exist.

'Civil war' requires weapons & large numbers of 'guerrillas' to be present. At the moment, 'guerrillas' do not appear to be present. Therefore, civil war does not exist.

If the question is 'Will civil war result in Thailand?', a different situation may abound.

[wintermute]

If this is a civil war then this is the weakest civil war i've ever heard of. This is just disgruntled people protesting with a few accidental deaths happening along the way from rough police procedures. Let me know when scores are dying from military or guerilla fighting then we'll talk about "civil wars."

[elkangorito]

I agree Wintermute.

And from the results of the poll so far, Thailand is not at a stage of civil war.

[gregb]

It's really tough to answer this question. History may show this to be the opening volley of a civil war. On the other hand, there may be some way to delay the inevitable violence and this will just be relegated to a minor skirmish.

What is sure is that as long as Thaksin lives, he will continue dividing the Thai nation. That means a civil war is unavoidable unless he can be eliminated. Whatever else you may think of him, Thaksin is an excellent marketer and has managed to convince a few million people that making him dictator for life is in their best interests. Nobody can afford to ignore that. The subset of people that support him may have no idea why they do, but that will not change their resolve when the bullets start flying.

Thinking people know enough to see through his lies, but thinking people generally don't relish launching civil wars either.

I'd give it about a 20% chance that this is the opening round, but my guess is that this problem will be passed on to whoever turns out to be Abhisit's successor.

Should Thaksin actually return to Thailand in anything other than a body bag, then there will be guaranteed civil war. It was the desire to stop that from happening which started this whole chain of events in the first place. The reds can not win without war, and they know it. So it is coming. Just a matter of time.

I only hope that not too many more people have to die before the Thaksin threat is removed.

[elkangorito]

The OP posted the following in post number one:

Based on a few facts, I do not see how the present situation can be described as anything but civil war.

1. There are military forces retreating in the largest city in the country in the face of Red forces.

2. The Red forces already 'hold' Northern provinces. I determine this by the several comments of Yellow supporters who, rightly, complain of unrestricted violence against Yellow supporters, by the Reds in the North. They 'have the day' up there.

3. The absolute Myth Busted that the Red Movement is 'only a Northern peasant' preoccupation, with bombings in Surat Thani and public support in Bangkok.

And also:

This Poll is not about who is right or wrong, just an attempt at an accurate historical description.

Well, there are two things 'wrong' about this poll. The first is "just an attempt at an accurate historical description" & the 2nd is no 'force' is holding any part of this country.

What is happening now is clearly not historical.

So, back 'on topic', the OP said this:

Based on a few facts, I do not see how the present situation can be described as anything but civil war.

Which part of the words 'civil war' is not understood? It appears that 81% of Thaivisa readers realise that Thailand is not in a state of civil war whilst 19% of Thaivisa readers think that Thailand is in a state of civil war.

Amazingly, these statistics virtually prove my theory that 20% of the worlds population are morons, if sampling from this website is any indication.

[Tejas]

It is easy to get caught up in semantics. "Civil War" or not, it is clearly a major conflict between two opposing sides: rural vs urban.

It is a longstanding, evolving conflict.........this did not happen overnight.

This is not crystal clear to some because the Reds do not yet have weapons on the scale that would make it crystal clear.

We had a Civil War in my country. It was largely a rural vs urban war. It was horrible. Both sides had weapons. It was an economic war that decided whether America would be primarily a rural or urban economy.

If, in my country, an American equivalent of the Reds suddenly invaded Washington DC and stormed Congress..........all hel_l would break lose.

The solution to the problem, I am sure, would be a violent solution imposed by the military and police,

Thailand is different. They do things their own way.

It is clear the Reds are trying to produce conflict with the police and military who have been extraordinarily tolerant of activities that in virtually any other country would not be tolerated.

I think it is sad that a certain leader is paying for all of this to get himself back into power (or to get his $$$$$ back).

I think it is sad that he has been chosen by the Reds as their leader (surely they can find another, better person to represent them........one who is not a convicted criminal and one whose international reputation is not lower than a snakes belly).

If they get what they want, Thailand will be ruined for decades to come. But they can't grasp this simple fact.

I predict the military and police will clean all of this up soon and a temporary calm will surface.

As is often the case in Thailand, what happens next depends on what the military decides to do.

Good luck Thailand!

[eggomaniac]

the 2nd is no 'force' is holding any part of this country.

What is happening now is clearly not historical.

elk , I am not going to suggest you try this, don't try it, you won't try it; but if you want to prove a point, as it seems you have an afflicion to...........

Get on buses, trains, scooters with a Yellow shirt on, go North and carry a sign saying down with the Reds.

write a will first.

have the intelligence to not shoot the messenger , I'm not happy you would be be a casualty of 'unrest' if you tried the above, just pointing out how severe the situation.. I am not happy with the situation in Thailand,

it is going to get a whole lot worse, I don't WANT it to get a whole lot worse, it will get a whole lot worse, I don't want it to..............

wait no no don't get on that bus North,, ohhh you are wearing red ,, phew that was close..

[slapout]

The Thai politicians. military, general population (divided into numerous factions), academics, etc seem to be unable to come to a agreement of what is best for Thailand and her people, much less a path toward reaching any majority consensuses. Past offers of advice/help, in some cases, have been rejected, so doubt that any advice from most of TV's members will be requested or considered.

When the Messiah comes along who can foresee and sort out Thailand's shortcomings, he/she will be, so in demand, in the major countries of the world, that the individual would probably decline to pi.. on the Thai fires that could/have become an inferno.

[Ijustwannateach]

After consultation with Administration: please confine your political discussions to the news subforum, thanks.