Thai Red-Shirts Vow To Rally Until Deputy PM Suthep Is Charged

[webfact]

Thai protesters vow to rally until deputy PM charged

by Anusak Konglang

BANGKOK (AFP) -- Thai anti-government protest leaders on Tuesday vowed to continue their rally until the deputy prime minister is charged over his role in a deadly crackdown on the "Red Shirt" demonstrators.

Deputy premier Suthep Thaungsuban, who oversaw security on April 10 when armed troops attempted to clear part of the capital, went to the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) Tuesday to hear a complaint against him.

But the Reds rejected Suthep's talks with the DSI -- Thailand's equivalent of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and supervised by the justice ministry, refusing to disband until there is a formal case opened against him.

"We don't accept it -- Suthep did not go there as a suspect," leader of the red-clad protest movement, Nattawut Saikuar, said from a stage in the demonstrators' sprawling encampment in the heart of Bangkok.

"We are ready to stop rallying once Suthep walks up the first step of the justice system as a suspect," he added.

Red leaders on Monday demanded Suthep turn himself over to police for his role in the crackdown.

Thailand is reeling from the worst political violence in almost two decades, with 29 people killed and almost 1,000 injured in a series of confrontations and attacks in the capital.

Twenty five people died on April 10 after a crackdown sparked violent street battles between troops and protesters, who have occupied part of Bangkok for two months while demanding elections.

Suthep, who faces complaints from relatives of some of those who died, told reporters that he was willing to enter the justice process and expected to be exonerated because the capital was under emergency rule.

"The public can be reassured that the state of emergency gives protection to all security forces involved in the crackdown operation," he said.

Protest leaders have signed up to embattled Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's reconciliation roadmap to November elections, but want the deputy premier to be charged over the April 10 incident.

"This time we will not allow murderers to escape and our condition is clear that all of those in the tyrannical government responsible for killing should be fairly prosecuted," said another protest leader, Weng Tojirakarn.

Abhisit has warned he may scrap the plan for early elections if the protesters do not leave their vast base, which has been fortified with barricades made from piles of fuel-soaked tyres, bamboo poles and razor wire.

The Red Shirts called for the government to lift the state of emergency so the protesters could return home safely, but army chief General Anupong Paojinda said the special laws would remain in place until order was restored.

Leaders of the mainly poor and working class Reds, who broadly support fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, asked a Bangkok court Tuesday for arrest warrants against them to be dropped, but their petition was rejected.

The protest movement said Monday that it had no objection to Abhisit's proposal to dissolve parliament in the second half of September for elections on November 14, dropping a previous demand for a specific dissolution date.

Crowds at the Reds' camp, which swelled to as many as 100,000 people in the early days, dwindled to just a few thousand last week as a resolution appeared near and thunder storms dumped heavy rain on the garbage-strewn protest site.

But their ranks were boosted over the weekend by 5,000 more supporters who arrived from the movement's heartland in the impoverished rural northeast, defying a ban on rallies in the capital, which is under a state of emergency.

The Reds consider Abhisit's administration undemocratic because it came to power in a 2008 parliamentary vote after a controversial court ruling ousted elected allies of Thaksin, who was himself unseated in a 2006 coup.

-- ©Copyright AFP 2010-05-11

Published with written approval from AFP.

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[EvilDrSomkid]

Oh, come on Nattawut, make up your mind. If you have one...

Btw, there are killers walking in your midst. And you are deathly afraid of them.

[ukrules]

So they are changing their tune. I guess all we have to do now is wait for the crackdown to finally begin.

[Tigs]

These lunatics have ranted so much and for so long on stage, they actually now believe the lies they spout. They are insane.

[Slaps]

Time I took my daughter to the beach

[petedk]

So they are changing their tune. I guess all we have to do now is wait for the crackdown to finally begin.

What crackdown?

Just read this:

MCOTEnglishnews: CRES threatens to retake protest site at Ratchaprasong if Red Shirts don't end protest by Wednesday

THE NATION: PM: No more compromise, tomorrow is the deadline. via NNA

THE NATION: PM: One week is enough. no more talk.

and what will he do? No one will help him. The police don't care, the army don't care.

[321niti123]

Hopefully this means that the reds will disband their protest soon, since the up till now the reds haven't been able to keep any of their promises.

Promises/Vows broken:

1 Million Man March

1 Million CC's of Blood

Peaceful protest

Lawful Protest

--Can't think of any others right now but more will come eventually to mind--

[RickBradford]

These Red Shirt dudes have a standard way of negotiating.

1. Demand a condition before they will commit to an agreement

2. Wait

3. When the condition is fulfilled, renege on the commitment, and think up a new demand.

4. Go to 1.

This is the way North Korea negotiates -- Weng is a die-hard communist, so he understands the methods.

The Red Shirts are going nowhere without the show of force they've been trying to provoke for months....

[frodo]

They've really blown a very good opportunity to get Thailand back onto track. Such a shame really.

Looking at the red leaders and their constant and unrealistic demands, there really is no need anymore for Abhisit to dissolve parliament and call early elections. The reds can bitch and moan all they want, but they are fully to blame and deserve nothing.

[gemini81]

So Anupong and the red shirts are the only ones who seem to be dictating the terms (literally) and "calling the shots." The term democracy is laughable at best, especially the UDD using it in their name.

I suppose it has taken a lot of countries many years to find relative peace and stability. Well, we still love Thailand and its positive aspects, or we wouldn't be here, and there wouldn't be so many expats on this forum.

[earthpig]

How else can Thailand produce a government that is held by all Thais to be legitimate without an election? And how to carryout that election without an amnesty? Elections held with opposition leaders in jail do not generally enjoy a history of having their outcomes respected by all participants.

With a general amnesty for all, Thailand could move on to a successful election the results of which would be widely considered legitimate. Once that is accomplished, then both sides must either accept the outcome, or be exposed as undemocratic with the resultant diminution of legitimacy in the eyes of their supporters and the world.

To date, the Prime Minister and the Generals have managed this revolt well. Let's hope they continue to find the right solutions.

[FatherF]

I think that it is time for the PM to say enough is enough! These Red leaders will not stop stalling, they really don't seem to know what they really want, nor, more importantly, do they know how to get it.

God save Thailand.

FF

[Tigs]

Abhisit should cancel every deal they have made. You cannot negotiate with these people as they are unable to stick to any agreement. The reds are doing everything possible for a fight, which I am sure will come soon, and then we will find out why. It would cost less for the Government to hire a top merc sniper and take these knobs out one by one. You notice the general world wide rule that you don't negotiate with terrorists, well this is why, and the more these Red leaders do, the more they really are taking on the role of terrorists.

[wagoosh]

I really font understand, why do they hurt thailand like that, they are not fighting for what it al strated just for small things to "prove a point" on the expnese of million.

Who gave them the right to ask question and demand things or keep the Nation/city hostage till its fullfiled and even then...

Normak Thai people cant see the bluff? you can be poor and discriminated but how the REDs really helping them or bringing change?

I see them trying to fight till death and thats what will happena nd everybody will lose.

The Pm is obligated to tr and finish this and thats why he has immunity, but the lost their legitimacy long time ago...

Peace does not mean No Blood spiled, it means not hurting others for your benefits in any way

EE

They've really blown a very good opportunity to get Thailand back onto track. Such a shame really.

Looking at the red leaders and their constant and unrealistic demands, there really is no need anymore for Abhisit to dissolve parliament and call early elections. The reds can bitch and moan all they want, but they are fully to blame and deserve nothing.

[321niti123]

So Anupong and the red shirts are the only ones who seem to be dictating the terms (literally) and "calling the shots." The term democracy is laughable at best, especially the UDD using it in their name.

I suppose it has taken a lot of countries many years to find relative peace and stability. Well, we still love Thailand and its positive aspects, or we wouldn't be here, and there wouldn't be so many expats on this forum.

The name is really laughable, especially the acronyms where you can just switch the D words without changing the acronym making it "United front for Dictatorship against Democracy" which is more truthful than their original.

[bubblegum]

How else can Thailand produce a government that is held by all Thais to be legitimate without an election? And how to carryout that election without an amnesty? Elections held with opposition leaders in jail do not generally enjoy a history of having their outcomes respected by all participants.

With a general amnesty for all, Thailand could move on to a successful election the results of which would be widely considered legitimate. Once that is accomplished, then both sides must either accept the outcome, or be exposed as undemocratic with the resultant diminution of legitimacy in the eyes of their supporters and the world.

To date, the Prime Minister and the Generals have managed this revolt well. Let's hope they continue to find the right solutions.

I hope you mean fair elections, give everybody the chance to "go on the road" without sabotage .......... and with polititians to choose no terrorists ?

[Lopburi99]

<snip>

To date, the Prime Minister and the Generals have managed this revolt well. Let's hope they continue to find the right solutions.

Two months of lawlessness and billions lost and and and....

[earthpig]

<snip>

To date, the Prime Minister and the Generals have managed this revolt well. Let's hope they continue to find the right solutions.

Two months of lawlessness and billions lost and and and....

...and no bloodbath.

correct.

[321niti123]

<snip>

To date, the Prime Minister and the Generals have managed this revolt well. Let's hope they continue to find the right solutions.

Two months of lawlessness and billions lost and and and....

...and no bloodbath.

correct.

Two Words: April 10th

[Insight]

<snip>

To date, the Prime Minister and the Generals have managed this revolt well. Let's hope they continue to find the right solutions.

Two months of lawlessness and billions lost and and and....

Two months of trying to work a compromise with minimum loss of life, only for these unreasonable thugs to show their true colours at the end.

The govt have army have eight weeks to understand and plan what they're up against, but unfortunately I've got a hunch the reds will sink further lower than this.

[basjke]

So they are changing their tune. I guess all we have to do now is wait for the crackdown to finally begin.

What crackdown?

Just read this:

MCOTEnglishnews: CRES threatens to retake protest site at Ratchaprasong if Red Shirts don't end protest by Wednesday

THE NATION: PM: No more compromise, tomorrow is the deadline. via NNA

THE NATION: PM: One week is enough. no more talk.

and what will he do? No one will help him. The police don't care, the army don't care.

[madi]

Just have the election,

do a coup, then wait for the fight to begin.

Possible outcomes of a real fight.

10s of thousands dead

Half of Bangkok burned to the ground

Nation split into three or more pieces

Baht at 120

Sky-train now called the blownup train

Subway a war zone too

Taxis used as car bombs

Farangs run out of the nation

You can guess the rest.

[webfact]

Red-Shirts Rally - Live updates

Latest news

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?s=...t&p=3586794

[whybother]

How else can Thailand produce a government that is held by all Thais to be legitimate without an election? And how to carryout that election without an amnesty? Elections held with opposition leaders in jail do not generally enjoy a history of having their outcomes respected by all participants.

With a general amnesty for all, Thailand could move on to a successful election the results of which would be widely considered legitimate. Once that is accomplished, then both sides must either accept the outcome, or be exposed as undemocratic with the resultant diminution of legitimacy in the eyes of their supporters and the world.

To date, the Prime Minister and the Generals have managed this revolt well. Let's hope they continue to find the right solutions.

Elections with criminals forced by a mob of violent thugs would be a fantastic step forward for Thailand. There can be elections every 6 months, soon after a violent mob causes the death of 20-30 people. It will make no difference to the economy, because it's already stuffed after the last 2 months of protests, and elections every 6 months will make sure there is no new tourists or foreign investment.

Or a few people could actually learn that the current government is legitimate, and elections can be held in December 2011 when scheduled. The economy will improve, meaning more jobs for everyone. More jobs means more people spending money, which in turn means more taxes. More taxes means the government has more money to spend on the poor.

Which way do you want?

[AleG]

And when and if Suthep is charged then they won't stop until he is sentenced, and when and if sentenced until he goes to jail, and then only lift the "protest" when Suthep is executed. And when and if all that gets done they will demand Abhisit to follow the same, etc, etc...

Hyperbole, perhaps. But the red shirts have proven that they won't accept anything but their way.

They don't want compromise, they don't want to negotiate. They have one aim only, get in power for their own personal greed and pride.

Enough is enough, this is no longer a protest, this is an attempt to derail the democratic process and now the judicial system. They were given more than enough time to reach a solution to the situation, but they refuse to reach an agreement so I think it is time for the government to go in with force, the red shirts have the option of dispersing peacefully or fight back. Anyone that want to live up to the "peaceful protester" label should leave, those that want to fight can't cry foul if they get hurt or killed, it's their choice.

[Tigs]

How else can Thailand produce a government that is held by all Thais to be legitimate without an election? And how to carryout that election without an amnesty? Elections held with opposition leaders in jail do not generally enjoy a history of having their outcomes respected by all participants.

With a general amnesty for all, Thailand could move on to a successful election the results of which would be widely considered legitimate. Once that is accomplished, then both sides must either accept the outcome, or be exposed as undemocratic with the resultant diminution of legitimacy in the eyes of their supporters and the world.

To date, the Prime Minister and the Generals have managed this revolt well. Let's hope they continue to find the right solutions.

earthpig

A general amnesty must be out of the question. The lunatics have gone to far. You also are affording them the wrong status. These nut jobs are not the opposition leaders, they are the henchmen, nothing more. The only one with any political status is Jutaporn. The opposition leaders are sat in parliament watching and probably orchestrating the show that their thugs are putting on. The biggest travesty to this country would be to allow people guilty of breaking serious laws a get out of jail free card. Once the law is lost, the country is lost.

[Gippy]

So they are changing their tune. I guess all we have to do now is wait for the crackdown to finally begin.

What crackdown?

Just read this:

MCOTEnglishnews: CRES threatens to retake protest site at Ratchaprasong if Red Shirts don't end protest by Wednesday

THE NATION: PM: No more compromise, tomorrow is the deadline. via NNA

THE NATION: PM: One week is enough. no more talk.

and what will he do? No one will help him. The police don't care, the army don't care.

Hire Tony Jaa and some elephants, job done.

[ratcatcher]

Just have the election,

do a coup, then wait for the fight to begin.

Possible outcomes of a real fight.

10s of thousands dead

Half of Bangkok burned to the ground

Nation split into three or more pieces

Baht at 120

Sky-train now called the blownup train

Subway a war zone too

Taxis used as car bombs

Farangs run out of the nation

You can guess the rest.

You have a vivid imagination I must say.

Perhaps a script for Bangkok Dangerous II ?

Edited May 11, 2010 by ratcatcher

[Jingthing]

<snip>

To date, the Prime Minister and the Generals have managed this revolt well. Let's hope they continue to find the right solutions.

Two months of lawlessness and billions lost and and and....

Two months of trying to work a compromise with minimum loss of life, only for these unreasonable thugs to show their true colours at the end.

The govt have army have eight weeks to understand and plan what they're up against, but unfortunately I've got a hunch the reds will sink further lower than this.

Many of us knew what the reds really were like well BEFORE this current mess even started. How did anyone seriously EVER believe they came to Bangkok to peacefully "protest"?

[jackspratt]

How else can Thailand produce a government that is held by all Thais to be legitimate without an election? And how to carryout that election without an amnesty? Elections held with opposition leaders in jail do not generally enjoy a history of having their outcomes respected by all participants.

With a general amnesty for all, Thailand could move on to a successful election the results of which would be widely considered legitimate. Once that is accomplished, then both sides must either accept the outcome, or be exposed as undemocratic with the resultant diminution of legitimacy in the eyes of their supporters and the world.

To date, the Prime Minister and the Generals have managed this revolt well. Let's hope they continue to find the right solutions.

Engage reverse gear, and plant the foot. Careful you don't lose too much (metaphoric) rubber in the process ep.

Edited May 11, 2010 by jackspratt