Thailand's 'Yellow Shirts' Call For Martial Law

[dominique355]

Let the majority decide? The majority has decided, long time ago and the majority wanted Abhisit to be the PM

dominique355 I suggest you either read up a bit on Thai election history before you post or s.t.f.u.

Perhaps a bit of Constitutional Law would also help.

Oh and even if I don't agree with you, I would always uphold your right to speak.

[lannarebirth]

Even the red-shirt supporters should agree, if the PAD/NPP don't like him, then he must have some good points ? !

Quite right. I thought it should be obvious to everyone, but apparently it isn't. Abhisit is the middle way and feels obliged to help ALL Thais flourish. The truth is, there are a significant number of people that only want to see their own particular constituency flourish, and that's pretty sad and undemocratic.

[jonclark]

Nothing like throwing gasoline on a fire to help put it out.

Why was there no Martial Law while they had controlled the Airport?

Double standard again.How dare the reds make themselves heard!

You are not people get back in your place and how dare you to challenge the YELLOW ELITE!

Can I get some of what you have been taking?

Go and hold your Oxford boy hand where ever he is hiding

If you want to know why there was no martial law during the airport fiasco. Ask the 'red aligned' PM. Maybe he felt it wasn't serious enough. Maybe because the yellows achieved their goal at the airport in a couple of weeks or maybe because it didn't effect the average working Thai on a daily basis. Or maybe because the yellows weren't killing fellow Thais with bombs in public places.

Not a double standard, but a totally different situation.

This double standard is sooooo boring.

Can i avoid paying taxes, cause Taksin didn't?

What do you mean i must pay taxes. That's a double standard!!!!

If i don't pay taxes i will go to jail

Taksin didn't. Double Standard!!!!

See boring, dull, and completely without any fathom of common sense. All people are equal, some are more equal than others. Fact of life.

[Mekhong]

Okay I am back.. some super speedo called mario banned me for 3 days about my comment of putting some good old fashion "fun" in the water to mellow everyone out a wee bit.. I called Micky and Donald for comment but both are known to be out to lunch with old PM who seemed to be in telecommunications. Apparently they have a new ride in Same Same land that keeps doing the same thing over and over.. and no one is really doing anything to make it work. So, I headin' further north by northwest or is it east.. dunno for certain as we all know here.. There is nothing for certain..

Joining a new group called the " New riders of the plaid skirts" who most hail from the old warriors in Epping Forest and we will be riding our Davy Harlaquians to the midnight feast with all the men who stare at goats..

Whats in a color.. cut the mustard and ketchup buy all the eggs you can and defend yourselves...

Yes I agree more guns.. but Viktor is in lock up and he also had the best deals...

Jeez mate - you smoking that stuff neat?

[lazurus]

Can you have fair and free elections when groups of protesters are roaming the countryside performing illegal searches on civilians? Will they set up roadblocks around the polling stations and make sure only friendly people get to vote? That is why you need law and order before any date for the next election can be set. So that the people can travel freely, and safely around their own country and express their will without intimidation.

[Jingthing]

Can you have fair and free elections when groups of protesters are roaming the countryside performing illegal searches on civilians? Will they set up roadblocks around the polling stations and make sure only friendly people get to vote? That is why you need law and order before any date for the next election can be set. So that the people can travel freely, and safely around their own country and express their will without intimidation.

So true, and of course campaigning will be impossible in many areas. The idea of elections at the present time is comical. It would settle absolutely nothing.

[tonyPhuket]

Thank you everybody for showing how incompetent the government is in this country. Honestly, as much as I don't think Thaksin should come back, he would have the balls to do something about a situation like this. Unlike the current PM who sits in his office and gives empty threats of a crackdown. Maybe the reds are right. Abhisit has sure shown it the last few weeks that he's unfit to handle any critical situations. How can a government be in power that can't even maintain order in its nations capital.

I sympathise all the Thai people of all the parties especially among so called Red and Yellow ones. Plus the recent losses of life & many injured.

I notice Red shirts are very good at patience at Ratchaprasong so why can't they be try to be patience for nine months to reach Government Dissolution? That will meet your achievement, isn't it?

Please think the safety for everyone

[tim73]

This all is like a perfect merry-go-around. Every side is claiming to be the voice of The People but the minute they got the power, all they want to do is to solidify their own positions in the power structure with all kinds of shady dealings all around. Thaksin did give with right hand to the poor people but took it with left hand away later on and with high interest.

That is why farmers in the North continue supporting him, finally somebody in Bangkok listened to them, but he sure has his own set of motives...

Edited April 26, 2010 by tim73

[vicco]

So after 7 weeks of this.....two dozen threads, thousands of posts we have come to the conclusion that........

Abhisit should dissolve parliment

A military coup would be good

The army should just kill everybody

The army should do nothing--the reds will eventually leave.

Redshirts are all just terrorists

Yellowshirts are just terrorists

All other shirts are just terrorists but could be on either side

Guys in black are terrorists but are really red terrorists.

Yellowshirts occupancy of the airport was a bad thing

Redshirts coming to BKK is a bad thing---really bad...worse than anything a yellow could do...but they are not really smart like the Yellows.

The Government is incompetent

The army and police are incompetent

The Reds (or blacks) fired first

The army fired first

Reds are all getting paid on a scale from 300 baht a day to 2000 baht a day or more...they only protest for money...not like yellows who do it for love of Thailand.

The Reds do not get paid but the yellows do.

We know for sure the army and police get paid---oh government too--and way better pay scales.

The Reds fired grenades at the train

The train driver says he saw the grenades coming from a totally different direction to where the reds were....oops just ignore that, eyewitness reports are invalid.

Farangs know things about the reds and their leaderships thoughts that they don't even know themselves...Farangs just KNOW these things....

Farangs know far more about everything in Thailand than any Thai person could possibly know... even ex bus drivers from Liverpool are highly educated in these matters.

If Farangs were running things here this would never have happened...peace and tranquility reign in all Faranglands.

Rice growers are just stupid...actually morons, idiots..and of course terrorists.

In order to know what Thailands population really wants you have to be Farang....and preferably not have spent too much time in Thailand to get confused by actually meeting a lot of Thais.

Tanks and Blackhawkes are the best way to do crowd control.

This would never happen in the USA....we would have shot all of them by day 2.

This would never happen in the UK....we know how to deal with things like this.....we negotiated a deal with the IRA...and it only required 30 years and 4,000 or so deaths...

we don't mess around.

If the reds win, Thaksin will be dictator for life...and he will kick out all foreigners.....within 30 days!!!!

Thaksin flew to Finland with 114 cases of cash....one of our members figured out how much cash you can carry in 114 large suitcases and trunks....without knowing

the the sizes of the containers, the currency, or note denominations...(This report is on another thread from a couple of days ago) Now that's talent for you.

Perhaps if we continue for another 7 weeks and another 20,000 posts at least some of us will figure out that we don't know what the hel_l we are talking about.....

[sausageandmash]

You mean "exterminate", rather than eliminate.

Maybey Daleks are just what's needed to clear the red shirts out. Can you imagine watching hundreds of daleks trundling towards the Red Shirt encampment, lazering them all to death...but then again, who would want Davros as the new PM. Lol

another simplistic remark:

Yellow = Elites ... Red = Peasents

the clash of interests seems obvious.

I favour an election. An election that most probably will give a win for the majority of people (reds).

This outcome would be ok for me as long as the paying mastermind T. cannot profit from it.

Therefore do as the Daleks say. Eliminate Mister T. beforehand.

Cheap and efficient way of having him out of the game.

But any which way Thailand goes. This country, it's people, must learn what democracy means.

one thing is: Poor people, who look for democracy, should not accept money for their votes. If they don't, rich people cannot buy their votes.

Infant thinking I know.

[barnsworth]

I have a hard time seeing the yellows being able to pose any kind of threat to the Reds, it seems the Reds would have them way outnumbered and it wouldn't even be remotely close.

Don't forget...Yellow = Military

Correction. Yellow was Military now = few aging top brass.

Military are in charge now. Democrats certainly are not. Only a change of name of the present state from SOE to Martial Law. Nobody is going to pay a blind bit of notice, apart from the outside media who will wonder why a party with Democracy in its name is always wanting the Army to come in. I don't wonder, I know. They are all one and the same. Elite, Top Army, Courts, PAD Democrats.

BTW, which military do they want in power? If Thaksins Brother in Law and Seh Deang take over, do they want these in charge? Might be half the military ready to enforce SOE when this lot turn up on the streets. Am sure some top brass will be proposing it if only to embarrass Abhisit and show him again for the fraud he is. At least if he resigned now the PAD would have to go away and prepared to get the NPP into a few seats . A heated Election campaign would beat a civil war.

This time, who is going to stop the PAD being attacked? The Army are far to busy where they are now, and it won't have gone unnoticed I am sure.

Most yellows wont show. The ones that did, will have been in the multi-coloured lot. A lot of them dissapointed with Democrats anyway and if they think Thaksin is dying, why would they continue?

Perhaps it wasn't so much about Thaksin as being against Democracy. Most Ironic name ever for a political force and it didn't go unnoticed last time. The media were queing up with mics last time to here the flock slander northeners as stupid and calling for appointed Governments. The outside media had a riot. Democracy indeed.

Is ASTV still broadcastiing this divisive tirade? Now how can that be!

[epicstuff]

If there is a full on confrontation it would be wonderful to see Taksin off the Big Screen and leading the charge, instead of his horde of ignorant followers.

[bud7]

I liked it better when there was an all news thread.

[pkspeaker]

Martial Law is different in that it would probably start with a 24hr curfew-meaning that people would be told to get off the streets; the purpose of this is to prevent rioters or militants from re-grouping, they would likly give protest camps a final warning and they would then charge through the barricades with water canons, rubber bullets or both and would likly end up switching back and forth between rubber bullets and stun grenades, to the real things as people with AKs and m79s start coming out of the woodwork..; they would start rounding up people in mass and detaining them temporary camps and arrest the leaders and hold them w/o bail or access to lawyers. The next day would likly return to normalcy somewhat with people going out again and the protest grounds being cleaned up. there would be a bunch of dead protesters and a bunch of accusations of 'excessive force'

There are only bad choices left. I am not clear exactly what they mean by martial law. How is that different than the state of emergency now in effect in Bangkok? Do they mean a military coup government?

Although the pressure is coming from the yellows, instead of dismissing it as out of hand, what are the other reasonable alternatives? Don't say spot elections. If you think that would solve this crisis you aren't following the news.

[barnsworth]

Let the majority decide? The majority has decided, long time ago and the majority wanted Abhisit to be the PM

dominique355 I suggest you either read up a bit on Thai election history before you post or s.t.f.u.

Perhaps a bit of Constitutional Law would also help.

Oh and even if I don't agree with you, I would always uphold your right to speak.

You are getting warmer. Then see who wrote the constitution and banned criticism of it and campaigning against it and a TV black out of any dissent. And banned the main opposition to the Democrats.... AND still didn't get enough votes to form a government.

Next google some of the top people at CRES. Find out who they are first

We'll make a political commentater out of you yet.

[whiterussian]

I liked it better when there was an all news thread.

Plug into twitter:

photo_journ Police seen assembling at various #redshirts roadblocks. No fighting at any yet. Red-shirts reinforcing all roadblocks armed with spears

3 minutes ago via Seesmic

Reply Retweet

RedPhanFa2Day Lge groups of police assembling @ various #redshirts blockades

6 minutes ago via Seesmic

Reply Retweet

vaitor lots of police trucks passing mbk intersection

9 minutes ago via Tweetie

Reply Retweet

veen_NT Mahachai Police had to return to their base after travelling in a bus and 4vans to Bkk & were stopped by #redshirts checkpoints.

Edited April 26, 2010 by whiterussian

[CosmicSurfer]

It has come to me, that besides all the other problems of corruption, lack of a decent education, nepotism & poverty, cultural feudalism, etc... etc... etc...

There really is NO decent political alternative to chose.... ALL major political parties have the same problems... tainted with the perception, if not fact, of corruption and vote-buying, all controlled (or owned) by the unseen forces of HI-SO (or just Very Rich) Elites.... None of them truly representative of the downtrodden or the middle classes... None of them truly concerned about any kind of real societal and fundamental structural Change.

Lip-service and misinformation is pervasive... False Promises flow like silk over a gorge of deceit and inaction.

Nothing will ever change unless a REAL Leader and a REAL Political movement finally surfaces.

Where is the Thai 'Che Guevara'? The 'Abraham Lincoln', the 'Elliott Ness', the 'Aung San Suu Kyi'.... Where are the ones that can bring the Changes that are needed? The truth and trust that are missing,... the unity of purpose and vision?

Where is the Hope?

CS

Here's the leader your looking for

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nattawut_Sai-kua

Please don't corrupt my post with Corrupt suggestions..... There is more than enough Corruption to go around in Thailand....

And this "person" you suggest is just More of the "Same Same".. with a Capital "S".

Thais need to get over this Round'n Round and find someone who breaks the mold.

Not another power/money Hungry elite.

Read his resume again at that link....

He's just a bought and paid for graduate of Thaksin U.

CS

[kcore]

Maybe Mark can call in the French foreign legion to sort the BKK mess out.

They for one won't be taken hostage by untrained reddies.

You are right. They won't be taken hostage cuz they'll raise the white flag and call the U.S. to get them out of the shit as usual.

[lookpapa]

Thank you everybody for showing how incompetent the government is in this country. Honestly, as much as I don't think Thaksin should come back, he would have the balls to do something about a situation like this. Unlike the current PM who sits in his office and gives empty threats of a crackdown. Maybe the reds are right. Abhisit has sure shown it the last few weeks that he's unfit to handle any critical situations. How can a government be in power that can't even maintain order in its nations capital.

Absolutely spot on. He should resign just for being inept. Maybe they should bring back Chuan Leekpai to replace him and let him negotiate out of this mess.

Nothing, I repeat, nothing will solve this crisis short of an election overseen by UN inspectors. Otherwise more of the same with one side accusing the other of cheating.

This society lost their way, the gap between the Bangkok people and the rural folk is too big to bridge by the current lot of politicians.

IMHO the PM is a puppet of those who don't want the status quo changed. Thay want to keep the country people in their places by denying them proper representation in the political life of the country. In other democracies there are political parties such as a Farmers Party or Country Party or such like to give people on the land a voice. In Thailand rural folk are only good as taxi drivers or domestics or rice farmers to be exploited by the middle men.

It started with Thaksin and he may still be financing the reds but the stakes are higher now. The've let a tiger out of its cage and it's hungry. Hungry people are dangerous.

The Democrats should live up to their name and bring these people to their side by listening to their plight instead of stonewalling and protecting the hob knobs.

[billythefish]

It is the Puppet's (Abhisit) string pullers that are resisting any outcome. They know they will be ousted in any new election, then targeted, so cutting off their backhanded money supply. That was the main reason the demacraticly elected government was ousted in the first place, as the high and mighty in Bkk were having thier hidden souces of backhanders slowly being choked off.

The reds and seems the majority of Thai people have had enough of the Government sponsored rip offs.

Now see how many Flames come!

No flames from me - I think you have hit the nail on the head!

[thairamsfan]

I have been an expat resident here for the last 20 years. I have seen 2 military coups in that time. In my opinion this would be the worst case scenario if the PAD take to the streeets in opposition to the Reds who are going to take their shirts off anyway.

Mr Taksin I have been upcountry many times in the past and have seen the good work you have done there, I know the people there love you but please please use your influence to diffuse this terrible situation. There are some stupid and irrelevent comments on this blog, if you can't keep your comments sane please keep them to yourself.

I think I am typical of the expats who love this country and have our "Luk keun," families here.

[Old Man River]

I have been an expat resident here for the last 20 years. I have seen 2 military coups in that time. In my opinion this would be the worst case scenario if the PAD take to the streeets in opposition to the Reds who are going to take their shirts off anyway.

Mr Taksin I have been upcountry many times in the past and have seen the good work you have done there, I know the people there love you but please please use your influence to diffuse this terrible situation. There are some stupid and irrelevent comments on this blog, if you can't keep your comments sane please keep them to yourself.

I think I am typical of the expats who love this country and have our "Luk keun," families here.

Why are you typical?

[retarius]

I've been reading the foreign press...Times, Guardian, Independent, Economist, NYT....all pretty much against the use of force and all asking why not hold elections since Abhisit and the constitution are tainted....looks like the international community haven't bought the 'terrorist' propaganda...

The red protest was entirely peaceful, if inconvenient for Bangkokians, until the army moved in on April 10th. Armies in all democratic societies are there to fight external security threats not gun down their own people who until the time they moved were protesting peacefully...riot control should be handled by the police.

[Phuket Stan]

Maybe Mark can call in the French foreign legion to sort the BKK mess out.

They for one won't be taken hostage by untrained reddies.

You are right. They won't be taken hostage cuz they'll raise the white flag and call the U.S. to get them out of the shit as usual.

You just got to love this post.....so true...but u did fail to mention them calling on the UK as well

You will always get a good bite from the French when u ask when they won their last war

[dominique355]

Let the majority decide? The majority has decided, long time ago and the majority wanted Abhisit to be the PM

dominique355 I suggest you either read up a bit on Thai election history before you post or s.t.f.u.

Perhaps a bit of Constitutional Law would also help.

Oh and even if I don't agree with you, I would always uphold your right to speak.

You are getting warmer. Then see who wrote the constitution and banned criticism of it and campaigning against it and a TV black out of any dissent. And banned the main opposition to the Democrats.... AND still didn't get enough votes to form a government.

Next google some of the top people at CRES. Find out who they are first

We'll make a political commentater out of you yet.

Well, nothing is perfect and certainly not in politics, especially in Thai politics. But going back to Adam and Eve doesn't help here.

Of course the present constitution was drafted by a group of people nominated by the military (and they made sure they can't get held responsible for anything they did), but a majority of people voted in favor of it. Shouldn't we respect that?

As Winston Churchill said, "Democracy is the worst political form, except for all the others" or something to this effect.

BTW, did you know Veera used to be a Democrat, and Sondhi a friend of Thaskin, and Thaksin paid for the education of Anupong's children?

Nothing good can come from hatred, blackmail, violence and refusal to negotiate and compromise, at least nothing democratic.

[jayjay0]

... and on and on... and on.... it goes.....

Where (or when) it stops, nobody knows.

CS

Well we finaly got some humor here right in the middle of a national shame party. The yellow shirts want martial law. I am all for it if it can be retroactive to the airport party they staged to show the world there total lack of concern for there fellow countrymen.

[NCFC]

The disparaging remarks referring to Thai farmers as ‘peasants in paddy fields’ in some of these forums makes me sick and you should be ashamed and embarrassed by writing such utter rubbish. To the nasty posters who insist on insulting these people, I suggest you go and work in a paddy field with hardly a salary to your name and then call someone a peasant. Having visited the North East of Thailand many times I could not believe the difference in the living standards compared to more Southerly regions where people in Isaan are still having to live day by day on hardly anything. Surely in an emerging Asian country like Thailand things should be changing and you should not be seeing such a huge divide between the 'haves' and have-nots'. Of course things like this will take decades to be realised with a better education system being a priority so the less well-off understand how the countries economy works rather than the "live for today and who cares what happens tomorrow" attitude. Also a lot of the people from the North East are used as factory fodder for large Bangkok companies and are paid a pittance...I don't know what sort of Unions operate in these establishments but it cannot be working in favour of the employees. Unfortunately the true rural poor involved in the Red Shirt protest don't seem to understand they are being used in a power struggle and I do feel for them although the leadership of this movement are an entirely different matter. Also of course I do not condone the violence used on innocent people and the blunt refusal of the Red shirt leadership to accept any compromise if it does not fit all their terms. I really hope the present government at least gets a chance to try and sort out the countries problems and then elections can be held when they are legitimately due.

That was an honest and well-balanced post, sir. But you'll be shot down as a Thaksin apologist for your troubles by many on TV.

[retarius]

What right do Red protesters have to stop ordinary citizens and search them? Who appointed them the moral authority in Thailand? It is not their place to harass and intimidate people. Why doesn't the government bring back some semblance of order to the country? If the Reds stop a police convoy complete with prisoner transport trucks the police ought to start filling those trucks, arrest these people. They are not agents of the government, they have no business blocking police or civilians. Is it acceptable for these vigilantes to start detaining people? Can they beat them and search them with no cause? It is only a matter of time before a driver runs down someone manning these illegal roadblocks. Do the police have to wait until more people die before they take back their job?

Lazarus,

They just want to ensure that yellow/other shirts don't come into their camp carrying weapons. Most of the supposed red shirt violence is actually caused by trouble making yellows who smuggle weapons into the red camp to discredit the reds...

[barnsworth]

post='3541475' date='2010-04-26 17:26:13']

[

Perhaps a bit of Constitutional Law would also help.

Oh and even if I don't agree with you, I would always uphold your right to speak.

You are getting warmer. Then see who wrote the constitution and banned criticism of it and campaigning against it and a TV black out of any dissent. And banned the main opposition to the Democrats.... AND still didn't get enough votes to form a government.

Next google some of the top people at CRES. Find out who they are first

We'll make a political commentater out of you yet.

Well, nothing is perfect and certainly not in politics, especially in Thai politics. But going back to Adam and Eve doesn't help here.

Of course the present constitution was drafted by a group of people nominated by the military (and they made sure they can't get held responsible for anything they did), but a majority of people voted in favor of it. Shouldn't we respect that?

As Winston Churchill said, "Democracy is the worst political form, except for all the others" or something to this effect.

BTW, did you know Veera used to be a Democrat, and Sondhi a friend of Thaskin, and Thaksin paid for the education of Anupong's children?

Nothing good can come from hatred, blackmail, violence and refusal to negotiate and compromise, at least nothing democratic.

You mentioned the constitution law first. It is absolutely the crux of the matter. You have all the information at your disposal but you don't seem aware of how it fits together.

I agree with your last sentence 100% though. But this has come from both sides and if the candidates of the poor are continually remove, it is a recipe for trouble.

Vote, accept it and try to win next time round. But what happend here was vote, Thaksin in, riot, army in, constitution in, rigged elections, Samaak in, Elite organisted outser, Somchai in, ouster organised and even, courtesy of Newin, an army of blue clad thugs roaming the streets of pattaya until they were routed.

That was four groups overturning three valid PM appointments. Newins Blue mob, The PAD, Courts and Army. AND still they keep coming back, these pesky reds causing trouble just because you overthrew three PMs and organised Coup.This time, the Army realise that they perhaps should be evenhanded and this is why they are getting the flak.

What is PAD response now? They know they cannot physically move the reds or they would have tried already. So they bleat and whine for another Coup. Democracy in action? At least the reds are calling for an election here.

[stevotoo]

What right do Red protesters have to stop ordinary citizens and search them? Who appointed them the moral authority in Thailand? It is not their place to harass and intimidate people. Why doesn't the government bring back some semblance of order to the country? If the Reds stop a police convoy complete with prisoner transport trucks the police ought to start filling those trucks, arrest these people. They are not agents of the government, they have no business blocking police or civilians. Is it acceptable for these vigilantes to start detaining people? Can they beat them and search them with no cause? It is only a matter of time before a driver runs down someone manning these illegal roadblocks. Do the police have to wait until more people die before they take back their job?

Lazarus,

They just want to ensure that yellow/other shirts don't come into their camp carrying weapons. Most of the supposed red shirt violence is actually caused by trouble making yellows who smuggle weapons into the red camp to discredit the reds...

University lecturer complain red shirts try to search students' test papers

I have been searching through student exam papers for years and I can assure them that they will not find anything seditious or dangerous there- just fashion accessories, my holiday to Hua Hin, Korean boy bands and other such drivel