Surely An Early Election Is The Answer

[Livinginexile]

Is the government too scared to call an early election?

Do they think they have no chance so no election?

[Carib]

Doubt it, after the election another group will not agree, seize a city and than there has to be another election??

Have said it before, the reds should have accepted the offer of elections in 9 months. Both side would have won and lost some.

But that doesn't play into the hand of Mr T. By that time it is too late for him.

[TerryLH]

They offered an early election and it was rejected out of hand.

[Livinginexile]

They offered an early election and it was rejected out of hand.

Let the people decide!

It really is that simple.

[mrtoad]

They offered an early election and it was rejected out of hand.

Let the people decide!

It really is that simple.

But it isn't.

[Carib]

They offered an early election and it was rejected out of hand.

Let the people decide!

It really is that simple.

If it was that simple....

"A" government cannot bow for every minority if that minority feels like not agreeing with the policy.

They should have accepted the offer imho.

[unclejunta]

Yes let the people decide....call for a national referendum is the best....

[mccw]

They offered an early election and it was rejected out of hand.

Let the people decide!

It really is that simple.

there has already been an ellection and the people with the most votes are currently running the country!

If there was an ellection everytime there was a protest nothing would ever get done.

End of the year was a reasonable compramise offer and all this bloodshed could have been avoided. Shame on red leaders for use aspirations (and lives) of the poor for their own greed ends.

If anyone bothered to read the democrats policies they'd see that they've actualy gone further than Thaksin did to help the poor by instituting free education for all, state pensions for the elderly and attempting to break the cycle of debt which farmers face (much of this debt was made worse or created by mr ts gov policy). Also the proposed land tax, would largely affect the very people the reds say they have a problem with, and is earmarked to pay for projects to help those less well off.

Red leaders want the poor to remain uneducated and controlable, tied to the powerful local big men rice merchants through debt. This is all about protecting the interests of the red ayamata; so pitty the poor reds and such a shame for thailand that they dont realise how they are being used.

[StreetCowboy]

They offered an early election and it was rejected out of hand.

Let the people decide!

It really is that simple.

there has already been an ellection and the people with the most votes are currently running the country!

If there was an ellection everytime there was a protest nothing would ever get done.

End of the year was a reasonable compramise offer and all this bloodshed could have been avoided. Shame on red leaders for use aspirations (and lives) of the poor for their own greed ends.

If anyone bothered to read the democrats policies they'd see that they've actualy gone further than Thaksin did to help the poor by instituting free education for all, state pensions for the elderly and attempting to break the cycle of debt which farmers face (much of this debt was made worse or created by mr ts gov policy). Also the proposed land tax, would largely affect the very people the reds say they have a problem with, and is earmarked to pay for projects to help those less well off.

Red leaders want the poor to remain uneducated and controlable, tied to the powerful local big men rice merchants through debt. This is all about protecting the interests of the red ayamata; so pitty the poor reds and such a shame for thailand that they dont realise how they are being used.

Well-said.

I assume the Reds are terrified that if Abhisit is given peace to run the country for a few months, it will quickly become apparent that he stands head and shoulders above the crooks around him in parliament.

No doubt times are hard for Thais - they are hard for us all, wherever we are; but at least some people - like Thaksin - made the most of the good times and stashed away enough to see them through the hard times. Other people ran up huge debts they could not afford; you have to wonder why the poor people in Thailand were still poor and indebted after the years of prosperity in the first few years of this century.

SC

[Livinginexile]

They offered an early election and it was rejected out of hand.

Let the people decide!

It really is that simple.

there has already been an ellection and the people with the most votes are currently running the country!

If there was an ellection everytime there was a protest nothing would ever get done.

End of the year was a reasonable compramise offer and all this bloodshed could have been avoided. Shame on red leaders for use aspirations (and lives) of the poor for their own greed ends.

If anyone bothered to read the democrats policies they'd see that they've actualy gone further than Thaksin did to help the poor by instituting free education for all, state pensions for the elderly and attempting to break the cycle of debt which farmers face (much of this debt was made worse or created by mr ts gov policy). Also the proposed land tax, would largely affect the very people the reds say they have a problem with, and is earmarked to pay for projects to help those less well off.

Red leaders want the poor to remain uneducated and controlable, tied to the powerful local big men rice merchants through debt. This is all about protecting the interests of the red ayamata; so pitty the poor reds and such a shame for thailand that they dont realise how they are being used.

Wait a minute!!

You are saying the present government was democratically elected?

Boy you have that wrong, Abhisit's government was never legally elected!

What about the stimulous package? only 20% was ever spent. Why? because it benifited the poor.

A little more research before you post please

[Explorer]

Snip-

there has already been an ellection and the people with the most votes are currently running the country!

When was this? didnt recall the blue party made a big win b4

[neverdie]

They offered an early election and it was rejected out of hand.

Let the people decide!

It really is that simple.

It would take at least several months to organise everything, its not something that could be finalised in this first half of the year.

In my humble opinion, it would be much more important to have a properly controlled and lawful election, one without bribe or paying for vote, but seriously - How is that going to happen, you know the way this place rolls.

[StreetCowboy]

8>< SNIP ><8 NESTED QUOTES DELETED\

Wait a minute!!

You are saying the present government was democratically elected?

Boy you have that wrong, Abhisit's government was never legally elected!

What about the stimulous package? only 20% was ever spent. Why? because it benifited the poor.

A little more research before you post please

Which MPs in the current government were not elected?

Glad to see you healthy and alert, LIE. I hope your son is well.

SC

EDIT: typo corrected

[MiG16]

yes a compromise was needed

the 15 day demand by the reds are ofcourse unrealistic

but while the government's offer of 9 months may sound carefully evaluated and practical (and like it has been a result of intellectual assessment - taking into account a referendum on the constitution amendment, the actual redrafting of the constitution itself)

but in reality both of those 2 things could be achieved within 6 months. pushing it perhaps, but feasible.

so why then the 9 month? is it really purely so that there is no rush in the conducting of the referendum and drafting of the law? does that really outweigh the potential for situation to escalate and the country to be at a standstill?

or does it have something to do with the army reshuffle due in October, and the fact that the top post of army commander is up for re-appointment as Anupong retires?

[givenall]

The whole city is paralyzed by bunch of thugs. And you think they are the people representative.

Some countries can’t and do not deserve democracy and Thailand is one of them;

Solution; bring Army back to keep everything on control till one leader that is good for all emerges.

[gerry1011]

A while ago I saw on tv a video of an old parliamentary session which took place when the yellow shirts were demonstrating.

At that time, the "Thaksin side" was still in power.

During that session Abhisit made a speech and said that "when there are 100.000 protesters in the streets of Bangkok it is the responsability of the government to step down".

He probably does not remember his own words. Or maybe there are only 99.999 red shirts in Bangkok. Or maybe he is just like the other politicians and only wants to hold on to his position at any cost... Bloody cost...

Funny guy... I don't know how he can still sleep at night... He probably can't... He should just go and let the people elect the leaders that they want.

Taking the political aspect away for once, I think that the red shirts have a lot of courage to be in Bangkok so long and under these circumstances. They are far from their home and their family and still hold on. They must really believe in what they do to keep going on with their fight like this. They probably only want to be heard and to make the whole system a bit more fair.

They certainly have more courage than the yellows whose families were taking turns at their demonstrations, who lived around the corner, who come from the middle or upper class and for whom there was little sacrifice to do.

The reds, on the other hand, don't have the same financial means and need to be supported to make their voice heard.

The whole thing is about fairness more than Thaksin. Election is the answer to them... and I think I do agree.

[Livinginexile]

8>< SNIP ><8 NESTED QUOTES DELETED\

Wait a minute!!

You are saying the present government was democratically elected?

Boy you have that wrong, Abhisit's government was never legally elected!

What about the stimulous package? only 20% was ever spent. Why? because it benifited the poor.

A little more research before you post please

Which MPs in the current government were not elected?

Glad to see you healthy and alert, LIE. I hope your son is well.

SC

EDIT: typo corrected

Hi Cowboy

Thanks for message, all is well at the moment. The family is well.

[Livinginexile]

The whole city is paralyzed by bunch of thugs. And you think they are the people representative.

Some countries can’t and do not deserve democracy and Thailand is one of them;

Solution; bring Army back to keep everything on control till one leader that is good for all emerges.

ja wohl, mein Fuhrer

[mccw]

They offered an early election and it was rejected out of hand.

Let the people decide!

It really is that simple.

there has already been an ellection and the people with the most votes are currently running the country!

If there was an ellection everytime there was a protest nothing would ever get done.

End of the year was a reasonable compramise offer and all this bloodshed could have been avoided. Shame on red leaders for use aspirations (and lives) of the poor for their own greed ends.

If anyone bothered to read the democrats policies they'd see that they've actualy gone further than Thaksin did to help the poor by instituting free education for all, state pensions for the elderly and attempting to break the cycle of debt which farmers face (much of this debt was made worse or created by mr ts gov policy). Also the proposed land tax, would largely affect the very people the reds say they have a problem with, and is earmarked to pay for projects to help those less well off.

Red leaders want the poor to remain uneducated and controlable, tied to the powerful local big men rice merchants through debt. This is all about protecting the interests of the red ayamata; so pitty the poor reds and such a shame for thailand that they dont realise how they are being used.

Wait a minute!!

You are saying the present government was democratically elected?

Boy you have that wrong, Abhisit's government was never legally elected!

What about the stimulous package? only 20% was ever spent. Why? because it benifited the poor.

A little more research before you post please

In a parlimentary democracy people vote for candidates who are members of parties, the party or parties with a majority then form the government. samak and co had the majority for a while but then a new coalition democrat led coalition formed. the current government coalition has the most votes as cast in the last general election!

under what circumstances an ellection should be called is one of the things all the parties should agree on before we have another one, all these things should be agreed and set in stone so the business of government is running the country rather than constantly bickering over re writing the constitution.

Stimulus spending was approved as "stimulus" for the econmony to get back on track, which it is or maybe was, after only 20% is a good thing; most economists agree that the less public debt to gdp ratio the better. Incase you dont remember the reds were actualy against the 400billion bht stimulus package! But maybe if you just watch red tv or listen to rumour then they have flip flopped and now try to accuse the gov of not spend enough of it.

spending on sustainable state benifits for the poor through taxation is much better than one off stimulus, which is actauly what abhisit is trying to achieve through land tax which will mostly affect the rich as it happens.

i'm not in need of more research; i think perhaps you are in need of more knoweldge and understanding

[gregb]

An early election solves nothing until the Thaksin issue is resolved.

I am tired of all the bloodshed. Any red demands except for Thaksin can be settled through legitimate parliamentary means. Only the Thaksin issue invites bloodshed from protesters. There will be no yellow shirted thugs on the street because the rice farmers want another baht per kg. There will be thugs if anyone tries to pave the way for the return of the demagogue.

Call an election without settling this problem, and you simply exchange red shirts for yellow ones, and fresh rioters for worn out ones.

If the reds are honest that this is not about Thaksin, then come up with a compromise that gets them the early elections they want in exchange for denouncing the demagogue, withdrawing his pardon petition, and passing some kind of law which guarantees he is done for good. Because that is the overriding concern of their oponents who will take to the streets if the reds get what they want.

Once this hard work is done, then elections are a reasonable solution. We can be sure there will be no more demonstrations, and the government can get back to work for the good of the whole country.

The time to solve the Thaksin problem is now. I want to see televised debates around this. New elections solve nothing without this, and I will not support them without this problem being addressed.

[Jingthing]

Wait a minute!!

You are saying the present government was democratically elected?

Boy you have that wrong, Abhisit's government was never legally elected!

No, sir. You have got it wrong. Next ...

[Livinginexile]

An early election solves nothing until the Thaksin issue is resolved.

I am tired of all the bloodshed. Any red demands except for Thaksin can be settled through legitimate parliamentary means. Only the Thaksin issue invites bloodshed from protesters. There will be no yellow shirted thugs on the street because the rice farmers want another baht per kg. There will be thugs if anyone tries to pave the way for the return of the demagogue.

Call an election without settling this problem, and you simply exchange red shirts for yellow ones, and fresh rioters for worn out ones.

If the reds are honest that this is not about Thaksin, then come up with a compromise that gets them the early elections they want in exchange for denouncing the demagogue, withdrawing his pardon petition, and passing some kind of law which guarantees he is done for good. Because that is the overriding concern of their oponents who will take to the streets if the reds get what they want.

Once this hard work is done, then elections are a reasonable solution. We can be sure there will be no more demonstrations, and the government can get back to work for the good of the whole country.

The time to solve the Thaksin problem is now. I want to see televised debates around this. New elections solve nothing without this, and I will not support them without this problem being addressed.

Oh I forgot, Thaksin is the only corrupt politician in Thai politics.

Carry on…

[manarak]

by refusing new elections to be held in 9 months time, the reds are effectively trying to weaken the throne.

[Rinrada]

From Aunty...BBC today

Wonder if BA will provide a standby aircraft to fly Abi back home to Blighty........we are FULL of despots so recon one more...

anyway...Comments from Thais around the World

Dr Thitinan Pongsudihrak, from Chulalongkorn University, shares the view that the prime minister's days in office could well be numbered.

Mr Abhisit faces a huge challenge in trying to return the situation to normal

"Abhisit's departure is imminent," said Dr Thitinan, who is currently teaching at Stanford University in the US.

"If he and his backers decide to go in for more crackdown, it could boomerang beyond imagination by galvanising the reds' upheaval into an inchoate people's revolution

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8613943.stm

[Livinginexile]

From Aunty...BBC today

Wonder if BA will provide a standby aircraft to fly Abi back home to Blighty........we are FULL of despots so recon one more...

anyway...Comments from Thais around the World

Dr Thitinan Pongsudihrak, from Chulalongkorn University, shares the view that the prime minister's days in office could well be numbered.

Mr Abhisit faces a huge challenge in trying to return the situation to normal

"Abhisit's departure is imminent," said Dr Thitinan, who is currently teaching at Stanford University in the US.

"If he and his backers decide to go in for more crackdown, it could boomerang beyond imagination by galvanising the reds' upheaval into an inchoate people's revolution

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8613943.stm

I notice there were no tanks when the yellow shirts took to the streets.

[LindsayBKK]

Here is the problem to the "Let the people decide".

Ok say you have an election.

The Red Shirts leader (unknown to all Red Shirts so far & myself included) lets say Mr.X wins.

Then you would undoubtedly have another Coup as military support The Democrat Coalition.

Abhisit is put back into PM role.

Why would you want to waste Thai Money for going round in circles.

IMO Abhisit is the most intelligent PM Thailand has had. They just don't know him yet.

Red Shirts should focus energy on assisting the government to get this country

going forward or countries like Vietnam will make Thailand look sick soon.

Vietnam who are already spending money on a New High Speed Rail link.

Thailand trains how old? 40 years+?

Are they helping to negotiate better wages?

Are they helping to find unemployed jobs?

What are they doing? Having 50,000 people on a sit-in.

[gregb]

An early election solves nothing until the Thaksin issue is resolved.

I am tired of all the bloodshed. Any red demands except for Thaksin can be settled through legitimate parliamentary means. Only the Thaksin issue invites bloodshed from protesters. There will be no yellow shirted thugs on the street because the rice farmers want another baht per kg. There will be thugs if anyone tries to pave the way for the return of the demagogue.

Call an election without settling this problem, and you simply exchange red shirts for yellow ones, and fresh rioters for worn out ones.

If the reds are honest that this is not about Thaksin, then come up with a compromise that gets them the early elections they want in exchange for denouncing the demagogue, withdrawing his pardon petition, and passing some kind of law which guarantees he is done for good. Because that is the overriding concern of their oponents who will take to the streets if the reds get what they want.

Once this hard work is done, then elections are a reasonable solution. We can be sure there will be no more demonstrations, and the government can get back to work for the good of the whole country.

The time to solve the Thaksin problem is now. I want to see televised debates around this. New elections solve nothing without this, and I will not support them without this problem being addressed.

Oh I forgot, Thaksin is the only corrupt politician in Thai politics.

Carry on…

No, Thaksin is the only corrupt politician that inspires bloody riots.

However, I would be happy to include other named, corrupt politicians in the debate if that is what it takes to solve the Thaksin issue. The Thaksin problem needs to be addressed and solved before the country can move forward. He can not be absolved of his crimes if we ever want to move past this, and all Thai citizens need to accept this. If that means sacrificing others at the alter as well, I would support that. Only Thaksin apologists try and claim that the country approves of everyone except him. I am all for a single standard, but that single standard must include Thaksin being eliminated.

Thaksin has to be eliminated to keep the peace. As long as people fear his return, they will protest. And I am tired of protests and bloodshed.

[IanForbes]

Elections are expensive. They take a while to set up. There are formalities that MUST take place prior to an election. My take on another election is some foreign country should be contracted to oversee it so there are no illegal actions.

There MUST be some way to make those that don't agree with the final decision that they MUST wait a required length of time for a further election at a later date.

I truly believe that Abhisit would probably make a good leader if he wasn't undermined at every step. His major problem is there are some SERIOUS doubts at how he came to power in the first place.

[KhaoNiaw]

I notice there were no tanks when the yellow shirts took to the streets.

Are those things tanks?

Look more like people carriers.

[sokal]

They offered an early election and it was rejected out of hand.

Let the people decide!

It really is that simple.

If it was that simple....

"A" government cannot bow for every minority if that minority feels like not agreeing with the policy.

They should have accepted the offer imho.

why didn't the govt offer elections in 6 months then ? Neg it out.