Thai Protesters Brace For Crackdown As Compromise Rejected

[animatic]

-- The Nation

Urgent: 6 injured in bomb attack, shooting at Banharn's house

Assailants lobbed a grenade and fired at the house of Chat Thai Pattana Party de facto leader Banharn Silapa-Archa late Sunday night, injuring six people.

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

Bad business. Very bad business.

And particularly with families in their homes involved.

Not to mention this isn't the way to woo coalition partners for the true.

[commons]

{snipped for brevity}

a revolution is carried out by educated people,only sometimes, at the top; and very uneducated people, usually, at the bottom. the nazis had only one educated man in their leadership (goebbels) and the average brown shirt footsoldier was harldly educated. the khmer rouge peasants, or the bolshevik ones, were hardly educated.

a far better rule of thumb is that revolutions are led by charismatic people. and, by the way, if you dont know what charisma means, then just go to ratchaprasong and see how the assembled masses listen and cheer.

i'll not argue what you might call an analysis. but i like insight into your mind, revolution equals nazis & khmer rouge (& let's throw in the "bolsheviks" too 555).

i'm sorry, you're saying hate-speech @ ratchaprasong resembles "charisma"? thanks for another insight.

thank you!

[Chaimai]

I have an open mind on all the grenade attacks and small bombs about the place and would

be surprised if either side was responsible for all of them.

There have been more Red shirts killed in this situation than any other group.

Given that they have advocated violence and, largely initiated it, it is not surprising.

But this is not a competition about deaths.

However, there needs to be a conclusion and if the protesters will not call a halt (having achieved some useful concessions re elections etc) then a "crackdown" (I detest that word - 'dispersal without casualties' is far better) becomes necessary.

[bartlaz]

maybe someone's been payed , but from u looks like everyone has been payed to be there. 15 red protesters there are friends of friends, and no one of them said to have received money. they come from BKK. They tell can eat for free. that's what i know.

Btw u can try to see the 500bath in a different point of view: they are not money to make someone become colored, but 500bath to support someone who get out of his way, traveling and living on the streets for weeks leaving their jobs for weeks, to support something, good or bad doesn't matter.

[madi]

I have an open mind on all the grenade attacks and small bombs about the place and would

be surprised if either side was responsible for all of them.

There have been more Red shirts killed in this situation than any other group.

Given that they have advocated violence and, largely initiated it, it is not surprising.

But this is not a competition about deaths.

However, there needs to be a conclusion and if the protesters will not call a halt (having achieved some useful concessions re elections etc) then a "crackdown" (I detest that word - 'dispersal without casualties' is far better) becomes necessary.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WHY THE TIME CLOCK?

How long should people fight for justice before giving up?

Would you crawl on the ground to another man?

Why is it you support making poor Thais do it?

Just curious

[TheItaliann]

How do you stop them from coming back next week or moving somewhere else? Certainly, putting the Leaders in prison is out of the question in Thailand.

In case you have missed it over the past few days .....

Terrorism is a death penalty offense in Thailand

Today (for the first time) the names of Chavalit and sae daeng came up in the talk by Abhisit and Anupong.

Thaksin has met with Sae Daeng and others recently ..... (Feb and March)

Messages are being sent out to the leaders of the Reds and with corroborating witnesses now workign with the government some very big heads amongst the Red leadership are now on the block.

Yes, but this is Thailand. Name a few big heads currently doing hard time in Thailand.

Most likely is that there will be a whole bunch of "suspended sentences".

[commons]

{snipped for brevity}

this poster has absolutely no idea what he is talking about and is obviously living in his private fantasy world.

anyone who was at ratchprasong last night knows full well that what the poster says above about the MASSIVE crowd stretching all directions is the truth. and everybody should also know that the only reason the army hasnt swept away the reds is because their numbers are just too big.

at this rate if increasing participation, the reds will soon be in a position sweep away the goverment, not vice versa.

tss tss... we all suffer indulgence in our mind-inclinations, don't we.

1) may i ask you, even _if_ what you _claim_, " the reds will soon be in a position sweep away the goverment, not vice versa" would be a fitting description of events in "real real world" ->

2) -> would you've time to enlighten me of the benefits of this occurrence?

[jamieson]

correct me if i am mistaken.

most of the faces in the photos tell me they don't look like the elites of thailand and are therefore not yellows at heart.

again i stand corrected.

Are you trying to suggest that not all anti-reds are yellows????

quite the contrary.

Suggesting that because you are anti-red that you must be yellow is much the same as saying that if you are pro-red then you are pro-Thaksin.

whybother, don't bother.

what is in your mind and what is mind?

mind is matter.

so never mind ......which is which..

otherwise everyone will get hot and bothered here.

goodnite and saluit.

[commons]

A disappointing but unsurprising response from the biggest stubborn mule PM the world has ever seen.

It is kind of hard to negotiate with terrorists. Not a good precedent really.

My limited understanding of history says every terrorist organisation has had negotiations to settle disputes and the only effective results have been either negotiated or completely wiping out the terrorists. Some may advocate the latter but it's chances of success are nil. This dispute will eventually be solved by negotiations because that is the only way this dispute can be solved

thanks for saying it!

[4223rhodes]

Yesterday's article in the Straits Times quoting Aung San Suu Kyi's opinion on the Thai crisis is probably a lot more illuminating than any of this nonsense.

[madi]

Yesterday's article in the Straits Times quoting Aung San Suu Kyi's opinion on the Thai crisis is probably a lot more illuminating than any of this nonsense.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Of course

She talks to the world and calls it clear and clean.

"April 24, 2010...4:56 pm

Aung San Suu Kyi on the perils of having the military’s constitution

Burma’s Aung San Suu Kyi has been reported as commenting that “Thailand’s political crisis shows that a constitution drawn up by the military can never deliver stability…”.

NLD spokesman Nyan Win said that in a meeting he had with Suu Kyi, “she discussed the situation in Thailand, which has been wracked by crises since a 2006 coup ejected Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.” He cited her as commenting: “A new government coming to power under a constitution drawn up by the military will never be stable…. We do not need to see very far. We just see Thailand…. Thaksin was an elected person. The military seized the power from an elected person. The constitution was drawn up by the military…. After that, what happened with the first (government)? It was not stable…. This was a result of the constitution being written by the military.”

[retdson]

A disappointing but unsurprising response from the biggest stubborn mule PM the world has ever seen.

It is kind of hard to negotiate with terrorists. Not a good precedent really.

My limited understanding of history says every terrorist organisation has had negotiations to settle disputes and the only effective results have been either negotiated or completely wiping out the terrorists. Some may advocate the latter but it's chances of success are nil. This dispute will eventually be solved by negotiations because that is the only way this dispute can be solved

thanks for saying it!

Agree. About the most sensible post of I've seen on here.

[jefro]

-- The Nation

Urgent: 6 injured in bomb attack, shooting at Banharn's house

Assailants lobbed a grenade and fired at the house of Chat Thai Pattana Party de facto leader Banharn Silapa-Archa late Sunday night, injuring six people.

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

Bad business. Very bad business.

And particularly with families in their homes involved.

Not to mention this isn't the way to woo coalition partners for the true.

Do not worry. Help is on the way.

More reds to gather in BKK, key provinces

• Published: 25/04/2010 at 04:37 PM
  
• Online news: News Updates
  

Members of the anti-government movement are preparing multi-pronged responses against the anticipated government crackdown within Monday by calling for regrouping of fresh demonstrators from Isan, North, and the Deep South and holding parallel provincial demonstrations in key provinces.

Security sources said there was a suspicious mobility of Thai Muslims from the three southernmost provinces this morning heading to Bangkok.

Several dozens of pick-up trucks were seen taking hundreds of Muslim women and children mostly from Narathiwat's Sisakhon and Bacho districts and few others from Satun, Pattani, Songkla, and Yala provinces.

Authorities believed some Islamic leaders who hydeparked during the red-shirt rally on March 30 had something to do with this travel to mobilize their mass supporters in current Bangkok demonstrations.

[jamieson]

The authoritarian farangs who post here are likely to get what they are drooling for - a massacre.

So the Reds threaten this, that & the other? So what else power have the poor got? They have been blocked from the ballot, they got no machine guns, tanks or artillery, & little money.

Their crooked 'leader' is removed by the equally crooked mafiosi of BKK.

What they got left but protest & verbals?

Whenever democracy raises its head in Thailand, the answer from BKK is a massacre. If the rednecks read a little history, they would know this. But authoritarians don't want to know. They don't want democracy, they want 'peace, law & order' - like you get in a prison or a graveyard. The residents there have limited ability to disturb the fun of expat wrinklies. The latter will be able to smile on in the Land of Smiles.

Others, pray for a miracle. OGT

each passing day increases the suicidal tendencies of many.

yes, pray for a miracle.

bangkok will soon turn red with " yellows'"," reds"" , "farangs'" and others' blood.

yes, peace,law and order is the rednecks' pseudonym for modern day absolute slavery

the rednecks will careless for anything else.

[Chaimai]

I have an open mind on all the grenade attacks and small bombs about the place and would

be surprised if either side was responsible for all of them.

There have been more Red shirts killed in this situation than any other group.

Given that they have advocated violence and, largely initiated it, it is not surprising.

But this is not a competition about deaths.

However, there needs to be a conclusion and if the protesters will not call a halt (having achieved some useful concessions re elections etc) then a "crackdown" (I detest that word - 'dispersal without casualties' is far better) becomes necessary.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WHY THE TIME CLOCK?

How long should people fight for justice before giving up?

Would you crawl on the ground to another man?

Why is it you support making poor Thais do it?

Just curious

You have totally misunderstood my response and made a drama out of 'giving up'.

I did not suggest giving up. I suggested concluding the protest in the knowledge that you have achieved as much/more than was envisaged at the outset. Genuine steps to stabalising Thailand, improving democracy and ensuring free and fair elections.

If this is REALLY about getting Thaksin and/or his money back and a revolution of the impoverished classes, then Cross_bones is right - we should all shut the <deleted> up and the Thais to self-destruct. Then there will be more blood spilled - a lot of it, and mainly 'red' blood.

[TheOldWolf]

I went down to Rajaprasong today, guess what, not a single red shirt in sight. I guess they went home or something. Just a bunch of people hanging around waiting for the malls to open. Crisis over, disaster averted. Congrats PM.

During the conversation earlier one side was saying that there are nearly no protesters on site, the other that there are many but mainly at night. I said they come a bit after midnight, but was challenged over it, so I said I would make a video of it if they come again.

So here is the video of the "reenforcements" that for the past 2 days arrived with fanfare at 12.45 am. Today they are a bit early, which cought me unprepared and made me miss the first couple of minutes while searching for the camera.

Regardless, enjoy the video.

I've converted to FLV as original is 150 MB. Also resized from 640x480 to 320x240 for smaller size. Original video available if anyone thinks this is doctored job.

EDIT: Tried to attach the video, but it always comes to the end, then says "You did not select a file to upload". Uploading to another server now and will provide the link in 1 min.

http://65.181.179.181/IMG_0137_resized.FLV

Thank you for the video

[jamieson]

Yesterday's article in the Straits Times quoting Aung San Suu Kyi's opinion on the Thai crisis is probably a lot more illuminating than any of this nonsense.

quoting the straits times of singapore is like quoting the german " des spiegel" or any thai newspaper or straw polls. be original and one will be more believable. most asian newspapers are not reliable as sources of truths. they often quote others and slant it to their own vested interests. as such, anug san suu kyi's opinion on the thai crisis may not really be that illuminating and may actually turn out to be more nonsensical especially from a newspaper source like the straits times of singapore which is very pro the military junta of myannmar. remember, the very military junta that locks up aung san s kyi carries out a very brisk trade in miltary weapons with the straits times ' government of singapore .

how do you trust a double-speak newspaper??

Edited April 25, 2010 by jamieson

[redparrot]

Yesterday's article in the Straits Times quoting Aung San Suu Kyi's opinion on the Thai crisis is probably a lot more illuminating than any of this nonsense.

quoting the straits times is like quoting des spiegel or any thai newspaper or straw polls. be original and one will be more believable. most asian newspapers are not reliable as sources of truths. they often quote others and slant it to their own invested interests. as such, anug san suu kyi's opinion on the thai crisis may not really be that illuminating and may actually turn out to be more nonsensical especially from a newspaper source like the straits times of singapore which is very pro the military junta of myannmar.

No matter what newspaper quotes it, she did make that statement, it was also on CNN.

[TheOldWolf]

Yesterday's article in the Straits Times quoting Aung San Suu Kyi's opinion on the Thai crisis is probably a lot more illuminating than any of this nonsense.

quoting the straits times is like quoting des spiegel or any thai newspaper or straw polls. be original and one will be more believable. most asian newspapers are not reliable as sources of truths. they often quote others and slant it to their own invested interests. as such, anug san suu kyi's opinion on the thai crisis may not really be that illuminating and may actually turn out to be more nonsensical especially from a newspaper source like the straits times of singapore which is very pro the military junta of myannmar.

No matter what newspaper quotes it, she did make that statement, it was also on CNN.

Link please!

[redparrot]

due to a mob, that's anarchy. while we've more than 420,000 people on facebook _opposing_ house dissolution?

420,000 people are members of the Facebook group. It doesn't mean that each member opposes house dissolution. You have to understand how Facebook works before you try and use it as a scientific poll of public opinion. Let's assume however that every single of those 420,000 people oppose the house dissolution ...that's only 1.52% of the Thai population.

Suddenly doesn't seem like that many people anymore, does it? 1.52% of Thais oppose house dissolution, while 98.48% don't. Hmmm...

[redparrot]

Link to what? My television? I said it was on CNN. Don't believe me, not my problem. I saw it, that's good enough for me.

[TheOldWolf]

Link to what? My television? I said it was on CNN. Don't believe me, not my problem. I saw it, that's good enough for me.

They had an interview with her?

[redparrot]

due to a mob, that's anarchy. while we've more than 420,000 people on facebook _opposing_ house dissolution?

420,000 people are members of the Facebook group. It doesn't mean that each member opposes house dissolution. You have to understand how Facebook works before you try and use it as a scientific poll of public opinion. Let's assume however that every single of those 420,000 people oppose the house dissolution ...that's only 1.52% of the Thai population.

Suddenly doesn't seem like that many people anymore, does it? 1.52% of Thais oppose house dissolution, while 98.48% don't. Hmmm...

In that case only 15,000 support the house dissolution. As that's all the protesters that are out in Bangkok and other provinces. In your logic then other 62,985,000 people do not support it. Hmmm...

Since every single Thai outside Bangkok has internet access, right?

[redparrot]

For anyone that wants something written from Aung San Suu Kyi:

http://news.ph.msn.com/regional/article.as...umentid=4050050

MSN News, By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 4/24/2010

Thai crisis shows perils of military constitution: Suu Kyi

Thailand's political crisis shows that a constitution drawn up by the military can never deliver stability, Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said Saturday, according to her party.

Myanmar's military junta, which has ruled for nearly half a century, produced a new constitution as part of a "road map to democracy" which includes elections due to be held later this year.

The election plans have been widely criticised and subject to a boycott by Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), which would have had to expel its leader if it wanted to take part.

NLD spokesman Nyan Win said that in a meeting Saturday with Suu Kyi, she discussed the situation in Thailand, which has been wracked by crises since a 2006 coup ejected Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

"A new government coming to power under a constitution drawn up by the military will never be stable," he cited her as saying.

"We do not need to see very far. We just see Thailand," she said. "Thaksin was an elected person. The military seized the power from an elected person. The constitution was drawn up by the military," she said.

"After that, what happened with the first (government)? It was not stable," she said of the short-lived administration that followed the coup.

"This was a result of the constitution being written by the military."

Nyan Win said Suu Kyi was not giving an opinion on the rights and wrongs of the conflict in Thailand, where red-shirted campaigners largely loyal to Thaksin are calling for the ouster of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

Abhisit's army-backed administration was appointed in a parliamentary vote after a court ruling ousted Thaksin's allies.

The Reds are also calling for the restoration of a 1997 pro-democracy constitution which preceded the rise to power of Thaksin, who is now living in exile to avoid a jail sentence for corruption.

Edited April 25, 2010 by redparrot

[TheOldWolf]

Link to what? My television? I said it was on CNN. Don't believe me, not my problem. I saw it, that's good enough for me.

They had an interview with her?

Stop trolling.

You say it was on CNN. I ask if they had an interview with her? Or what source did they have? Singapore newspaper?

[redparrot]

Wasn't referring to FaceBook. Just saying that counting only those who publicly acknowledge support for something is far off the real support base.

And as you say 1.52% of thais are opposing the house dissolution. That doesn't mean the other 98.48% support it.

Same as you can't only count the few thousand protesters occupying Rajprasong and a few other rallies in the country. They would be far below 1% of the people. But we both know that the red support base is far larger than that.

So don't just twist the numbers around like that as you know what you are saying is not true.

I was twisting the numbers around in sarcasm of the original post. Maybe you missed that part, sorry. The original post basically said that 420,000 Facebook members oppose the house dissolution, which may actually be much lower, as being a member of a Facebook group doesn't mean you support it.

[whiterussian]

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?p...5-4-2010_pg20_4

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/S...ory_518839.html

Aung San Suu Kyi

'A new government coming to power under a constitution drawn up by the military will never be stable,' he cited her as saying. 'We do not need to see very far. We just see Thailand,' she said. 'Thaksin was an elected person. The military seized the power from an elected person. The constitution was drawn up by the military,' she said.

'After that, what happened with the first (government)? It was not stable,' she said of the short-lived administration that followed the coup. 'This was a result of the constitution being written by the military.'

AFP

Edited April 25, 2010 by whiterussian

[redparrot]

For anyone that wants something written from Aung San Suu Kyi:

http://news.ph.msn.com/regional/article.as...umentid=4050050

MSN News, By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 4/24/2010

Thai crisis shows perils of military constitution: Suu Kyi

Thailand's political crisis shows that a constitution drawn up by the military can never deliver stability, Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said Saturday, according to her party.

Myanmar's military junta, which has ruled for nearly half a century, produced a new constitution as part of a "road map to democracy" which includes elections due to be held later this year.

The election plans have been widely criticised and subject to a boycott by Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), which would have had to expel its leader if it wanted to take part.

NLD spokesman Nyan Win said that in a meeting Saturday with Suu Kyi, she discussed the situation in Thailand, which has been wracked by crises since a 2006 coup ejected Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

"A new government coming to power under a constitution drawn up by the military will never be stable," he cited her as saying.

"We do not need to see very far. We just see Thailand," she said. "Thaksin was an elected person. The military seized the power from an elected person. The constitution was drawn up by the military," she said.

"After that, what happened with the first (government)? It was not stable," she said of the short-lived administration that followed the coup.

"This was a result of the constitution being written by the military."

Nyan Win said Suu Kyi was not giving an opinion on the rights and wrongs of the conflict in Thailand, where red-shirted campaigners largely loyal to Thaksin are calling for the ouster of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

Abhisit's army-backed administration was appointed in a parliamentary vote after a court ruling ousted Thaksin's allies.

The Reds are also calling for the restoration of a 1997 pro-democracy constitution which preceded the rise to power of Thaksin, who is now living in exile to avoid a jail sentence for corruption.

Please also highlight this one - she's talking about Samak's government.

Exactly. Samak's government wasn't stable because of the military coup that removed a legitimately elected Prime Minister, Thaksin, from office. And then the military changed the constitution, to benefit themselves.

Now, Abhisit is trying to change the constitution again before he dissolves parliament, to benefit himself. Do you guys actually listen or read the news? He clearly said several times that he wants to change the constitution before holding new elections. Why is that? Hmmm...

[TheOldWolf]

"Nyan Win said Suu Kyi was not giving an opinion on the rights and wrongs of the conflict in Thailand, where red-shirted campaigners largely loyal to Thaksin are calling for the ouster of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. -- AFP"

[redparrot]

who stormed gov house? who stormed ec?

What's wrong with storming government house?

The yellow PAD stormed government house and held it hostage for 8 months. The current government has had nearly 2 years to bring them to justice, but they're still free running around, making plans for new yellow PAD demonstrations.

The government has clearly shown that it's okay for people to storm government house and get away with it without being punished. Double standards firing back, I'd say.