Thai Army Chief Concerned About Possible Chaos Before Poll

[webfact]

Army Chief Concerned about Possible Chaos before Poll

The army chief has voiced concern over possible politically-motivated disorder prior to the July election, calling on all sides to abide by the law to help prevent the unrest.

Army Commander-in-Chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha has voiced concern over possible turmoil ahead of the poll.

He said it is the duty of police to oversee security at this time and military personnel have no direct responsibility to maintain peace in this case.

But he said the army will step in if requested by police.

The army chief urged members of the public to respect the law and related authorities to work to their best to help address any problem that may occur.

He concluded by calling on all sides not to drag the army into politics as the practice tarnishes the image of the army, citing the claim that the army has been trying to influence politics.

-- Tan Network 2011-05-11

[Pi Sek]

This Prayuth chap likes to talk, doesn't he? I personally don't like him - I don't think he's too clever and I think he allows his personal traits to interfere with his professionalism. A bit like David Brent out of the "The Office".

What platform was he speaking on, does anybody know? Did he call a press conference to tell us all what his concerns were, or did some reporter ask him a passing loaded question to create news out of nothing like "Are you worried about violence before the election"?

[dumball]

Did you notice___-he concludes by asking not to drag the army into politics_________what planet is he on (or other substance) ________because it will taint their reputation ________and the army interference into government policy as applied to the border agreements___________-Oh yes , that is a different matter________-not on our agenda to interfere ____well , no more than we deem necessary , that is our decision to make _______after all WE ARE the ARMY_____defenders of the realm .

[creck]

Sound perilously like foreshadows of the coup excuses. I really thought they would wait until after the election.

[fishman]

I have always been told that the Army actually runs Thailand. Don't know if this is true or not.

[webfact]

Police to Watch Out for Hitmen Ahead of Election

The national police chief orders police chiefs in provinces where there is a high risk of violence during the upcoming election to monitor the movement of gunmen for hire.

National police chief Police General Wichien Podposri said the Scientific Crime Detection Division reported that bullets found at the scene where former Pheu Thai MP for Samut Prakan Pracha Prasopdee was shot are of .223 caliber.

Wichien noted that he will convene a meeting of senior police officers at 4 P.M. today to discuss setting up a crisis management center ahead of the general election.

He will order provincial police chiefs throughout the country to keep a close watch on political movement and make a list of gunmen in their areas of jurisdiction.

Initial investigation in Pracha's case showed that the incident was likely politically motivated.

Provincial police chiefs in highly-competitive and violence-prone provinces, particularly Samut Prakan, Ratchaburi and Udon Thani, have been put on alert to prevent any further violence.

Wichien has also assigned his deputies, Police General Assawin Kwanmuang and Police General Panupong Singhara na Ayutthaya, to apply a proactive approach to deal with any untoward incident that may happen before the general election and monitor the movement of hitmen.

-- Tan Network 2011-05-11

[letitbe]

I have always been told that the Army actually runs Thailand. Don't know if this is true or not.

i hope so just so likes of political class here cant get away with everything and if thats what it takes to stop evil would be dictators like Mr T so be it

[bulmercke]

I have always been told that the Army actually runs Thailand. Don't know if this is true or not.

Of course they do. Abhisit takes his orders from them. And now that Yingluck is heading Peau Thai then the chances of a coup soon have increased ten fold.

[Roadman]

I have always been told that the Army actually runs Thailand. Don't know if this is true or not.

No they don't run the country, but do take a strong lead in the country's safe keeping. As there is no creditable police force capable of upholding law and order on behalf of the citizens and with judiciary not enforced then thankfully they are there when the scum come calling.

Kia Kaha General Prayuth for the months if not year or two ahead - King, country and citizens. Kia Kaha.

[councilor]

I have always been told that the Army actually runs Thailand. Don't know if this is true or not.

No they don't run the country, but do take a strong lead in the country's safe keeping. As there is no creditable police force capable of upholding law and order on behalf of the citizens and with judiciary not enforced then thankfully they are there when the scum come calling.

Kia Kaha General Prayuth for the months if not year or two ahead - King, country and citizens. Kia Kaha.

haha thats funny

[webfact]

ELECTION VIOLENCE

ShootIng of former MP raIses violence fears

By The Nation

Army chief, PM lead calls for a peaceful campaign in the run-up to election

In the wake of the shooting of Pheu Thai Party MP Pracha Prasobdee on Tuesday night, the military, the police and the prime minister are calling for peaceful political campaigns following the announcement of the House dissolution.

Police are continuing to investigate who shot and wounded Pracha in his home province of Samut Prakan on Tuesday night.

Army commander General Prayuth Chan-ocha expressed concern over more possible violence and distanced the military from both being behind the shooting and handling security measures in the run-up to the election.

"The security duties belong to the police, not directly to the military. The [supreme Command's] Internal Security Operations Command distantly monitors the situations and tips police off to any possible politically-related crimes," he added.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, speaking after visiting Pracha in hospital, said he instructed police to speed up investigations into the shooting, and ordered security measures for politicians of all rallying parties be heightened.

Asked whether the shooting was intended to stir up political violence after the House dissolution was announced, the prime minister said he could not answer that and investigation results would tell the story behind it.

Abhisit said he would still use his armoured car at official functions during his caretaker period in office, but might seek a private one for his political rallies, in order not to violate the electoral law.

Pracha, speaking after his transfer to Rama IX hospital, said he knew who masterminded the attempt on his life. "If I die, there are some people who will be elected in my place," he said.

The pro-Red MP said the "death wish was called upon him" following a new electoral system dictating one-MP one-constituency results. He dismissed news reports that his rivalry with local politicians had led to the attempt on his life.

"The shooting stemmed from politics at the national level. I learned of the killing order through an official I know, who heard the son of a politician [talking about it], and two days after the House dissolution the shooting was carried out," he said. The gunmen "appeared like men in uniform", but he gave no further details.

Pracha said former prime minister and de facto Pheu Thai Party leader Thaksin Shinawatra called to give him moral support after the shooting.

National police chief Pol General Wichean Potephosree said the most likely motive behind the shooting was political conflict Pracha may have had with his opponents.

Police will begin detaining career gunmen on a blacklist and have opened a police centre to monitor political crimes.

Provinces where gun-for-hire rackets are active are Udon Thani, Ratchaburi, Samut Prakan and Nakhon Ratchasima, he said.

Five shots were fired at Pracha's sedan while he was on the way home, by an unknown number of gunmen in and unknown type of vehicle. Pracha is now in a safe condition after a lone bullet was removed from his back.

Wichean said the bullet was a .223 calibre, but gave no other details. The .223 cartridge is used with an advanced model of M-16 rifle, which requires a shooter with higher skill than average.

Crime scene inspection could uncover no spent cartridges from an M-16 rifle at the scene, possibly because they dropped inside the gunmen's vehicle, likely a sedan or a pickup truck.

Pol Lt General Jaramphorn Suramanee, chief crime scene investigator, said five pieces of bullet fragment were found in Pracha's sedan.

Eight security cameras at the scene, near the main post office in Phra Pra Daeng district, caught no images of the gunmen or of any shooting.

Election Commission secretary-general Suthiphol Thaweechaikarn called on political candidates to adopt their own security measures during their rallies, as the EC was not empowered to do so. EC's own security will be heightened during activities on May 19-23 at the Thai-Japanese stadium in Din Daeng district.

-- The Nation 2011-05-12

[chmiroau]

What the truck.

There are known guns for hire in and active in Bangkok and the police know about these and do nothing?

STUNNED.

[EyesWideOpen]

What the truck.

There are known guns for hire in and active in Bangkok and the police know about these and do nothing?

STUNNED.

It is a persistent rumor that nearly all the hits for hire are performed by off duty police. So that would explain...

1. Why the police know all about them

2. Why it will be easy to track them. :-)

As far as the upcoming coup, since the military has performed 21 of them I think, it must be a bit of tongue in cheek humor for him to say the army is not involved in politics.... I am positive there will be a coup if it appears that Thaksin will be able to buy this election again. I think he will be pulling out all stops this time around. His idea of credit cards for taxi drivers cracked me up. ...

Edited May 12, 2011 by rhiekel

[sungod]

Same every election, here is a shot from 2007

[robsamui]

ELECTION VIOLENCE

ShootIng of former MP raIses violence fears

By The Nation

Five shots were fired at Pracha's sedan while he was on the way home, by an unknown number of gunmen in and unknown type of vehicle. Pracha is now in a safe condition after a lone bullet was removed from his back.

Wichean said the bullet was a .223 calibre, but gave no other details. The .223 cartridge is used with an advanced model of M-16 rifle, which requires a shooter with higher skill than average.

-- The Nation 2011-05-12

AHA My Dear Watson! There is only one conclusion! Five bullets fired by an automatic rifle at point blank range and all five missed! I think this bears all the hallmarks of a THAI gunman!

[bulmercke]

I have always been told that the Army actually runs Thailand. Don't know if this is true or not.

No they don't run the country, but do take a strong lead in the country's safe keeping. As there is no creditable police force capable of upholding law and order on behalf of the citizens and with judiciary not enforced then thankfully they are there when the scum come calling.

Kia Kaha General Prayuth for the months if not year or two ahead - King, country and citizens. Kia Kaha.

And what scum might that be? The boys in tight brown or even - may I suggest - some factions of the military themselves. Get real.

[zzaa09]

I have always been told that the Army actually runs Thailand. Don't know if this is true or not.

Simple historic observations will suffice.

[whybother]

I have always been told that the Army actually runs Thailand. Don't know if this is true or not.

No. They just step in when the politicians screw up running the country.

[phiphidon]

I have always been told that the Army actually runs Thailand. Don't know if this is true or not.

No. They just step in when the politicians screw up running the country.

18 times?

[rubl]

I have always been told that the Army actually runs Thailand. Don't know if this is true or not.

No. They just step in when the politicians screw up running the country.

18 times?

Not bad considering that's over a period of 79 years. Mind you, the early years with the begin of democracy and WWII interfering a bit saw most of them

[whybother]

I have always been told that the Army actually runs Thailand. Don't know if this is true or not.

No. They just step in when the politicians screw up running the country.

18 times?

I haven't read the full history of the events of Thai coups. But, why not 18 times?

[phiphidon]

I have always been told that the Army actually runs Thailand. Don't know if this is true or not.

No. They just step in when the politicians screw up running the country.

18 times?

I haven't read the full history of the events of Thai coups. But, why not 18 times?

Well in my humble opinion an Army is best used for defending the Country, not taking it over and trying to run it. Perhaps the thai army has a different job description?

[whybother]

Well in my humble opinion an Army is best used for defending the Country, not taking it over and trying to run it. Perhaps the thai army has a different job description?

They don't take it over and try to run it. They take it over, make some changes, and then give it back to the people ... and then take it over and ...

They don't seem to be very good at defining a set of clear rules for the people to go by. So they keep going back to correct it. Of course, you would think that they would have got it right by now, but each time they go back to it, they screw something else up.

Even when they do get some rules in place, some politicians come along and bend or break them, the police aren't able to enforce them, and the courts are only able to rule on the cases that the police give them.

IMO, the Thai army does have a different job description. Until the people, the police and the courts sort themselves out, the army will keep stepping in. The army aren't saints, by any means, but until the people stand out as being better than the army, the army will find excuses to 'restart' things.

It's a slow process, but it is moving forward.

[Ned]

Oh yes......but it's cheap to live here isn't it.

[khaowong1]

And the band plays on..

[phiphidon]

Well in my humble opinion an Army is best used for defending the Country, not taking it over and trying to run it. Perhaps the thai army has a different job description?

They don't take it over and try to run it. They take it over, make some changes, and then give it back to the people ... and then take it over and ...

They don't seem to be very good at defining a set of clear rules for the people to go by. So they keep going back to correct it. Of course, you would think that they would have got it right by now, but each time they go back to it, they screw something else up.

Even when they do get some rules in place, some politicians come along and bend or break them, the police aren't able to enforce them, and the courts are only able to rule on the cases that the police give them.

IMO, the Thai army does have a different job description. Until the people, the police and the courts sort themselves out, the army will keep stepping in. The army aren't saints, by any means, but until the people stand out as being better than the army, the army will find excuses to 'restart' things.

It's a slow process, but it is moving forward.

Unfortunately the Army, despite the inference given by some posters on this forum, have more guns than the people and that combined with a willingness to use them, and in the abscence of being brought to task for it, means that they are in a win win situation. Couple that with a judiciary put in place by the military under a constitution they had written and the country is not going to move forward regardless of which coalition is formed.

[kutjebu]

Who told you that?

Thailand has a democratic chosen government.

The army has nothing to say about politic.

I have always been told that the Army actually runs Thailand. Don't know if this is true or not.

[mca]

Well in my humble opinion an Army is best used for defending the Country, not taking it over and trying to run it. Perhaps the thai army has a different job description?

They don't take it over and try to run it. They take it over, make some changes, and then give it back to the people ... and then take it over and ...

They don't seem to be very good at defining a set of clear rules for the people to go by. So they keep going back to correct it. Of course, you would think that they would have got it right by now, but each time they go back to it, they screw something else up.

Even when they do get some rules in place, some politicians come along and bend or break them, the police aren't able to enforce them, and the courts are only able to rule on the cases that the police give them.

IMO, the Thai army does have a different job description. Until the people, the police and the courts sort themselves out, the army will keep stepping in. The army aren't saints, by any means, but until the people stand out as being better than the army, the army will find excuses to 'restart' things.

Ignoring stand up fellows such as Thanom Kittikachorn.