Businesses To Sue Govt And DAAD Over Losses Due To Continuing Rallies By The Red-Shirts

[webfact]

Businesses to sue govt and DAAD over losses

By Watchiranont Thongtep

The Nation

Affected firms yet to discuss amount of compensation to be sought

The Democracy Without Infringement Network is considering filing a lawsuit against the government and the Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship (DAAD) for more than Bt10 billion for losses suffered by businesses due to continuing rallies by the red-shirt protesters since last year.

The ad-hoc network comprises Ratchaprasong business operators affected by the red-shirt occupation of Ratchaprasong since March 19 last year. The prolonged demonstrations hugely damaged enterprises of all sizes due to the inevitable shutdown of hotels and retail businesses.

Chai Srivikorn, president of Ratchaprasong Square Trade Association (RSTA), a member of the Democracy Without Infringement Network, said legal action would soon be initiated.

All affected businesses, including Gaysorn Shopping Centre, Renaissance Bangkok and traders in the Siam Square and Pratunam areas, will discuss the size of the compensation request before launching a legal bid when the newly elected government takes over.

Chai said business losses in Ratchaprasong district amounted to at least Bt10 billion, including Bt7 million losses due to the red-shirt rally on Thursday to commemorate the end of the bloody military confrontation.

He said six international hotels, InterContinental, Novotel Siam, Grand Hyatt Erawan, Four Seasons, Renaissance Bangkok and Siam Kempinski, had suffered booking cancellations of up to 1,000 rooms of a total of 2,129 rooms.

Meetings and seminars catering to 1,600 people had also been cancelled. The shopping centres, offices and schools in the area had closed earlier than normal at 3pm for security reasons.

Chai said that even though businesses had cooperated with government agencies to control the rallies, the authorities failed to protect them on May 19, when the rally ended.

Meanwhile, Ratchaprasong traders had also urged the DAAD to demonstrate responsibly, but they had never responded to their concerns.

"We are disappointed with this irresponsible protest and inadequate law enforcement, so we have to launch a legal bid against both," the government and the DAAD, Chai said.

Meanwhile, Naris Cheyklin, senior executive vice president of Central Pattana, the property development and investment company that owns Offices at CentralWorld, said only 10 tenants wanted to end their rental contracts and move out from the shopping complex, thanks to safety and security measures.

Naris said that for this reason the company planned not to raise its rental rates at CentralWorld in order to retain existing retail customers and attract new tenants.

Napassorn Limsuwankasem, a retailer at the Ratchaprasong intersection, who had to borrow Bt500,000 to restart her business after the protest, said that yesterday the red-shirt rally had cost her Bt12,000 worth of business.

-- The Nation 2011-05-21

[IanPrince99]

Absolutely classic in Thailand "THE RICH SUE THE POOR", again. I was there and 7-Eleven was jam pack with customer buying things (not just window shopping (like in Grayson). The Chicken rice shop was over filled with Red-shirt customers.

[givenall]

Where do i sign up. my business also drops a lot during these events

[virtualtraveller]

Too right, justice for all. By choosing to unreasonably locate their protest at one of the busiest intersections in the city, the UDD now also have the 'right' to protest on selected dates throughout the calendar to mark various anniversaries, thus further adding economic losses to these people who frankly are not directly part of the conflict. Where do you draw the line...

[REM]

I completely agree. I work on Rajadamri Rd., and every time these people decide to gather, work suffers, and suffers greatly. The last thing we want is another company shut down, and the working people never get any compensation because of these bullies.

On Thursday, traffic was a nightmare, and in the evening, while walking to the MRT, I got to see the reason why. The redshirts were having a concert and selling t-shirts and food, while everyone who actually works in the city, was having to move around them. Employees were late, customers were late, and some didn't even show up!!!!

Thank you UDD for making BKK a better place!!!

[whybother]

Absolutely classic in Thailand "THE RICH SUE THE POOR", again. I was there and 7-Eleven was jam pack with customer buying things (not just window shopping (like in Grayson). The Chicken rice shop was over filled with Red-shirt customers.

I think you have that wrong.

If you have a look around when there are no protests you will see how many small businesses are affected. Also, all the big hotels and shopping centres, as well as the small businesses, employ people. A lot of them probably won't get paid because the businesses had to shut down due to the protests.

And I don't think they will be suing the demonstrators, just their rich leaders.

[maewrocks]

Sue the army for the 2006 coup!

[whybother]

Sue the army for the 2006 coup!

Did businesses lose money because of the coup? (Besides Thaksin's businesses of course)

Edited May 21, 2011 by whybother

[geriatrickid]

The people claiming they have incurred pecunioiary damages have every right to sue. I think it's a good thing too. In a civilized society people seek redress for wrongs from the courts or through mediators. it is much better than having a violent clash.

The litigants will have to prove their losses. Typically this is done by opening up the books and showing the losses. One way of checking the quantums is by looking at the sales taxes paid. If sales have decreased this will be shown in the tax payments. If the businesses are claiming millions in sales were lost but the taxes paid do not reflect those sales, someone's going to have some explaining to do.

[maewrocks]

Sue the army for the 2006 coup!

Did businesses lose money because of the coup? (Besides Thaksin's businesses of course)

You mean I have to join the dots for you too?

[timekeeper]

Sue the army for the 2006 coup!

Did businesses lose money because of the coup? (Besides Thaksin's businesses of course)

You mean I have to join the dots for you too?

please do

i am sure many would be interested in your attempt to condense an explanation into your usual one line in depth responses............

[whybother]

Sue the army for the 2006 coup!

Did businesses lose money because of the coup? (Besides Thaksin's businesses of course)

You mean I have to join the dots for you too?

Please do.

These businesses are suing the government and red shirts (or a faction of them) because they are unable to run their businesses. By saying that they should sue the army is suggesting that the army caused them losses.

What losses did the army cause to these businesses?

[animatic]

I good move, no matter how long it takes. Also could provider an injunction to stop the incessant ralies any time a propitious date comes up. There are plenty of lagre spaces where no damage to others happens in the city L:ump[in Park quickly comes to mind. The Reds choose a place that REALLY disrupts commerce and the nation. Over 1,000 hotel rooms from the last rally alone....

Interestingly they are suing the Reds from disrupting their business AND the government for not running them off fast enough, or simply allowing them to do it repeatedly. Fairplay. In both cases those that suffered didn't have a dog in the fight, but suffered none the less, or actually the most.

[animatic]

Sue the army for the 2006 coup!

Did businesses lose money because of the coup? (Besides Thaksin's businesses of course)

You mean I have to join the dots for you too?

Please do.

These businesses are suing the government and red shirts (or a faction of them) because they are unable to run their businesses. By saying that they should sue the army is suggesting that the army caused them losses.

What losses did the army cause to these businesses?

Exactly, the army is the only entity that took the necessary action that allowed them to start their businesses back up after an involuntary shut down of months.

I think it was too late in the day, but at least they put things back into normal. The Reds put things out of normal, and tried to keep it that way as long as possible to cause harm to others and force the army to move on them. Cause and effect. But not the effect the Reds wanted....

Edited May 21, 2011 by animatic

[whybother]

Exactly, the army is the only entity that took the necessary action that allowed them to start their businesses back up after an involuntary shut down of months.

I think it was too late in the day, but at least they put things back into normal. The Reds put things out of normal, and tried to keep it that way as long as possible to cause harm to others and force the army to move on them. Cause and effect. But not the effect the Reds wanted....

You are quite correct, but 'maewrocks' was talking about these businesses suing the army for the coup.

[Who, me ?]

Exactly, the army is the only entity that took the necessary action that allowed them to start their businesses back up after an involuntary shut down of months.

I think it was too late in the day, but at least they put things back into normal. The Reds put things out of normal, and tried to keep it that way as long as possible to cause harm to others and force the army to move on them. Cause and effect. But not the effect the Reds wanted....

You are quite correct, but 'maewrocks' was talking about these businesses suing the army for the coup.

Quite a piece this "maewrocks"... Never short of a good post!

[Deez]

Absolutely classic in Thailand "THE RICH SUE THE POOR", again. I was there and 7-Eleven was jam pack with customer buying things (not just window shopping (like in Grayson). The Chicken rice shop was over filled with Red-shirt customers.

Im sure its not the 7-11 and Chicken/Rice shop that are losing money during these protests. Its the shops geared toward tourists etc. Im sure you would happily lie down if a few thousand people shut down your place of business for a few months?? The fact that you were there shows where you stand.. Its not about rich vs poor. Its about trying to run a business.

[animatic]

Exactly, the army is the only entity that took the necessary action that allowed them to start their businesses back up after an involuntary shut down of months.

I think it was too late in the day, but at least they put things back into normal. The Reds put things out of normal, and tried to keep it that way as long as possible to cause harm to others and force the army to move on them. Cause and effect. But not the effect the Reds wanted....

You are quite correct, but 'maewrocks' was talking about these businesses suing the army for the coup.

Quite a piece this "maewrocks"... Never short of a good post!

Well then, sue Thaksin again for causing his government to go off the rails and cause the coup of 2006.

Cause and effect :

No bad dealing from that Kuhn T.

and no coup would have happened.

[billd766]

My thoughts are that it not the government but the police who are failing in their duty.

There was allegedly an agreement between the businesses, the red shirts under the leadership of K Thida and the police that the protest would not get out of hand, (again) the roads would not be blocked and businesses would only be "slightly" affected.

What seems to have happened is that it got out of hand as usual and the police either couldn't or didn't take control and stop it.

AFAIR there is only a caretaker government running the country.

What was the BMA doing to control the demonstrations? Very little to nothing as far as I can see.

[moe666]

The red shirts are a bunch of spoiled brats. They are just using the same tactics they employed last year. This time they only happen a day here and a day there but with the same affect over a period of time loss of commerce and free access.

If the poster here are falangs that support the red shirts. What do you get out of this other than hanging out with a bunch of loosers, who if they got their way would ship you out in a heart beat to make Thailand pure.

[JurgenG]

It's absolutely farcical for "businesses" to sue the reds for business loss when actually the closure of the international airport was what damaged most the economy.

Let me explain our personal experience.

Early 2006, our Bangkok office was doing fine. We were even studying the opportunity to move some operation to Bangkok because of its central location in South East Asia and the relatively low cost of doing business there. Then the coup was the beginning of the trouble. We were still able to manage to convince our board and customers that it was business as usual, even if they remained worry by what they can see and hear, especially some particularly irresponsible comments, business wise, by the coup makers.

Then came the closure of the international airport, the straw that broke the camel back. It was a human and logistical nightmare, with staff, customers and goods strand either in or out of Thailand. The inability of the government to control the situation, the totally irresponsible comments of important political figure, that was it. Anybody who was not linked to local operation was immediately transfered, or sacked then replaced in other regional centres. Expansion plans were indefinitely shelved.

The problem is confidence hasn't been restored, nobody knows who is really in charge. With Thaksin, Bangkok would be by now an important regional centre. Now it will take years before confidence is restored. And I'm not even talking about the problems with almost all neighborhood countries.

So I can understand that some people were not very happy with Thaksin policies, but they should realize that they have lost great opportunities of development by supporting the PAD and its backers, and it will still take a couple of more years to repare the dammages done.

Edited May 22, 2011 by JurgenG

[Crushdepth]

The problem is confidence hasn't been restored, nobody knows who is really in charge.

In Thailand, nobody is really in charge of anything. The country wobbles on without a functioning government.

With Thaksin, Bangkok would be by now an important regional centre

It would be a gutted police state with a single shareholder.

[whatsupdoc]

It's absolutely farcical for "businesses" to sue the reds for business loss when actually the closure of the international airport was what damaged most the economy.

Let me explain our personal experience.

Early 2006, our Bangkok office was doing fine. We were even studying the opportunity to move some operation to Bangkok because of its central location in South East Asia and the relatively low cost of doing business there. Then the coup was the beginning of the trouble. We were still able to manage to convince our board and customers that it was business as usual, even if they remained worry by what they can see and hear, especially some particularly irresponsible comments, business wise, by the coup makers.

Then came the closure of the international airport, the straw that broke the camel back. It was a human and logistical nightmare, with staff, customers and goods strand either in or out of Thailand. The inability of the government to control the situation, the totally irresponsible comments of important political figure, that was it. Anybody who was not linked to local operation was immediately transfered, or sacked then replaced in other regional centres. Expansion plans were indefinitely shelved.

The problem is confidence hasn't been restored, nobody knows who is really in charge. With Thaksin, Bangkok would be by now an important regional centre. Now it will take years before confidence is restored. And I'm not even talking about the problems with almost all neighborhood countries.

So I can understand that some people were not very happy with Thaksin policies, but they should realize that they have lost great opportunities of development by supporting the PAD and its backers, and it will still take a couple of more years to repare the dammages done.

I suppose it depends on your business. My business (tourism-dependent and not in Bangkok) was hurt more badly by the red shirts riots than by the airport closures. An important factor in this is that the red shirt riots lasted much longer and with the loss of many lives.

[rreddin]

It's absolutely farcical for "businesses" to sue the reds for business loss when actually the closure of the international airport was what damaged most the economy.

Let me explain our personal experience.

Early 2006, our Bangkok office was doing fine. We were even studying the opportunity to move some operation to Bangkok because of its central location in South East Asia and the relatively low cost of doing business there. Then the coup was the beginning of the trouble. We were still able to manage to convince our board and customers that it was business as usual, even if they remained worry by what they can see and hear, especially some particularly irresponsible comments, business wise, by the coup makers.

Then came the closure of the international airport, the straw that broke the camel back. It was a human and logistical nightmare, with staff, customers and goods strand either in or out of Thailand. The inability of the government to control the situation, the totally irresponsible comments of important political figure, that was it. Anybody who was not linked to local operation was immediately transfered, or sacked then replaced in other regional centres. Expansion plans were indefinitely shelved.

The problem is confidence hasn't been restored, nobody knows who is really in charge. With Thaksin, Bangkok would be by now an important regional centre. Now it will take years before confidence is restored. And I'm not even talking about the problems with almost all neighborhood countries.

So I can understand that some people were not very happy with Thaksin policies, but they should realize that they have lost great opportunities of development by supporting the PAD and its backers, and it will still take a couple of more years to repare the dammages done.

An excellent post that puts things in perspective, not that many members of this forum will see that way or even see it at all.

[JurgenG]

It's definitively clear that the army shooting demonstrators is not something that reassures investors.

The problem with Abhisit is he's never been able to take a clear stand regarding street demonstration, being from the yellows or the reds. By not opposing the PAD demonstration, he painted himself in a corner. Here, it's his government that "businesses" want to sue. He is seen as indecisive and weak, again not something that reassure investors.

[rubl]

My thoughts are that it not the government but the police who are failing in their duty.

There was allegedly an agreement between the businesses, the red shirts under the leadership of K Thida and the police that the protest would not get out of hand, (again) the roads would not be blocked and businesses would only be "slightly" affected.

What seems to have happened is that it got out of hand as usual and the police either couldn't or didn't take control and stop it.

AFAIR there is only a caretaker government running the country.

What was the BMA doing to control the demonstrations? Very little to nothing as far as I can see.

The BMA is always involved. Who do you think sends in those cleaning troops after the event ?

[animatic]

The red shirts are a bunch of spoiled brats. They are just using the same tactics they employed last year. This time they only happen a day here and a day there but with the same affect over a period of time loss of commerce and free access.

If the poster here are falangs that support the red shirts. What do you get out of this other than hanging out with a bunch of loosers, who if they got their way would ship you out in a heart beat to make Thailand pure.

Oh I wouldn't say spoiled brats.

More like illogical children who didn't get the prize they expected,

and act petulant until they get something to appease their 'non-' sense of loss.

Certainly not all, but they are pretty much cut adrift at present and K. Tida just doesn't have the rousing rhetorical abilities to keep their harder core zealots eyes on the prize, not the prize they see as got away in the past. Hindsight is 20/20 and cruel as a sunburn, foresight calls for analytical abilities and patience. Two things bred out of the Red Masses by years of hectoring, but those NOW elevated above their petty concerns.

Come on campers play fair for the moment so we can get elected... and be come influentials ourselves. Will the well stoked fires of hate and anger that the neo-post-Red, Party List Players worked so hard to instill, come back to bite their political heinies soon?

Edited May 22, 2011 by animatic

[whybother]

It's absolutely farcical for "businesses" to sue the reds for business loss when actually the closure of the international airport was what damaged most the economy.

Let me explain our personal experience.

Early 2006, our Bangkok office was doing fine. We were even studying the opportunity to move some operation to Bangkok because of its central location in South East Asia and the relatively low cost of doing business there. Then the coup was the beginning of the trouble. We were still able to manage to convince our board and customers that it was business as usual, even if they remained worry by what they can see and hear, especially some particularly irresponsible comments, business wise, by the coup makers.

Then came the closure of the international airport, the straw that broke the camel back. It was a human and logistical nightmare, with staff, customers and goods strand either in or out of Thailand. The inability of the government to control the situation, the totally irresponsible comments of important political figure, that was it. Anybody who was not linked to local operation was immediately transfered, or sacked then replaced in other regional centres. Expansion plans were indefinitely shelved.

The problem is confidence hasn't been restored, nobody knows who is really in charge. With Thaksin, Bangkok would be by now an important regional centre. Now it will take years before confidence is restored. And I'm not even talking about the problems with almost all neighborhood countries.

So I can understand that some people were not very happy with Thaksin policies, but they should realize that they have lost great opportunities of development by supporting the PAD and its backers, and it will still take a couple of more years to repare the dammages done.

So you wouldn't have an office in London then, with all the problems they have at Heathrow? Paris must be a pain too, with farmers blocking ports etc whenever they don't get enough subsidies.

There must be a few other cities that give you problems when they have a week of strikes over something or other.

Of course, the airport being shut for a week HAS GOT TO BE WORSE than than protesters shutting down the centre of the city of 2 months, not to mention the innocent bystanders being killed and injured by grenades.

It's a bit hard to restore confidence when protesters threaten to blow up buses and burn down cities. Bringing an armed militia to a "peaceful protest" doesn't help much either.

Thailand's political instability IS a deterrent to doing business here, but the airport being shut for a week is only a very small part of the problem.

[ianbaggie]

Absolutely classic in Thailand "THE RICH SUE THE POOR", again. I was there and 7-Eleven was jam pack with customer buying things (not just window shopping (like in Grayson). The Chicken rice shop was over filled with Red-shirt customers.

Oh great!! Well if the chicken and rice shop is ok - that should keep the Thai economy going then!!

[ianbaggie]

Sue the army for the 2006 coup!

Sue thaksin for stealing tax money, Sue Maewrocks for not understanding what hes talking about!!