Thailand Army Chief Calls For Parliament Dissolution

[neverdie]

You have to at least give it a chance and give it the best chance possible with talks, negotiations, public debate, academic debate, whatever else etc. You have to admit there are not many options left.

You are starting to sound very naive as regards Thailand politics....

Funny, somebody else mentioned that on the first page

[RussellHantz]

You have to at least give it a chance and give it the best chance possible with talks, negotiations, public debate, academic debate, whatever else etc. You have to admit there are not many options left.

You are starting to sound very naive as regards Thailand politics....

Funny, somebody else mentioned that on the first page

[mccw]

this is the bbc re-reporting what has already been said, but crucialy in the intial statement he also said all sides needed to work out a time frame through dialog for the dissolution of parliament, not that it should happen imidiately like your all assuming

[Sunderland]

What Anupong actually said, which has been taken out of context somewhat in the misleading healine, was:

"Today the context and society are different. If politicians cannot solve the problem and the key issue at present is the parliament's dissolution, then I understand that the House must be dissolved. When that is needs to be discussed. I understand that this must end up with a dissolution of the House or a national government [shrugs his shoulders]. I don't know. They must talk it out. I want peace only."

He did not directly say Abhisit must dissolve parliament because of what happened at the weekend. He did state an opinion that if an alternative solution cannot be found, house dissolutuion was the way to go. He is correct.

Edited April 13, 2010 by Sunderland

[ChiangMaiFun]

What Anupong actually said, which has been taken out of context somewhat in the misleading healine, was:

"Today the context and society are different. If politicians cannot solve the problem and the key issue at present is the parliament's dissolution, then I understand that the House must be dissolved. When that is needs to be discussed. I understand that this must end up with a dissolution of the House or a national government [shrugs his shoulders]. I don't know. They must talk it out. I want peace only."

He did not directly say Abhisit must dissolve parliament because of what happened at the weekend. He did state an opinion that if an alternative solution cannot be found, house dissolutuion was the way to go. He is correct.

"I want peace only" from the Army Chief? who sent his troops into attack protestors? what planet is he living on?

[BKjohn]

I've always believed new elections would be the only way out of this mess. It's just a shame there was such resistance by those clinging to power and that it had to come to boiling point.

New elections wil not solve anything....if the Reds win, yellow accuse reds of corruption, vote rigging...take to the streets....yellows win, reds accuse yellows of corruption and vote rigging and take to the streets....... and so the cycle continues...are you seeing a pattern ??

wrong, if the reds win, Thaksin will be back as president for life and Thailand will become a second Burma

[zorro2000se]

Am sonrry for any wrong spelling now.

But this Abbish or what his name is , He is the rigth man for the Job he was driving the Car so good.

If he only had waited a little bit longer the Reds had lost the War.

Tell the Army to fix the problem before Sonkran .... Thailand was loosing money because of the Reds but

hel_l he took Mr T money of course he would strike back.

Look now Thailands credit went down like a submarine and loosing more money then ever and all inverstors

just thinking My money will not go to a Country who choots protesters.

Not so clever to put more gasoline on the fire this can end in war in the Country its only one way out from this like our prime menister said how u fix this kind of things.

Fix a bigger skandal but this one was quite big

[opalhort]

this is the bbc re-reporting what has already been said, but crucialy in the intial statement he also said all sides needed to work out a time frame through dialog for the dissolution of parliament, not that it should happen imidiately like your all assuming

This is exactly the main point.

The PM has already agreed to dissolve the house, only the time frame is still open.

And IMO 6 months should be good since it would give the PM time to adjust relevant laws.

opalhort

Edited April 13, 2010 by opalhort

[RockyBeerbelly]

Anupong should be fired for the mess he made last Saturday

[ChiangMaiFun]

I've always believed new elections would be the only way out of this mess. It's just a shame there was such resistance by those clinging to power and that it had to come to boiling point.

New elections wil not solve anything....if the Reds win, yellow accuse reds of corruption, vote rigging...take to the streets....yellows win, reds accuse yellows of corruption and vote rigging and take to the streets....... and so the cycle continues...are you seeing a pattern ??

wrong, if the reds win, Thaksin will be back as president for life and Thailand will become a second Burma

don't be silly - you are assuming the unthinkable - it will never happen

[Jerrytheyoung]

this is the bbc re-reporting what has already been said, but crucialy in the intial statement he also said all sides needed to work out a time frame through dialog for the dissolution of parliament, not that it should happen imidiately like your all assuming

This is exactly the main point.

The PM has already agreed to dissolve the house, only the time frame is still open.

And IMO 6 months should be good since it would give the PM time to adjust relevant laws.

opalhort

IMO, the Highest level does not want discussion on amendments to Charter in those troubled times: it should be understood....

[Jerrytheyoung]

Anupong should be fired for the mess he made last Saturday

Anupong has just implemented the option which has been choosen by the government.

The Guy who has given the Green light to utilisation of Snipers should be fired ....

[LuckyLew]

I've always believed new elections would be the only way out of this mess. It's just a shame there was such resistance by those clinging to power and that it had to come to boiling point.

So what you are saying is that every time a group of people

demonstrate and say the gov't should resign they should??

100 000 protestors is still the moniroty in Thailand

Give into one group and after the next election as sure

as the sun will rise tomorrow another group will protest

Just a fact of life in Thailand ... everyone thinks there way

is right and there is no room for compromise ... I think they

call it "saving face"

[LuckyLew]

I should have said "transparent and fair elections", however I see your point but disagree.

Spoken like someone with little Thailand experience.

Perhaps you have lived here so long you are jaded.

Perhaps you points are not valid

[otherstuff1957]

this is the bbc re-reporting what has already been said, but crucialy in the intial statement he also said all sides needed to work out a time frame through dialog for the dissolution of parliament, not that it should happen imidiately like your all assuming

This is exactly the main point.

The PM has already agreed to dissolve the house, only the time frame is still open.

And IMO 6 months should be good since it would give the PM time to adjust relevant laws.

opalhort

Exactly! Abhisit already indicated that he was ready to negotiate and placed the 9 months timeframe on the table. The Reds responded with 15 days, which was obviously impractical. 6 months is a reasonable compromise, however, I predict that the Reds will want elections in 30 days or less. 6 months still gives Abhisit time to choose Anupong's successor as well as making sure that other sympathetic leaders and institutions are in place. The further away elections are, the less thorough and effective any Red electoral victory would be.

[maccaroni man]

You have to at least give it a chance and give it the best chance possible with talks, negotiations, public debate, academic debate, whatever else etc. You have to admit there are not many options left.

You are starting to sound very naive as regards Thailand politics....

So what is your expert opinion on the next best move, sir ?

By the way, you are also implying that the Army Chief is politically naive, since he has suggested elections to be held also.

fact is he is a T man and the soldier who was shot in the head by the ??? was an anti T man

[Scout666]

What Anupong actually said, which has been taken out of context somewhat in the misleading healine, was:

"Today the context and society are different. If politicians cannot solve the problem and the key issue at present is the parliament's dissolution, then I understand that the House must be dissolved. When that is needs to be discussed. I understand that this must end up with a dissolution of the House or a national government [shrugs his shoulders]. I don't know. They must talk it out. I want peace only."

He did not directly say Abhisit must dissolve parliament because of what happened at the weekend. He did state an opinion that if an alternative solution cannot be found, house dissolutuion was the way to go. He is correct.

If this is true; source? Then is there not a small glimmer of hope? When I heard the headline, I was horrified and fearing the worst - a coup. That's not say that that I think we will not have another one but, I do feel that the perceived time restraints given the headline “Thailand army chief calls for parliament dissolution” are not necessarily as immediately threatening. There is still time to solve the dilemma should ALL sides truly wish to find a mutually satisfactory solution for ALL concerned.

[LuckyLew]

this is the bbc re-reporting what has already been said, but crucialy in the intial statement he also said all sides needed to work out a time frame through dialog for the dissolution of parliament, not that it should happen imidiately like your all assuming

How can you negotiate with a group that refuse to negotiate?

[ChiangMaiFun]

this is the bbc re-reporting what has already been said, but crucialy in the intial statement he also said all sides needed to work out a time frame through dialog for the dissolution of parliament, not that it should happen imidiately like your all assuming

This is exactly the main point.

The PM has already agreed to dissolve the house, only the time frame is still open.

And IMO 6 months should be good since it would give the PM time to adjust relevant laws.

opalhort

Exactly! Abhisit already indicated that he was ready to negotiate and placed the 9 months timeframe on the table. The Reds responded with 15 days, which was obviously impractical. 6 months is a reasonable compromise, however, I predict that the Reds will want elections in 30 days or less. 6 months still gives Abhisit time to choose Anupong's successor as well as making sure that other sympathetic leaders and institutions are in place. The further away elections are, the less thorough and effective any Red electoral victory would be.

a point of order - the reds did not say elections in 15 days but dissolution of Parliament - I think 3 months for elections is fair

[snorkelador]

Anupong should be fired for the mess he made last Saturday

Anupong has just implemented the option which has been choosen by the government.

The Guy who has given the Green light to utilisation of Snipers should be fired ....

Who's that guy exactly - Natthawut, Arisman, Juthuporn, Weng, Seh Daeng, big T and who should fire him or them? Fired on, in case they resist arrest would be be the better action for who ever ordered those snipers and grenade throwers!

[endlessimage]

I would think after the p_iss poor performance of the boy-scout army, the army chief should be sacked immediately, as a matter of fact it should have happened the other day when the troops were over-run by a few reds at the TV transitter.

Can only say it is lucky it wasn't a hostile foreign power who they were up against - it would have been a complete rout and Thailand would now be flying a different flag.

I couldn't agree more.

[lannarebirth]

I've always believed new elections would be the only way out of this mess. It's just a shame there was such resistance by those clinging to power and that it had to come to boiling point.

New elections wil not solve anything....if the Reds win, yellow accuse reds of corruption, vote rigging...take to the streets....yellows win, reds accuse yellows of corruption and vote rigging and take to the streets....... and so the cycle continues...are you seeing a pattern ??

wrong, if the reds win, Thaksin will be back as president for life and Thailand will become a second Burma

don't be silly - you are assuming the unthinkable - it will never happen

What do you suppose this is all about then? Democracy? You should take a look at the literature that Thaksin is churning out. He's not exactly secretive about his aims.

[webfact]

Army Chief Calls on PM to Dissolve House

In a press conference with Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, Army Chief General Anupong Paochinda called on PM Abhisit Vejjajiva to set a timeline for House dissolution. He added political problems must be solved by politics.

The press conference also revealed that terrorists took advantage of the situation on Saturday night to shoot at the red-shirt protesters, causing deaths and injuries.

Deputy PM Suthep also said the coalition alliance is still strong and they have not discussed dissolving the House in 2 months as rumored.

-- Tan Network 2010-04-12

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[ChiangMaiFun]

Army Chief Calls on PM to Dissolve House

In a press conference with Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, Army Chief General Anupong Paochinda called on PM Abhisit Vejjajiva to set a timeline for House dissolution. He added political problems must be solved by politics.

The press conference also revealed that terrorists took advantage of the situation on Saturday night to shoot at the red-shirt protesters, causing deaths and injuries.

Deputy PM Suthep also said the coalition alliance is still strong and they have not discussed dissolving the House in 2 months as rumored.

-- Tan Network 2010-04-12

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

should have been done a few days ago... it was inevitable - losing lives wasn't - disgraceful!

[Rideau]

That would be a bloodiest and nastiest election ever. In most of rural Thailand, villagers seek protection from their Phor Yai, who dictates the results.

[Jerrytheyoung]

Anupong should be fired for the mess he made last Saturday

Anupong has just implemented the option which has been choosen by the government.

The Guy who has given the Green light to utilisation of Snipers should be fired ....

Who's that guy exactly - Natthawut, Arisman, Juthuporn, Weng, Seh Daeng, big T and who should fire him or them? Fired on, in case they resist arrest would be be the better action for who ever ordered those snipers and grenade throwers!

The Army snipers on the Satri Wittaya school who have started the massacre

[lannarebirth]

That would be a bloodiest and nastiest election ever. In most of rural Thailand, villagers seek protection from their Phor Yai, who dictates the results.

Most people who post here have no idea what goes on in these Northern villages nor who the winners and losers really are.

Edited April 13, 2010 by lannarebirth

[plazot11]

Let's be fair, this government came into power because of criminal elements like Newin and other who stole the seats of the PPP (TRT/PT) and decided that they knew better than the voters. These voters demand their seats back. Nothing wrong with that.

The red shirts should never ever agree on a 6 month time frame. A six month time frame will bring the man with blood on his hand and who is an known Thaksin hater in power general Prayuth Chan Ocha. A new government must be in place latest in July or in early august to derail his promotion to army leader. It is worth fighting a bit longer to avoid that or at least negotiate that Chan ocha is out and never make it as army leader. God forbid that this man ever gets his chance.

Given the funny and outright stupid statements of Foreign Minister Kasit who is charged with economic terrorism charges by prosecutors the government is desperate. It will take a few days longer before Thaksin or the red shirts are accused of the drought, the dry Mekong and the fact that the yellow shirts closed the airport.

If a PM has to come on TV everyday to assure his people that everything is under control and that the army is with him, it means in general that he is in trouble, that nothing is under control and that the army is split.

Thanks Mythbuster Good Observations and Analysis.

The best and clearest picture of what and why it is happening and those really behind the unrest was published in The Economist Mar 18th 2010 . "Behind the present unrest in Thailand lie far deeper fears" "Another bruising round in Thailand's protracted power-struggle was under way, with no clear end in sight" This edition was not published In Thailand because of its sensitive subject but can be read on the internet . It is essential reading !!!

Another good letter from a Dom Dunn on another papers blog :

Unbalanced coverage

Though I consider myself a cynic, the utter hypocrisy displayed in your editorial today (''Censorship is doomed to fail from the start'', April 11) caused my jaw to hit the ground.

You write: ''All media have a responsibility not to inflame passions and strictly adhere to the truth.'' Since before the Thaksin assets verdict your newspaper has done nothing but seek to create anti-UDD feelings among your readers, both by your one-sided reporting and in the tone you use.

Your choices of stories have been overwhelmingly pro-government, and today is a case in point - on a day when many Thai people died, the majority of them members of the UDD, you chose to devote your entire front page to a picture of a wounded soldier.

For the past month you have reported every official statement, no matter how incredible or lacking in supporting evidence, and countless unsubstantiated and unattributed anti-UDD stories and rumours.

The statements of any ''spokesman'' claiming to represent a peace group, businessmen or tourist operator have been given space, without any effort being made to verify the truth of either the group's membership, or of their facts. Your reporting constantly betrays your bias by referring to the UDD as ''reds'' or ''red mob'', their leaders as ''bosses'' and portraying the members as rural simpletons.

You finish by writing that it is ''unfortunate'' that UDD supporters feel they cannot trust mainstream media sources. It's not unfortunate, it's a disgrace, the Thai media's failure to provide full, fair and balanced reporting means that you must bear a share of the responsibility for this weekend's tragedy.

Thai journalists have abysmally low ethical and professional standards. I was staggered to learn that a representative of the ASTV Manager Group has quit the board of the Thai Journalists Association in protest at the TJA's opposition to the shutting down of the PTV channel.

The people who work for the ASTV/PTV channels are not journalists, they are propagandists and they should not be eligible to join a journalists association, much less serve on its board.

When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty

-Thomas Jefferson

[RockyBeerbelly]

Anupong should be fired for the mess he made last Saturday

Anupong has just implemented the option which has been choosen by the government.

The Guy who has given the Green light to utilisation of Snipers should be fired ....

Has he really? You really think he, or any of the generals before him listen to the government? Wasn't the government strategy to 8 step approach to deal with the demonstrators? Where did that strategy go? I think the biggest mistake the army made was to be all friendly with the red shirts (music, and dancing in the streets, shaking hands, etc.). That made the two groups to be mixed up which resulted in the mess we had on Saturday.

[OzMick]

Anupong should be fired for the mess he made last Saturday

Anupong has just implemented the option which has been choosen by the government.

The Guy who has given the Green light to utilisation of Snipers should be fired ....

He has been. he now lives in Dubai.