Bangkok: Central World Shopping Mall Destroyed By Fire

[lilkitty]

The reds showing their true colors, yet again. Not fake reds. REAL reds. For any remaining red terror sympathizers, what will it take to make you see the light? This movement is PURE EVIL.

The red shirts in Bangkok. The absolute WORST house guests in the history of the world! We said you could crash on the sofa, not burn down the city!

Probably 90% of redare ashamed what is happening. Do not forget that moderate reds wanted to accept the road. Reds basically had legitimate requests and the best it could happen in the future is that politicians LISTEN and HEAR what 90% of Thai people (reds) have to say. All reds are not violent.

NO! I don't accept that answer and either will the majority in Thailand. If it was true why didn't these so called mainstream reds KICK OUT all violent people and leaders after Black Songkran? They didn't even denounce the terrorism then. You aren't fooling anyone. This is a violent movement and it won't change, no matter how much money Thaksin spends on shyster lawyers.

Looks like 40% of Thais are violent people then. Shocking statistic!

[cardinalblue]

Pprotesters do not have an armed guard unit..BS that they are peaceful..

Nothing but hired thugs (young unemployed males or waiting for rice season) from the NE and North..

Tell me about how you would feel about being an average citizen trying to get into your house and the so called red guards stop you, search you and then tae whatever they want from you..This story has occurred over and over the last few days in the red zone..

They are violating peoples' civil rights, destroying personal and gov property and commitng crimes ...

It is way past time to issue looters and people destroing property will be shot on the spot..These orders would happen in any civilized country and it should happen here...

CB

[peterrabbit]

Who underwrites the insurance of Central World? I'd be interested to know in reality who's pocket just took a caning...

Read the small print on any building insurance and you will see that "riot and war" are excluded.

[Dazzler]

Injustice and corruption and a kleptocratic government just love a peaceful people. Take Burma is for example. Such a lovely peaceful people, for death or incarceration is the alternative. If only the reds would see how the people there behaved, things would perhaps be so different. The point is the rich and powerful in Thailand have had a peaceful populous for a long long time and consequently avoided addressing the social issues relating to a massive rift in income distribution. The rich have had it so good for so long in this country. The UK understood social injustice and the need to address them as early as the first decade in the 20th Century. The Thai ruling elite kept the gas ring on full beneath the pressure cooker and without a pressure valve since this country started to industrialize. Your average Thai gets taught to dance and sing and to count and to read, but never ever to think outside the box, for that just might threaten the status quo. Some kid from Sri Sakhet competing for a job as an airline pilot.....heaven forbid...that's a reserved job for a son of the connected! The end result of keeping the rich rich and the poor poor is that this rather inarticulate people are rather susceptible to the charms of Thaksin and his populous policies. For once in their lives it seemed that a politician actually cared about their plight. What they see now is the powerful Bangkok elite taking that power away from the people (ultimately in the form of the surrender of the red leaders), so it is such a surprise what is happening now? I don't condone what they are doing, but this was caused by shear arrogance on the part of Apbisit. If he had resigned and held elections this would all never have started. The point isn't about whether setting fire to Central World is wrong or not, but that the fact that it is happening means that Apbisit has been shown to be completely incompetent and has failed miserably in dealing with this problem. Now god knows what has been unleashed caused by sheer bloody arrogance.

Please don't tell me about constitutional democracy and that Apbisit is there constitutionally. The point is the yellow camp don't want an election as that will mean red power. Quite simple really. All this could have been avoided if there was an election, except that the post election "terrorists" would have worn a different colour.

I think the reds are basically peacefull, but Abhisit always changes his mind saying I will desolve parliament and organise elections, the putting all this on hold!

How can anyone trust him?

I would get violent too

Abhisit has to resign if he wants peace back in Thailand!

Yeah they certainly proved that today didn't they?!

Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't Abhisit offer an election this year?

[ozzieman05]

I will think twice before hiring anyone from Issan, especially the ones support the Red Shirts[/size][/font]

Oh really ?

Who are you gonna employ then, expats for 200 baht a day ?

You gonna put a sign up saying " No people from Isaan need apply ' ?

Give it a rest for christs sake.

You are a real joke

This is not anything to do with Issan people

This is all to do with a bunch of thugs that came from there

if some one who lives in the same street as you do kills some one

then you must also be a murderer

Your words not mine

[lilkitty]

That aside the fact is what was once a symbol of Thai pride and a source of valuable income is gone - Where the hel_l are we going to go to watch the world cup now!!!

On television maybe?

[omarcharles]

Who underwrites the insurance of Central World? I'd be interested to know in reality who's pocket just took a caning...

Depends on the policy wording. A lot of policies exclude "war, civil and other, declared or not". Most insurance companies would consider what happened today a war and not pay out. Of course, ultimately it depends on how much political influence the policy holder has.

[basjke]

Foreigners cannot vote. All we can do is sit back and bitch.

Oh believe me, we WILL be voting, with our money and resources!!

Yep, I wanna invest in Thailand. NOT!!!!! Pity for the employees of Central World. They aren't exactly the best paid people on the planet.

I don't think I'll really believe its gone until I see it with my own eyes.

Same here,a lot of speculative news at the moment.I have seen pictures from buildings burning down previously.The picture shown from Central world on this forum indicates that there will be a lot of smoke damage.But burning down and collapsing?No way.

[AleG]

And why should it take a chunk of the skytrain with it?As far as I know it is quite some distance from the skytrain.

If by quite some distance you mean 20 meters from the side, yes, it's quite some distance indeed.

[Crushdepth]

Please don't tell me about constitutional democracy and that Apbisit is there constitutionally. The point is the yellow camp don't want an election as that will mean red power. Quite simple really.

Explain *how* its undemocratic or unconstitutional. Come on lets hear it! Give us some facts to support your argument. You don't actually understand the structure of the Thai government or parliamentary process, do you?

[anon467367354]

Covards. Proves they are terrorist.

Used to symphatize with the red movements but all that is now gone.

I sincerely hope that all foreigners and thais take all this in consideration and do NOT vote for the reds in next election. That would be a clear signal.

Foreigners cannot vote. All we can do is sit back and bitch.

Or we can marry a Thai

Or have a Thai girlfriend

As Thaskin said money can buy most things

and a Farang looking after a Issan Family will have a lot of influence on their votes next election

My Thai wife says thousands of Thais will now be hurting as their family can not send money home

You think they are going to say Lets vote for the reds

Or

you offer is 500 baht but you took from us 30 ,ooo baht

Give them enough rope and they will hang them selves

Up till now Issan people did not really care as everything was in Bkk

Now its in their own back yards it will start effecting them

Come harvest time

Time to sell my crops

where do they sell the crops

no wholesalers

no buyers

Do I need to go one

who are the red shirts really hurting ?????

Thais are well known for shooting themselves in the foot all the time.Have you ever seen a thai regretting something he did.I never have.

That is a very good point, although I have no idea as so what they think on the inside, surely they won't admit it.

[ozzieman05]

I don't think what ever side people support they would want to see Bangkok burn. However, if you look back through different threads on this forum, what is happening now is exactly what people were afraid was going to happen if the government dispersed the protesters using force. I think things are going to get worse, a lot worse. The people who are burning Bkk should be held accountable to the full extent of the law and also the government (Abhasit and co) should be held responsible for gross mismanagement of the whole situation from start to where it is now. A very sad time for Thailand

I completely agree with that. I remember when the protests was at the bridge, not yet at Rajprasong. The government wanted the bridge cleared and ordered the protesters to move elsewhere. Then they moved to Rajprasong. When they got tired of that, instead of negotiating and keeping it at Rajprasong, they started pushing them out of Rajprasong and they ended up spreading all over the city. I believe a UN official compared it to squeezing a water balloon.

Something must have happened last night, though. The Democrat Senators that were negotiating with the red shirts seemed to come in kind of an agreement and there was even answer from Abhisit that they would hold tri-party (government, senators, red shirts) talks on Wednesday. Then however, on Wednesday morning, the government started with the crackdown.

I'm sure that nearly every stage of what has happened has been mishandled. And especially last night, when a breakthrough seemed so near and negotiations almost resuming ...the crackdown was launched. And now the city is burning. This didn't need to happen. I would have liked to see all sides give peace another chance.

Please can I have a glass of what ever you have been drinking

do you see sparkles in the sky as well

[beano2274]

If the Army is around it should be pushing the Reds back and maybe into the flames they created, let them burn as well, force them with APC's, before the whole of Bangkok is ruined.

Tourists won't be here for a long time, the Government can start rebuilding using Toksins money and the money the got from those others, and pay the workers with it.

The people up North who supported the Reds and who came here, should be kicked out of their houses and the properties sold, or used as payment to rebuild, but then again they would rise up again and do the same thing.

[jonclark]

That aside the fact is what was once a symbol of Thai pride and a source of valuable income is gone - Where the hel_l are we going to go to watch the world cup now!!!

On television maybe?

lol - Good answer but i haven't got a beer garden and my front room is way too small for the 1000's of others to sit down in - I won't even mention new year

[jonclark]

double post deleted

Edited May 19, 2010 by jonclark

[jbhh]

Covards. Proves they are terrorist.

Used to symphatize with the red movements but all that is now gone.

I sincerely hope that all foreigners and thais take all this in consideration and do NOT vote for the reds in next election. That would be a clear signal.

Farangs won't be voting for the anybody at all, they have no vote.

the only way out of this mess is proper elections, Abhisit was put in place by the army. after all of this i doubt if Tahksin will get back in, this mess has back fired on him. ufortunately in a society were corruption is commonplace and accepted there can be no real democracy. So I dont see the problems going away in our lifetime, unless someone realy wants to change things. The real sad point is the country we all love is imploding, once the troubles stop will the tourists come back? if not what happens to the hard working law abiding people of Thailand who will be the ones most hurt by this madness.

Are you out of your mind?!

Abhisit as well as the two previous PMs were elected by majority vote in Congress!

Only difference is that before Abhisit got voted in, the democrats reached a majority in congress because the opposing parties were removed for vote fraud by the Election Commission, which they tried to stop by changing the law!

The only difference is, that Abhisit is a democrat, the previous 2 were Thaksin's cronies.

Edited May 19, 2010 by jbhh

[ozzieman05]

Come on - you didn't need to be a phophet to know what was going to happen. It could have been avoided if the government had moved at the very beginning - they DIDN'T - it would have been avoided if the Police and army acted earlier and decisively - THEY DIDN'T. I wonder why - maybe they feel a bit guilty about how they came to power (banning a polititian for apearing on a cooking programme, removing Members of Parliament because of a Court ruling which was rather one sided) - maybe they couldn't act quickly because they had totally failed to do anything about the Yellow folk occupying the airports and doing damage equivalent, in economic terms, to 10 Central Worlds. The Government and the cabinest and the officials have handled this badly - they should resign and call fresh elections - OOPPs maybe that is what they should have done at the beginning to make them legitimate - maybe having the guy who ran the Yellow protest movement in charge of Security wasn't a very good idea. Maybe assasinating a rebel general with a sniper shot in the head was something that made folk just a little p'ed off.

If the current Government stays on after this it will have no authority - if the current military planners and commanders stay on after this they will have no respect - If there is not a major change in how Thailand is run after this - the country it will have no regional respect and if these required changes aren't public and universally acceptable to all the population - Thailand ain't going to recover from the damage this has done to the country's image. 24 - 7 on BBC and CNN. People are asking why is there so much anger in the Land of Smiles. Ask yourself

You are spewing the same hate and lies that blasted from the stage the last two months..inticing the crowds to violence...generating all the damage and death to Thais of all parties, all walks of life. This is hatred and lies; has nothing to do with Democracy.

Abhisit is the duly elected Prime Minister of Thailand by vote of the people in 2007 who elected the parlianmentarians whose majority elected him as PM. Abhisit showed tremendous poise, intelligence and moderation in every step he took...under tremendous pressure from all sides.... And now Abhisit has a chance to bring this country together...unlike Thaksin, who you are supporting...who divided this country, abused its laws for personal gain, satisfied his craving for power and money, and abused human rights...Tak Bai....2500 extrajudicial killings.

No. Kevin... you are wrong.. Thailand will now be able to build out of this horror show put on by the Red shirts....and realize that all "people power" is not the same....when gatherings become violent...they are just mobs...mindless..harmful mobs. And we all watched the Red Shirts as they lost whatever trace of legitimacy they had...watched it fade in the flames they wrought on, not just Bangkok, but all of Thailand. Thaksin is now over. He may have some death throws politically....but he is over. The 36% he garnered in 2007, has plummeted. And he will become a pathetic figure, begging for foregiveness from the Thai Authorities, in the near future.

Seems that many of the Red shirt wow wow men have left the stage and joined TV

Trouble is the majority of Farang who use this site are not a easy to brain wish as some Thais are

But there are a few

so your words of hate will be listen to by a minority

Sorry just realized the red shirt protestors where a proven minority

[whybother]

Same here,a lot of speculative news at the moment.I have seen pictures from buildings burning down previously.The picture shown from Central world on this forum indicates that there will be a lot of smoke damage.But burning down and collapsing?No way.

It won't collapse completely, and there might not be any areas that collapse, but I expect it will be knocked down as it won't be structually usable once the fire is put out.

[Otis]

Peasants!

City folk! Hmmph!

[SomTumTiger]

Please don't tell me about constitutional democracy and that Apbisit is there constitutionally. The point is the yellow camp don't want an election as that will mean red power. Quite simple really.

Explain *how* its undemocratic or unconstitutional. Come on lets hear it! Give us some facts to support your argument. You don't actually understand the structure of the Thai government or parliamentary process, do you?

Don't feed the Troll.

People fail to understand how powerful symbols are. The burning of the largest shopping mall in Thailand will resonate far beyond Bangkok. Pictures and images have the ability to unite far more than words do. The Red Shirt movement just lost tonight - perhaps they don't realize it, but it will be so. My facebook is filled with messages. Thais are calling family all over the country. The word will spread and Thaksin will be the symbol of the destruction of their country.

You don't have to believe me, just watch and see.

[barney42bb]

The good people of Thailand do not deserve the viciousness of Thaksin's red horde. May they all rot.

They should of had an election...This English Prime Minister Abhisit is worse than Gordon Brown.

[Abrak]

Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't Abhisit offer an election this year?

And he withdrew the offer because it was based on the Reds ending their protesters.

But what will happen is this. If Abhisit survives, he will call elections this year. I would bet on it.

[ozzieman05]

I think the reds are basically peacefull, but Abhisit always changes his mind saying I will desolve parliament and organise elections, the putting all this on hold!

How can anyone trust him?

I would get violent too

Abhisit has to resign if he wants peace back in Thailand!

Tell us with what detergent your brain got washed? I might want to use it for my white underwear.

Tinom stop eating that Som Tam

Look what its doing to your brain

[anon467367354]

The good people of Thailand do not deserve the viciousness of Thaksin's red horde. May they all rot.

I would like to thank the Thai visa forum and the farangs who post here for their support for certain sections of Thai society. Your incessant rants on Thaskin the past several years have certainly made an impression on the minds of the yellow shirts, elitist, military generals, and poser wannabees polarizing the country here as impressionables consider the farang who post here so much more educated and higher status with their white skin and money. Little do they understand the posters here have their own agenda to maintain the status quo ie. Poverty among the poor for the cheep beer and cheep women. Where would Bangkok be without this forum for these posters to come here? OH Yea - BANGKOK BURNING

Do you really think we

"made an impression on the minds of the yellow shirts, elitist, military generals, and poser wannabees polarizing the country"? We don't need to vote, we're better than that!

[bdw]

a Farang looking after a Issan Family will have a lot of influence on their votes next election

yeah sure, right after they get the opinion of the family dog & the buffalo, since they rank higher on the totem pole than their ATM

[SomTumTiger]

Please don't tell me about constitutional democracy and that Apbisit is there constitutionally. The point is the yellow camp don't want an election as that will mean red power. Quite simple really.

Explain *how* its undemocratic or unconstitutional. Come on lets hear it! Give us some facts to support your argument. You don't actually understand the structure of the Thai government or parliamentary process, do you?

Don't feed the Troll.

People fail to understand how powerful symbols are. The burning of the largest shopping mall in Thailand will resonate far beyond Bangkok. Pictures and images have the ability to unite far more than words do. The Red Shirt movement just lost tonight - perhaps they don't realize it, but it will be so. My facebook is filled with messages. Thais are calling family all over the country. The word will spread and Thaksin will be the symbol of the destruction of their country.

You don't have to believe me, just watch and see.

[ozzieman05]

Pprotesters do not have an armed guard unit..BS that they are peaceful..

Nothing but hired thugs (young unemployed males or waiting for rice season) from the NE and North..

Tell me about how you would feel about being an average citizen trying to get into your house and the so called red guards stop you, search you and then tae whatever they want from you..This story has occurred over and over the last few days in the red zone..

They are violating peoples' civil rights, destroying personal and gov property and commitng crimes ...

It is way past time to issue looters and people destroing property will be shot on the spot..These orders would happen in any civilized country and it should happen here...

CB

Most of the Red shirt security are street thugs at home

But heros in Bkk

why do you think most Issan people don't want them back

[ETatBKK]

going to say good bye to my friends who intend to visit Thailand

going to say good bye to Central World

[petedk]

Same here,a lot of speculative news at the moment.I have seen pictures from buildings burning down previously.The picture shown from Central world on this forum indicates that there will be a lot of smoke damage.But burning down and collapsing?No way.

It won't collapse completely, and there might not be any areas that collapse, but I expect it will be knocked down as it won't be structually usable once the fire is put out.

Just read that Siam Theatre has reportedly caved in. I don't know whether it's true or not. So I guess parts of Central World well may collapse.

[pittsburgh]

I think the reds are basically peacefull, but Abhisit always changes his mind saying I will desolve parliament and organise elections, the putting all this on hold!

How can anyone trust him?

I would get violent too

Abhisit has to resign if he wants peace back in Thailand!

Who kept changing their minds? The PM came out with his "peact plan", the reds accepted. Then added conditions, the government did what the reds wanted. Then the reds wanted more. It appears the reds were never going to accept any plan ecept total surrender by the government.