Thai Protesters Brace For Crackdown As Compromise Rejected

[redparrot]

Quickly - Unmentionable english language daily starting with B and ending with T has a report on their homepage that several pickups with hundreds of southern muslims were seen on the route to Bangkok. That should stir the things up...

I can confirm that. It was on Thai news a while back this evening.

[michaelbale]

The support is dwindling,and the opposition to the red shirts is rising steadily,if they truly are expecting an imminent attack,and want to gather any form of support then why have they not told all the women and children to leave the protest site now.

To put the lives of children at risk,for a financial payday from the despot that was Thaksin ,is deplorable and they should be dealt with in the firmest way possible.

At least have the humanity to do that,and take the consequences of your actions without the loss of children's lives.

[commons]

The Rajaprarop from Petchburi to Indra hotel became one large parking lot.

But one thing is funny about the re-enforcements - if this is a peasant movement asking for more just wealth distribution, why are there many higher class cars among those that are coming protesting, like Mercedes Benz, BMW? You surely aren't a poor farmer if you can afford one of them...

Sorry for the long post. Now let me get my fireman's suit to prepare for all your flaming.

-------

So, you have some Mercedes cars and BM's parked by people joining .... can believe that, every mafia boss drives them and since this is the biggest gathering of criminals of all times, I'm not surprised they are there to see if they can make some money ... you must be a Thai and of course a red

I am not a Thai and I am not red. Said that I am surely not yellow either. I just reported the situation from this area as it looks like in the nights. As I went to the balcony to see a procession of the honk maniacs outside last night I spotted quite a high number of higher class sedans among the more typical pickups and motorbikes and thought I'd share that as it struck me as strange given what we were told that his rally was about.

This movement is a social revolt against an established order , basically a way for people to say that they are fed up with the establishment and want to be heard . I think K Anand said something similar . It cuts across social classes it would seem from what i hear . It is not a political movement per se , the reds have not voiced anything resembling a political platform . Just a way for people to say a change is needed , we have had enough and meanwhile lets party and kermess in the streets , much like May 68 in France . Of course some leaders with a personal agenda on their own , are taking advantage of it . I think repression by force would be a disaster for Thailand . Just a personal opinion however

imho, i think you put it very well. there's a lot of fluidity. & maybe theories from past aren't able to grasp ... a culture's spirit unleashed.

[redparrot]

Here is a good story from CNN:

A CNN crew heads into Thailand's Red Shirts Heartland to take a look at the people behind the protests.

http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world...?iref=allsearch

[commons]

{snipped for brevity}

I dont pretend to convince you , but the fact are exactly as i said .

Go in the street and ask the average red shirt if he or she has plan

to burn BKK or sack shopping malls .

you know, i know, many here on tv know.

so, wouldn't it be reasonable to _get rid_ of so-called "leaders" who incite violence?

wouldn't it be reasonable to develop some kind of policy-platform?

[TheOldWolf]

Suu Kyi is a brave leader in a country where no demonstrattions are allowed. But does that make her an expert an thai politics and constitution?

[commons]

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

Nope, that would be the other guy, Thaksin.

The PM has Thai blood on his hands, looks like he is prepared for more. He is awaiting further instructions from the elite. The elite are strategizing the use

of their paid Yellow shirts. My guess to cause enough "News media" sentiment to send in a final assault. The Red Shirts got guts. I support them. They are asking for "Freedom of speach", freedom of press/TV, some social justice. The things the rest of us just take for granted.....this is not 1945 or 1955 or 1965, this is 2010 the Internet and the world is watching, and many are aware exactly who the unseen unheard quite players are. Want more read "The Economist" Dec 2008.

thanks for an excellent contribution. as you say, "Want more read "The Economist" Dec 2008", if you allow me to propose: just do that.

[commons]

Again --- claims of massive increase in numbers of the reds are 100% NOT backed up with any evidence. Just the statements from people that support the red cause (return of Thaksin?)

The numbers aren't supported by pictures or even by the claims of the reds ... just by some reds on this forum.

http://58.97.5.29/court.html

"¢ÍÍÀÑÂ㹤ÇÒÁäÁèÊдǡ

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Who cares? Fact is there is a massive media censorship and manipulation going on. Do you care?

Lot of reports from the international media get quickly dismissed at this board. Many TVF members choose to believe only the things what fits their system of beliefs.

but that does not apply for you, chai mai?

[madi]

Suu Kyi is a brave leader in a country where no demonstrattions are allowed. But does that make her an expert an thai politics and constitution?

Yes she is an expert on SE asia.

And yes, people listen to her.

[TheOldWolf]

Suu Kyi is a brave leader in a country where no demonstrattions are allowed. But does that make her an expert an thai politics and constitution?

Yes she is an expert on SE asia.

And yes, people listen to her.

I am sure people listen to her.

[redparrot]

Suu Kyi is a brave leader in a country where no demonstrattions are allowed. But does that make her an expert an thai politics and constitution?

I think it does. Demonstrations are indeed allowed in Myanmar. There were pro-government rallies after the unrests and the government didn't do anything about them. On the contrary, they even publicized them to show how popular they are.

Sounds like Thailand? The Thai government isn't cracking down on yellow/pink-shirt protests, even though it's forbidden to gather more than 5 people in one spot, and it's forbidden to protest publicly under the state of emergency. The PM is discussing about how he will soon crack down on the red shirts, but doesn't even mention the yellow/pink shirts. Is there a small print in the law that states that you're allowed to demonstrate during a state of emergency, as long as you support the government and wear a yellow/pink shirt?

The Myanmar junta and the current Thai government aren't so much different.

Edited April 25, 2010 by redparrot

[TheOldWolf]

Suu Kyi is a brave leader in a country where no demonstrattions are allowed. But does that make her an expert an thai politics and constitution?

I think it does. Demonstrations are indeed allowed in Myanmar. There were pro-government rallies after the unrests and the government didn't do anything about them. On the contrary, they even publicized them to show how popular they are.

Sounds like Thailand? The Thai government isn't cracking down on yellow/pink-shirt protests, even though it's forbidden to gather more than 5 people in one spot, and it's forbidden to protest publicly under the state of emergency. The PM is discussing about how he will soon crack down on the red shirts, but doesn't even mention the yellow/pink shirts. Is there a small print in the law that states that you're allowed to demonstrate during a state of emergency, as long as you support the government and wear a yellow/pink shirt?

The Myanmar junta and the current Thai government aren't so much different.

OK, if that is your opinion, I will not answer you anymore.

[Fishman1967]

Suu Kyi is a brave leader in a country where no demonstrattions are allowed. But does that make her an expert an thai politics and constitution?

Well, she is a neighbour and listens closely..........

[commons]

Some insight for you on how the 2007 constitution came to pass

The government distributed hundreds of thousands of copies of the 2007 constitution prior to the vote.

People voted.

The referendum passed with a majority vote and the constitution was put into effect.

Under martial law yes . Still 10 millions thais voted against it . Very courageous of them

i like your posts. for that reason, you might find inspiration here:

http://asiafoundation.org/in-asia/2007/09/...the-referendum/

excerpt:

"Thailand: Misperceptions of the Referendum

By James Klein

James Klein is The Asia Foundation’s Country Representative in Thailand.

On Sunday, August 19, 2007, Thailand’s Election Commission organized the Kingdom’s first referendum in history. Voters were given the opportunity to vote either “Yes” or “No” to adopt the newly drafted Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand, which would provide the ground rules for a new elected civilian government to replace the Interim Constitution of 2006 and the government installed by military leadership after the September 19, 2006 coup. Nationwide, 57.6% of eligible voters cast their ballots; the majority, 56.7%, voted yes. The military acknowledges that it had hoped for both a higher turnout for the referendum and approval rating for the draft charter; nevertheless, some reports of the referendum has been fraught with confusion and errors, leading to a growing level of misinformation being accepted as fact. Here are a few examples of frequent misstatements and clarifications."

[Fishman1967]

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

Now that is an interesting twist to the current events... Let's post more smiley moments.......

[Publicus]

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...

It's pathetic that whether we're for or against either side (or any of the sides), Thais have to reach across the border to their own neighbor fascist military state to the Nobel Peace Laureate Suu Kyi for moral authority in the domestic sociopolitics and conflicts of the country. The reach is necessary because there isn't any such personage or moral authority in Thai sociopolitics that even remotely approaches that of Suu Kyi in Myanmar and globally.

Why and how is it that a Suu Kyi can emerge in Burma/Myanmar but that in Thailand there isn't anyone who even remotely approaches the stature, vision, courage and moral authority of Suu Kyi? This small, frail, long term persecuted and beleguered woman who long ago was separated from her spouse by the fascist self serving generals, and thus from personal spousal moral support, comfort and necessary reinforcement, has stood strong, tall and alone throughout her perpetual house arrest for the past two decades and has shown she has more and greater character and moral power than all of the Thai political class of clowns or thugs combined.

For all of the country's pretentions to peace, harmony, love and unity, there isn't nor will there be a courageous, backboned, inspiritational Nobel Peace Laureate in all of the Thai land who could be the equal of Suu Kyi.

Edited April 25, 2010 by Publicus

[phupaman]

Hi All .

Do anybody expect the Red Leaders to be there to the end?More like in Cambodia spending their ill gotten gain.

phupaman.

[elcent]

Here is a good story from CNN:

A CNN crew heads into Thailand's Red Shirts Heartland to take a look at the people behind the protests.

http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world...?iref=allsearch

I watched it and find it interesting when they say to have lost their income, or it's down to 1/5 since 2006.

I can agree that the yellow have caused this together with the coup.

I don't understand why they are so focusing on Abhisit and not the yellows. There are a few in the gov from the yellows and they should be cleared.

If they would think a little bit deeper they would also see the evilness of Thaksin too.

Abhisit and the recent gov is not free of mistakes, especially in the setup of the gov, they have made many wrong choices. But to force the situation to exchange it for a bigger evil is simply committing suicide. The willingness and eagerness to clear their mess with the dictated charter and then call for a new election is here. But aren't Thaksin's proxies continuously spoiling the progress?

Every day longer with their(mob) monkey theater creates more and more a long term damage beyond repair in every aspect.

We are back to the yellows and the coup one more time. Until that is not dealt with nothing works. Whatever they try to manipulate.

I can't help but think that Thaksin and the yellow leaders are in Bed with the black army and a few wannabe idiot leaders..

Edited April 25, 2010 by elcent

[jefro]

Quickly - Unmentionable english language daily starting with B and ending with T has a report on their homepage that several pickups with hundreds of southern muslims were seen on the route to Bangkok. That should stir the things up...

Can anyone tell me what they might be up to ?

[kuffki]

Quickly - Unmentionable english language daily starting with B and ending with T has a report on their homepage that several pickups with hundreds of southern muslims were seen on the route to Bangkok. That should stir the things up...

Can anyone tell me what they might be up to ?

Bringing fresh supplies of the bombs for the Reds, ops sorry for the government, because apparently it is government who is doing all the bombing

[commons]

You won't see the army clearing the protesters anytime soon. Their previous attempt on April 10 was a failure for them and the reds finest hour. It gave them the attention they were craving and the opportunity to violently attack the army. Since that time we have clearly seen that this is not a peaceful movement. They sit behind barricades sharpening spears calling for blood from their stage. When they aren't busy trying to intimidate the PM or those who live and work in the neighborhood they intimidate their own to keep them in line. Without another violent clash with the government they will run out of steam eventually. They can no longer leave their main base in large numbers and they've dropped their signature red to hide their dwindling numbers. The PM seems willing to let them implode on their own. One the imminent crackdown they claimed was coming doesn't appear they will come up with another set of lies to tell their congregation. They will claim victory and that they've scared the PM, make more threats, and look more crazy.

(I said that they would make more threats, Nation TV has received a bomb threat this afternoon)

Red shirts violently attacking the army on the 10th April ?

Any footage ?

Seems instead that it was the army shooting live ammo at the reds

http://www.france24.com/en/20100411-exclus...-thailand-crack

plenty of tweets, pics, vid available.

re your france24-source... i posted link of their back-pedaling way too often. here it is, once again:

http://www.france24.com/en/20100412-thaila...-protest-troops

[commons]

{snipped for brevity}

It's actually regarded as more intrusive than Thailand... but its certainly not alone as it applies to a whole lot of other nations:

Level of Internet censorship

Pervasive

Burma, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, North Korea, People's Republic of China, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam

Substantial

Australia, Bahrain, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen

Nominal

Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Ireland, India, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States of America

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship

Right , many of those censorship pertain to moral grounds , f.e porn especially child porn , or religious ground . Not the same as censoring your political opposition

it's ok you don't know anything about internet censorship in europe. but, imho, it's not really ok to claim your ignorance being of value.

[Ijustwannateach]

This thread will temporarily be closed and cleaned up, back-dated to the announcement of the zero-tolerance policy for flaming. Offenders will receive at least 7 days suspension.

Cleanup has begun, but not finished- about the first half of the thread and the last few pages have now been checked (the rest will be checked by this evening). As promised, offenders have generally received 7 days suspension PER OFFENSE. Such posts are deleted in their entirety along with ALL further posts quoting them for any reason. Reasons for receipt of warnings included flaming, trolling, off-topic posting, addressing posters rather than issues, calls for violence of any kind, references to moderation, etc. Further suspensions will be issued for the remain material to be checked. I am opening the thread again, and you'd better believe that suspensions will be issued for further rule violations and misbehaviour on this thread, especially including any public comments about these moderation actions.

Similar treatment awaits other threads. I suggest if you value your posting privileges that you refrain from misbehaviour on political threads, and if you don't want to waste your time having your messages deleted don't respond to messages which are or include quoted material which is not allowed.

Furthermore, the moderation team has noticed the increase in 'new' accounts popping up and posting in similar manner to old accounts. Such new accounts will be thoroughly checked; violators against the rules against multiple accounts will have ALL of their accounts immediately and permanently banned.

I hope the message is clear.

[wagner54]

Quickly - Unmentionable english language daily starting with B and ending with T has a report on their homepage that several pickups with hundreds of southern muslims were seen on the route to Bangkok. That should stir the things up...

Can anyone tell me what they might be up to ?

Bringing fresh supplies of the bombs for the Reds, ops sorry for the government, because apparently it is government who is doing all the bombing

Kuffki you really need topull your head out soyou can at least see

[lazurus]

Suu Kyi is a brave leader in a country where no demonstrattions are allowed. But does that make her an expert an thai politics and constitution?

Yes she is an expert on SE asia.

And yes, people listen to her.

She lives in one of the most repressive regimes in the area, and is under house arrest. How informed would she be?

[LevelHead]

Its a funny old world.

Well the Reds are now called "No colours".

If you want to see them all then tune in to http://www.uddthailand.com and watch the live broadcast from the stage. All the supporters sat there in multi coloured shirts now

Of course if you are in Thailand you cannot watch as its banned, unless you are able to get around the block, which many have.

The crowds down there are large presently. You can see why the Yellow TV forum posters wake up angry each day, each day passes and yet no action is taken, have they realised that there are just too many "No colour" shirts down there. They should stop listening to the propaganda from the all the state run media.

You can see the desperation levels of the Yellows increasing all the time.

We have had, Thaksin is dead, is dying, will be dead in 2 weeks and that was 4 weeks ago. HOWEVER they also tell us the "no colours" are battling to bring back Thaksin to be some "life President"...... Did they forget their own rumours he is dead ?

Its very easy in Thailand to get a replacement ID card, and unless you are traveling by plane you do not need it to travel. But the Yellow lie machine says the protestors cannot leave as they have had their ID's stolen.....

The lie machine also says the protest will last a day, 3 days, a week, not more than 2 weeks, it will be broken up tonight, in the morning, yesterday, last week, next week....... my word are they desperate

Of course the standard lie that all the protestors are being paid is still being regurgitated as and when needed

The Yellows are desperate to know why Thaksin has not phoned in for weeks, well, if he does you all say he is behind it so I would imagine he is laughing at you all asking where is he

Anyway, the switch to now being the "No Colors" was a good move and will hold off any plans for violence against them, it also makes it much easier for people to come and go, with the multicolor thugs picking on and beating up single reds on the streets, its now wise to just wear "normal clothes". And of course, they all blend in very nicely now !!

Anyway, I suppose Thaksin is dead and going to die again next week and then he wants to become President for Life (or was that death) and he is paying everyone a billion baht a day and keeps hold of their ID cards and also... well anything these Yellows can think up in their desperate attempts to put down the protests and protestors (the ones who they said many weeks ago would all be gone in a few days).....

To add to that list of the lies

Do you notice how all the Yellow's said there was no support for "No Colors (the new name for Reds)".

Now all we see are stories of support falling, stories of ex-Reds now not supporting etc.. all coming from the people who denied in the first place they had any support.....

All I see is more and more people and it spreading to more and more cities in Thailand.

Yellows will soon be saying their is no protest in Bangkok, its all an illusion and it never happened. My word, they must wake up angry each day for how many weeks now as their "its all over tomorrow" is wrong for another day.

Did you see the list of other cities this morning where Reds are now stopping Police from being moved to Bangkok. Its spreading and building it seems.

Still no "official video evidence" of the Silom attack has been released. Perhaps they are now at the movie production area's making some with wonderful special effects ? That STINKS so much, if the evidence was there it would have been on TV instantly, and yet, it has not.

Still the government refuses for an Independent Investigation of April 10th.

WHY ?

Get the UN in and do a UN Independent Investigation, as was done in Pakistan for the Bhutto killing.

But why does the government not want a UN Independent Investigation ? The PTP party have requested the UN to do it, the No Colors (Reds) have asked the government to do it.......... and yet the government refuses.

Tells a big big story that does.

[Roadman]

Here is a good story from CNN:

A CNN crew heads into Thailand's Red Shirts Heartland to take a look at the people behind the protests.

http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world...?iref=allsearch

I watched it and find it interesting when they say to have lost their income, or it's down to 1/5 since 2006.

I can agree that the yellow have caused this together with the coup.

I don't understand why they are so focusing on Abhisit and not the yellows. There are a few in the gov from the yellows and they should be cleared.

If they would think a little bit deeper they would also see the evilness of Thaksin too.

Abhisit and the recent gov is not free of mistakes, especially in the setup of the gov, they have made many wrong choices. But to force the situation to exchange it for a bigger evil is simply committing suicide. The willingness and eagerness to clear their mess with the dictated charter and then call for a new election is here. But aren't Thaksin's proxies continuously spoiling the progress?

Every day longer with their(mob) monkey theater creates more and more a long term damage beyond repair in every aspect.

We are back to the yellows and the coup one more time. Until that is not dealt with nothing works. Whatever they try to manipulate.

I can't help but think that Thaksin and the yellow leaders are in Bed with the black army and a few wannabe idiot leaders..

You have it in a nutshell. Could you imagine Thaksin or another idiot PM like they trotted out two in a row in the start of the mess, with a Black Army out of control or in control depending on your moral bent behaving with more force and corruption than all the drug lords, slave and people traders, illegal timber trading on all borders. This is where this lot comes from - its past history to them on the Thai Burma border. Thaksin or their proxy PM able to control this Black Army lot if they decided to power grab? I agree with absolute suicide for Thailand if the goons and their masters in amoung the Red leadership are involved in any way with Thailand moving forward from this current showdown. The genuine Reds and they are there as well need recognition from the Governing coalition of Parliament and Anupong's Army.

[rixalex]

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.

Governments have many responsibilities, but bringing people to justice isn't one of them. That responsibility lies with the police and the judiciary.

And the fact that the yellows are still running around free and avoiding justice is hardly unique now is it - plenty of reds, including its esteemed leader doing exactly that too.

[GungaDin]

If you support the Red Shirts, this is for you.

If you suffer from ADD or have the attention span of a goldfish, don't bother.

The Payola Party!

[chantorn]

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.

Governments have many responsibilities, but bringing people to justice isn't one of them. That responsibility lies with the police and the judiciary.

And the fact that the yellows are still running around free and avoiding justice is hardly unique now is it - plenty of reds, including its esteemed leader doing exactly that too.

Pushing the responsibility 100% to the police is not correct. This is the most stupid excuse. Are you saying that the police can sit there for 10 years, and say, sorry, no more charges as case has expires.

The police reports to the government/PM. The PM will need to take action with the Police, which indeed he did not.