Thai Authorities To Sever Red-Shirts Supply Lines

[WAERTH]

Yep, it's about time - tomorrow is the Ploughing Ceremony!

Let's hope it all disperses peacefully and not ONE drop of blood is spilled - as it would be for absolutely NOTHING!

Tomorrow??? I could have sworn the royal ploughing ceremony was performed today and predicted abundant harvests. Maybe Samui is one day behind the rest of the world?

W

[Zolt]

update on TAN:

CORRECTION: CRES to Surround Red-shirts This Evening, Live Bullets to Be Used

UPDATE : 13 May 2010

The Center for Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES) has announced that to encourage the protesters to disperse armored vehicles will be used to surround the anti-government red-shirt protesters this evening. Live bullets will be used.

Well, it was already a given that live bullets would be used... by the red side. So the CRES guys are just being truthful for once.

Any news on the police/army presence in the area? There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of them yet, and live bullet or not they'll need a lot of people and tanks to storm or even cordon off the protest site. Apart from Silom I haven't seen many uniforms around.

[bkkjames]

update on TAN:

CORRECTION: CRES to Surround Red-shirts This Evening, Live Bullets to Be Used

UPDATE : 13 May 2010

The Center for Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES) has announced that to encourage the protesters to disperse armored vehicles will be used to surround the anti-government red-shirt protesters this evening. Live bullets will be used.

Well, it was already a given that live bullets would be used... by the red side. So the CRES guys are just being truthful for once.

Any news on the police/army presence in the area? There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of them yet, and live bullet or not they'll need a lot of people and tanks to storm or even cordon off the protest site. Apart from Silom I haven't seen many uniforms around.

The breaking news says public transports closed at 6pm, should I assume the bts and mrt as well?

[OzMick]

I wouldn't go with a general amnesty. The crimes are too severe for that.

Perhaps a kind probation/bail would be in order. The agreement would have to be that even the slightest misstep by any red leader would result in immediate revocation of bail and incarceration until the final appeal has been ruled on by the courts. Violation of the agreement would also result in an additional mandatory 2 year jail sentence on top of the sentences for the other crimes. Possible violations would include, but not be limited to, harassment of campaigners, defacing of campaign signs, vote buying, hate speech, etc. The charges would still need to go through the judicial system at the typically slow pace in Thailand.

The problem is most of them are already on bail and are breaking bail conditions. When you arrest them again, and impose stricter penalties for breaking bail conditions, you look like an impotent idiot. Bail conditions have been broken, incarceration pending hearing of original and further charges is the logical next step. Time served before the hearing date is usually deducted from the sentence.

[dhrobertson]

Anyway, CONGRATULATION TO THIS GOVT FOR GETTING BOOTED BY THE UNHRC - the reflection of truth.

This govt is only capable to assassin hapless harmless boat people in the hundreds a time. Extort hard working folks and has a deep rooted corruption. It can't provide security for it's inhabitants local or foreign and has no willingness to do so.

The previous governments didn't have deep rooted corruption. Their's was on the surface for everyone to see.

Funny to hear so many farang here condemn corruption and act so concerned about the poor of Thailand. If it wasn't for the corruption, the poor and the neglected most farang would not be here. They could say goodbye to low prices as well as the abundance of low priced working girls and girlfriends half their age and 1/10th their weight.

Utter Bolloc-s

Beer prices not much different from home.

How does corruption benefit me? How do the poor benefit me? My family get over 100,000 a month from me. Not bad for some uneducated rice farmers!

The enemic corruption and lack of morality does piss me off however.

[Herm]

update on TAN:

CORRECTION: CRES to Surround Red-shirts This Evening, Live Bullets to Be Used

UPDATE : 13 May 2010

The Center for Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES) has announced that to encourage the protesters to disperse armored vehicles will be used to surround the anti-government red-shirt protesters this evening. Live bullets will be used.

Well, it was already a given that live bullets would be used... by the red side. So the CRES guys are just being truthful for once.

Any news on the police/army presence in the area? There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of them yet, and live bullet or not they'll need a lot of people and tanks to storm or even cordon off the protest site. Apart from Silom I haven't seen many uniforms around.

Nothing in the Nation about this, will probably go the same way as the cutting off of power ......... NASA

Edited May 13, 2010 by Herm

[elcent]

I wouldn't go with a general amnesty. The crimes are too severe for that.

Perhaps a kind probation/bail would be in order. The agreement would have to be that even the slightest misstep by any red leader would result in immediate revocation of bail and incarceration until the final appeal has been ruled on by the courts. Violation of the agreement would also result in an additional mandatory 2 year jail sentence on top of the sentences for the other crimes. Possible violations would include, but not be limited to, harassment of campaigners, defacing of campaign signs, vote buying, hate speech, etc. The charges would still need to go through the judicial system at the typically slow pace in Thailand.

probation would last just for a few seconds.

It's a character issue that needs to be considered and addressed. Something that is hardly ever formed during the raise of kids within the first 7 years. Just a few exemptions.

[jcbangkok]

Anyone know if such a small rocket can harm a helicopter?

You'd have to be a mug to take the odds! Like pissing on a bushfire.

....or pissing on downed electric lines while standing in a puddle.

Seriously though, a SAM (surface to air missile) has a good chance of taking down a military copter from a ground troop. Any decent military copter built in the past 25 years should be able to handle all sorts of small arms fire and keep flying.

There's a story of a US military plane flying up a valley during the Vietnam war, and hundreds, maybe thousands of VC soldiers were firing at it. At one point, a 5 inch round fired from a cannon below, went right by one of the wings, clearly seen by the pilot, as if in slow motion (as he described it).

There are so many tools and tactics available for crowd dispersment nowadays. Of course, I wouldn't expect Thai authorities to be at the vanguard of what's available - as they're usually one to three decades behind the west on such things. Best is to use tactics/tools in combination - though nothing effective can be done if troops are half-hearted and led by inept sops.

Assuming it would be possible for an insurgency to get this far in the west (I know big leap) ... what sort of tactics and tools would they use?

Keep in mind the difference in culture here and the big outrage in terms of deaths at the hands of the military even when the military is acting within the law.

I just don't see Thai authorities have many options here unless and until they are willing to accept high casualties and likely loss of a great deal of the commercial area. This is just not as an acceptable thing as it is in the west. I believe this is big reason why the PM has called for patience knowing that the crowds would thin, giving them enough rope to hang themselves and allowing time for the general population to say enough is enough and demand authorities restore peace.

I cannot comment on their training but in terms of crowd dispersal tools they have the same stuff they use in the west including the unproven LRAD.

[h90]

Anyone know if such a small rocket can harm a helicopter?

About the same as pointing a laser pointer at a 747 airplane but unless you want to risk a heck of a lot of time behind bars, it is not something you want to do .. at least in the US.

Well I have seen what happens in a "normal" country when you send radio without license.....Just jokes and bad homebrew music, no political propaganda.....

The sky full of helicopters the streets full of special trucks from civil and military units to locate the moving sender.

Special forces storming the university (at which by old law police is not allowed to enter without permission).

that all because 5 guys hat a pirate radio.....But it seems Thailand is different, you can shoot helicopters or army officers...mai pen rai.....as long as you not one peaceful kid smoking a joint, you can do everything in Thailand.

[dhrobertson]

The RED should leave peacefully, and government should not arrest them.

Ah, how sweet!

[Herm]

The RED should leave peacefully, and government should not arrest them.

Ah, how sweet!

and Microsoft should really be my company

[webfact]

New related topic discussion:

Armoured vehicles, army live bullets will be used to surround Red-Shirts from 6pm

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Armoured-Veh...et-t364644.html

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