Thai Army Says Planning Operation To Clear Protesters

[on-on]

About 30 minutes ago on the UDD Facebook page we had this:

Urgent: 2 minutes ago, troops from Lumpini park have already engaged with the red shirt. Tear gas were being used and Lairds are in position. : DB

And then about a minute ago, this:

Update At silom, police block Silom entrance with soldiers at Convent soi nearby. Reds blocks Lumpini entrance with barbwires. No action yet! Sean

So a half hour ago there was tear gas, soldiers were engaging and LRADs were in position and now there's no action except a few joes stringing barbed wire around. This is what I'm talking about. Someone needs a better PR coordinator. I'm genuinely not an adherent of either side, but the complete gibberish spouted by everyone at any given time without any respect to what they may have said just previously makes it impossible to pay much attention to the boy who cried wolf. Not that I'm surprised, having lived here for a while, but it is still annoying when you'd actually like to know a fact.

EDIT: I know some Englishman is going to post "WHAT'D YOU EXPECT?!?!" but that's not the point. All movements and governments use propaganda. What's particularly disappointing about Thai propaganda is that it's not even internally consistent! At least back home they keep their lies in order, heh.

Edited April 18, 2010 by on-on

[britmaveric]

Sun be up soon, so I think it's safe to say it won't happen today.

[WAERTH]

Exactly what I thought:

Personally what I distill sofar is that the military is seting up shop and maybe makes some minor moves at the moment to create some more space between the demonstrators and Silom.

[on-on]

It's going to be darkly humorous if this flows over into Silom and turns into a historical event known the world over as The Patpong Putsch.

[pontius]

Yep, seems like just another red round of "puut maag". Nothing to see here.

[Sunderland]

Channel 3 currently reporting that soldiers started leaving from the 11th regiment at 3am this morning destined for Silom Road area. Some deployed before that.

[Sunderland]

Keep your eyes on the TV this morning. Definitely troop deployments. Soldiers seen on channel 3 deployed at Sala Daeng BTS

[Rinrada]

Could be on its way to be a 4th World country...again...

up there with the likes of North Korea ,Burma,Afganistan,Somalia.......yeah lets go for it...and prove ..whos the real peasants.

[siampolee]

Slightly out of the way here in Klong Toey, (subway station area) traffic moving as per normal on all roads and flyovers, people not in panic mode, all it seems is peaceful.

[Fishbucket]

Anything from the illegal government about how "tooled up" the Military junta are?

Any more mad Rambo colonels been deployed to shoot up the redshirts?

[Publicus]

Don't we all have to think it got a lot harder to get Thai military men to charge toward the area the Reds now hold after the army say over 200 of their com rads in arms shot down in roughly 1 minute.

Most were shot with rubber bullets--THIS TIME.

Funny thing is likely the men doing the shooting wearing black with faces covered are also Thai military special forces.

Bet they are telling the boys in the army to stay the heck away or die.

I really doubt that any Thai general can get a strong group to charge again.

After all. most of the army people are Pro Red anyway being from Issan.

I think the next step for the reds is a complete shutdown of Bangkok which they could do easily.

Maybe they will pick out a few buildings owned by Backers of the regime and burn then down to the ground. Who could stop it?

It is easy to start a fire but difficult to put out.

It is easy to start a war but difficult to stop it.

This war, started when the Thai elite regime did the Coup against Thai love Thai.

Often in an all out fight, the loser could be the side that has the most to lose--the current regime.

The Reds mean business.

I think if they wanted to, they could hold the current area against even tank fire. City warfare is impossible to win. The entire city would be gone and the reds would still be alive and fighting.

If the building start to burn, it might be best for all farangs to leave Thailand in a wind-sprint.

If the reds want to win, and do not care how, they will win.

From one of our newer Thaksin supporters.

What a lot of speculative nonsense.

Lots of if, if, if.

Yes we know that the red cheerleaders would like to burn down Bangkok for Thaksin.

For 500 baht mostly anything goes.

And Thaksin is prepared to pay it.

Indeed; that's exactly where the problem is...

If the rural Thai people who are so deadly poor would have more money at their disposal, nobody would travel all the way to BKK to protest...whatever the cause, Thaksin or no Thaksin

A staggering 43% of ALL Thai Laborers are agricultural workers, producing a lousy, mere 12.3% of Thailand's TOTAL GDP....those workers represent 17 million workers....with wives, husbands, children, parents and grandparents to take care of...these people represent the majority of Thailand's people and they are, since centuries POOR...dead poor!

Would YOU do it for Baht 500 ?

I don't think so because you talk from a likely comfortable position.

Easy to comment on those people but go out there yourself and YOU start living in their place and do the same hard work for a few lousy Baht.

Than you will know and realize.

LaoPo

Strangely enough, you got something right! 43% of thai workers do labour-intensive work and produce very little worth. Why? they aren't slaves or even serfs, they have chosen a low-pay career, maybe for the lifestyle, to stay home with mum, who knows. But they are quite free to join the army, move, try their hand at something that pays better. No, they prefer a 6-7 month a year work ethic of a rice farmer, or sitting under a tree watching a couple of cows. Get a haircut and get a real job!

Well said. Anytime I see someone sitting meditating under the shade of a banyan tree I know he's sleeping.

[pontius]

Could be on its way to be a 4th World country...again...

up there with the likes of North Korea ,Burma,Afganistan,Somalia.......yeah lets go for it...and prove ..whos the real peasants.

Does that mean the labor will get cheaper again?

(Sorry, couldn't resist).

[LuckyFive8888]

at saladeang...

[jefro]

at saladeang...

Light skin color soldiers. here we go.

[LuckyFive8888]

at silom...

[webfact]

Topic continues here:

Top Army, Navy Units Readied For Red-Shirts Dispersal

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Top-Army-Nav...-S-t357303.html

//CLOSED//