Thirty-five Dead In Worsening Bangkok Violence

[lannarebirth]

As any Google search of any major media outlet (and anyone who was here) will tell you Thaksin was ousted in a "silken coup" in 2006 jointly led by the Thai elite who felt he'd grown to big for his britches that was backed by the military. BYE BYE Mr. Shinawatra into exile for you. A corrupt bastard he probably deserved it.

Problem is Abhisit and his cronies failed to recognize that everything couldn't just go back to business as usual (they are as corrupt as he was - corruption being as endemic to Thailand as pretty beaches). Thaksin was no fool and had purchased support among the rural poor by sharing the spoils and spreading a little bit of the wealth around. When the Yellows came to power they ended that allowing, surprise, surprise, unrest to well-up as the poor realized that gov't could do for them but simply chose to neglect them.

Let us look at their concerns not now but as they were at the time of the coup. They did not then yearn for an immediate election. They cared more for issues affecting their day to day lives - poverty reduction, infrastructure, education and opportunity for their children to grow up into a life better than that to which they were bound - the basics.

IMHO if immediately after the coup, the gov't would have reached out and extended programs and taken concrete measures to address those concerns (education, poverty reduction, infrastructure etc.) in a concernted effort to reach out to and improve the lives of all the rural and working poor, they would have shifted their loyalties w/o problem and Thaksin would be nothing more than a distant memory today.

I am not suggesting a socialist nirvana, but if Thaksin found some $$$ for the poor and the current gov't cannot then the current gov't can scarecely claim to be more representative or legitimate than that of the insanely corrupt Thaksin Shinawatra.

The government blew this, the government owns this mess and you can all stop your whingeing b/c if you had to trade your place today with one of the Red Shirts my money is you'd be out protesting too and the fact that you were disrupting the playful, fun easygoing lives of expats and elite Thai wouldn't bother you overly much.

You seem to be earnest in your opinion, but it is still bullshit. Almost all information you have stated is incorrect. Hey, read a book sometime.

Edited May 18, 2010 by lannarebirth

[george]

Closed. This story continues here:

Red-Shirt Leaders Turn Themselves In At National Police Office

Rajprasong rally ends; protesters to go home

Full story:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Red-Shirt-Le...al-t366886.html

Live updates Wednesday:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Bangkok-Red-...html&st=100