A Bigger Conflict Awaits: Thailand's PAD Is Making A Comeback

[webfact]

OVERDRIVE

A bigger conflict awaits

Thanong Khanthong

The yellow-shirted People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) is making a comeback.

BANGKOK: -- On March 10, starting at 10am, the yellow shirts will hold a meeting at Lumpini Park to chart out their future course of action. The agenda revolves around the efforts of the Pheu Thai-led government to rewrite the Constitution. This is developing into another explosive political confrontation that will determine the fate of this country.

The yellow shirts have embarked on a series of street demonstrations before, the first against fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was finished off by the military coup of September 2006. They came out onto the streets again to protest against former premiers Samak Sundaravej and Somchai Wongsawat, who were both nominee leaders of the reincarnated Thai Rak Thai Party. Both prime ministers lost power in a hurry through political intrigues rather than directly from the yellow shirts' pressure.

Abhisit Vejjajiva of the Democrat Party rose to the highest office in a power play designed to polarise the country further. The red shirts then emerged as the real antithesis of the Abhisit government in general but of the monarchy in particular. They resorted to violence to inflict damage and casualties on the military in the street confrontations at Rachadamnoen in Bangkok in April 2010 before moving the theatre of conflict to Rajaprasong in downtown Bangkok. The military won that battle on May 19, 2010 by quashing the unidentified armed red-shirt forces at Lumpini Park. Before calling off their prolonged rally, the red shirts set fire to Central World department store and other buildings in spectacular attacks that some have compared to the attack on the World Trade Centre in New York in 2001.

The yellow shirts popped up one more time to protest against then prime minister Abhisit, who was seen as a traitor against the cause that put him into power in the first place. Abhisit clung on to the ropes until a fresh election was held. He lost to Pheu Thai, which fielded Yingluck Shinawatra as Thailand's first-ever female prime minister.

We can see that the plot has been outlined and implemented so artfully to create deep divisions within the country. The theme is dialectical: the poor against the rich; the phrai against the ammart; democracy against dictatorship; freedom against censorship; freedom of expression against the lese majeste law.

The foreign interests - the foreign media, foreign governments and foreign institutions - have been active players in this dialectical process in Thailand. They support the "poor" against the "rich Bangkokians". They back the phrai against the ammart. They promote "democracy" against "military dictatorship". They support media freedom against censorship, even though the thousands of websites sprouting up against the monarchy are loaded with obscene language. And finally, they are in favour of amending the lese majeste law so that anybody can attack the monarchy freely.

It is all a double play - for the external factors that seek to influence the course of Thai politics have been benefiting from the pro-West and liberalisation policies of the Thai military, the Democrats and the Pheu Thai Party all the same.

No matter which government is in power, it "must open up" the economy and country to foreign participation. This is the key.

But these external forces at play are still not happy with the status quo that they have already been in control of, from the banking sector, the stock market to the liberalisation of economic policies.

The endgame is nothing more than complete control so that Thailand is reduced to the status of a slave country that becomes part of a broad alliance in the upcoming Third World War.

-- The Nation 2012-03-02

[AngryParent]

It started of in an interesting way. Then the author started to babble and mix the red shirts and yellow shirts. In the end the story just became one rabid, racist and xenophobic rant against foreigners.

The writer seems to believe there are evil and mysterious foreigners out to control and enlsave Thailand - complete rubbish. When will these people learn that there is no such evil foreigner? Such ideas are just nazi style myths/propaganda.

If they are so worried about evil and slavery, why don't they clean up real human trafficking and slavery (where people are murdered and abused daily)?

Such REAL slavery exists in a major way in Thailand itself and the slaves are foreigners!

Edited March 2, 2012 by AngryParent

[RedNIvar]

"The endgame is nothing more than complete control so that Thailand is reduced to the status of a slave country that becomes part of a broad alliance in the upcoming Third World War."

Huh, upcoming "Third World War"!!! Am I missing something, here. If there is going to be another World War, I hope Thailand chooses wisely this time, they messed up the last time by aligning with the Japanese. They then went and supported Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.

[FOODLOVER]

Correct, to top the flow of Red one must use the Maxi PAD!

[DP25]

Thanks PAD for boycotting the election so Thaksin could win and you could be important again

[jonclark]

Incoherent ramblings that make no sense what so ever. The admin team at TV need to do a much better job at screening content before posting. This artical is just nonsene. Ikea flat pack instructions make for better reading!

[Reasonableman]

The last paragraph is the icing on the paranoid international conspiracy cake. This melodramatic finale negates any credibility in the piece. This style is far too common in the Thai editorial community, regrettably. Pointless.

[Roadman]

This is the last thing that Thailand needs. If Pheu Thai dictatorises the Constitution then it will be all on if PAD get traction. If will be only a matter of time before the Army has to step in to keep either both mobs apart or use the opportunity to deal a harder and swifter blow to those who which to pillage and plunder Thailand at a level not yet seen and with politicial impunity.

I hope PAD go away or don't get going. I think the Army has to play a waiting game for the opportune time to deal to Populism, and clean the whole lot once and for all.

Edited March 2, 2012 by Roadman

[JurgenG]

A very good article. It really goes straight to the heart of the problem and explains what the PAD is about. Abhisit is clearly described for what it is, a weasel and a traitor who jumped on the bandwagon when the PAD defeated Thaksin then distanced himself from his benefactors when they became too toxics for his "moderate" (read gutless) electors.

It also makes clear that the Reds rose as an answer to the Yellows and not the other way around (2nd paragraph).

As far as foreigners are concerned, it makes clear that we are not welcomed. But that's a common opinion amongst both PAD members and "democrats". Ask any Bangkok middle class (the core electorate of the democrats) what they think about foreigners owning their own house in Thailand. They are definitely against, Thailand is for Thais and Thais only.

If people here were able to read the various blogs on the internet, they would have known for long what the PAD is really about. And the worst is that the democrats won't say anything as long as they believe the PAD will serve their interest. Some people mentioned the Nuremberg crowd, look no further than the democrats.

Edited March 2, 2012 by JurgenG

[gay4who]

The reds have had all the publicity .bring on the yellows .last time I saw them was during the election .but they better be careful taking to the streets now, the thug terrorists have the reigns of power now

Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com

[jucel]

I'm not sure any 'Alliance' would want Thailand as an ally. They would most likely be a hindrance with their complete incompetence at govt level. With regards to slavery, I think he should look at countries closer to home!! Thailand seems to be enslaved by the Chinese and Japanese!

[DP25]

The reds have had all the publicity .bring on the yellows .last time I saw them was during the election .but they better be careful taking to the streets now, the thug terrorists have the reigns of power now

Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com

Yes. It is going to be very dangerous for the anti Thaksin protesters this time around. It is going to be open season on them and no one will protect them from the red terrorists

[jonclark]

This is the last thing that Thailand needs. If Pheu Thai dictatorises the Constitution then it will be all on if PAD get traction. If will be only a matter of time before the Army has to step in to keep either both mobs apart or use the opportunity to deal a harder and swifter blow to those who which to pillage and plunder Thailand at a level not yet seen and with politicial impunity.

I hope PAD go away or don't get going. I think the Army has to play a waiting game for the opportune time to deal to Populism, and clean the whole lot once and for all.

I juts hope the army don't get involved. They have no place in politics. It's up to the people, for better or worse to rid the country of the politicians of all colours and affiliations who constantly and continiously drag it down. If the people are unwilling to take a stand against them, then neither should the army. In fact i'd encourage the army to be as corrupt as the politicians, if only to prevoke a response from the electorate.

[jonclark]

A very good article.

It's not, really it's not , it's utter <deleted>.

[Curt1591]

"They resorted to violence to inflict damage and casualties on the military in the street confrontations at Rachadamnoen in Bangkok in April 2010 before moving the theatre of conflict to Rajaprasong in downtown Bangkok. The military won that battle on May 19, 2010 by quashing the unidentified armed red-shirt forces at Lumpini Park. Before calling off their prolonged rally, the red shirts set fire to Central World department store and other buildings in spectacular attacks that some have compared to the attack on the World Trade Centre in New York in 2001."

Well balanced account.

[JurgenG]

The reds have had all the publicity .bring on the yellows .last time I saw them was during the election .but they better be careful taking to the streets now, the thug terrorists have the reigns of power now

Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com

Yes. It is going to be very dangerous for the anti Thaksin protesters this time around. It is going to be open season on them and no one will protect them from the red terrorists

The last thing Thailand needs is a gang of thugs closing the international airport. Have you realized that for a couple of month now the international airport doesn't look like Baghdad green zone ?

We had six years of infighting, for what result ? Chaos, destruction, loss of face on the international scene ... Enough is enough. If we need the reds to prevent the yellows to create mayhem again, then the existence of the reds is justified.

[JurgenG]

A very good article.

It's not, really it's not , it's utter <deleted>.

It states the facts, from the PAD point of view. So you know what you're dealing with.

Edited March 2, 2012 by JurgenG

[scorecard]

Incoherent ramblings that make no sense what so ever. The admin team at TV need to do a much better job at screening content before posting. This artical is just nonsene. Ikea flat pack instructions make for better reading!

Ever heard of freedom of speech:

- The right for all persons, the media etc., to express their views, their opinion, their analysis, without intimidation?

- The right for all persons to have open and free access to what others say, without intimidation?

[OneZero]

Quote: "And finally, they are in favour of amending the lese majeste law so that anybody can attack the monarchy freely."

The true part:

And finally, they are in favour of amending the lese majeste law....

The false part (In fact absolute rubbish):

........so that anybody can attack the monarchy freely.

The last part of the quote is intended to scare the public into defending that feudalistic law.

[jonclark]

Incoherent ramblings that make no sense what so ever. The admin team at TV need to do a much better job at screening content before posting. This artical is just nonsene. Ikea flat pack instructions make for better reading!

Ever heard of freedom of speech:

- The right for all persons, the media etc., to express their views, their opinion, their analysis, without intimidation?

- The right for all persons to have open and free access to what others say, without intimidation?

Seeing as I post my thoughts on a forum I clearly understand freedom of speech thank you vey much. I was just expressing my view, opinion and my analysis of the artical which you have open and free access to.

However when articles make sweeping unfounded atatements such as

"The foreign interests - the foreign media, foreign governments and foreign institutions - have been active players in this dialectical process in Thailand. They support the "poor" against the "rich Bangkokians". They back the phrai against the ammart. They promote "democracy" against "military dictatorship". They support media freedom against censorship, even though the thousands of websites sprouting up against the monarchy are loaded with obscene language. And finally, they are in favour of amending the lese majeste law so that anybody can attack the monarchy freely."

it annoys the backside off me as the writer has looked at the values of the west (democracty, media freedom etc) , twisted them without a shred of evidence and used these twisted values, presented as truth, to suggest that foreign interests are active in unsurping of power from the legitimate owners of Thailand and presents it as some form of foriegn backed conspiracay theory with the PAD as the knights in shining armour to resuce Thailand. A balance reasonable account supported by evidence ok, But this is gutter journalism as its worst. But hey that's just my opinion

[DP25]

The reds have had all the publicity .bring on the yellows .last time I saw them was during the election .but they better be careful taking to the streets now, the thug terrorists have the reigns of power now

Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com

Yes. It is going to be very dangerous for the anti Thaksin protesters this time around. It is going to be open season on them and no one will protect them from the red terrorists

The last thing Thailand needs is a gang of thugs closing the international airport. Have you realized that for a couple of month now the international airport doesn't look like Baghdad green zone ?

We had six years of infighting, for what result ? Chaos, destruction, loss of face on the international scene ... Enough is enough. If we need the reds to prevent the yellows to create mayhem again, then the existence of the reds is justified.

Nice to see some reds open about their support of violence against anti Thaksin protestors. The government leadership however will not be so open, and when the blood begins to flow claim it is just red 'democracy lovers' acting on their own accord

We're finally going full circle, back before the coup Thaksin hated protestors and said they had no right to protest against him, when opposition was in power all protests were beautiful works of democracy, even the paid for riots designed to terrorize and shed blood, and now that he's in power they once again do not have the right to protest. The unifying theme in all this, is that NO ONE has the right to oppose Thaksin.

[whybother]

It also makes clear that the Reds rose as an answer to the Yellows and not the other way around (2nd paragraph).

Actually, that's not what it says.

The red shirts then emerged as the real antithesis of the Abhisit government in general but of the monarchy in particular.

It says that they came out in opposition to Abhisit. They clearly existed before that.

But it's interesting that you agree with this part:

They resorted to violence to inflict damage and casualties on the military in the street confrontations at Rachadamnoen in Bangkok in April 2010 before moving the theatre of conflict to Rajaprasong in downtown Bangkok. The military won that battle on May 19, 2010 by quashing the unidentified armed red-shirt forces at Lumpini Park. Before calling off their prolonged rally, the red shirts set fire to Central World department store and other buildings in spectacular attacks that some have compared to the attack on the World Trade Centre in New York in 2001.

[airconsult]

I could never have guessed his conclusion - it's all the Farang's fault.......

[Thaddeus]

The unifying theme in all this, is that NO ONE has the right to oppose Thaksin.

In a nutshell.

[noitom]

It's a conspiracy theory. Everyone is out to "get" Thailand. They want to control Thailand, whoever they is. This writer, like Thailand, suffers from an over inflated sense of self importance.

[nurofiend]

The red shirts then emerged as the real antithesis of the Abhisit government in general but of the monarchy in particular

and this is the bs that seems to be so easily swallowed, how does it taste?!

<deleted>

[scorecard]

Incoherent ramblings that make no sense what so ever. The admin team at TV need to do a much better job at screening content before posting. This artical is just nonsene. Ikea flat pack instructions make for better reading!

Ever heard of freedom of speech:

- The right for all persons, the media etc., to express their views, their opinion, their analysis, without intimidation?

- The right for all persons to have open and free access to what others say, without intimidation?

Seeing as I post my thoughts on a forum I clearly understand freedom of speech thank you vey much. I was just expressing my view, opinion and my analysis of the artical which you have open and free access to.

However when articles make sweeping unfounded atatements such as

"The foreign interests - the foreign media, foreign governments and foreign institutions - have been active players in this dialectical process in Thailand. They support the "poor" against the "rich Bangkokians". They back the phrai against the ammart. They promote "democracy" against "military dictatorship". They support media freedom against censorship, even though the thousands of websites sprouting up against the monarchy are loaded with obscene language. And finally, they are in favour of amending the lese majeste law so that anybody can attack the monarchy freely."

it annoys the backside off me as the writer has looked at the values of the west (democracty, media freedom etc) , twisted them without a shred of evidence and used these twisted values, presented as truth, to suggest that foreign interests are active in unsurping of power from the legitimate owners of Thailand and presents it as some form of foriegn backed conspiracay theory with the PAD as the knights in shining armour to resuce Thailand. A balance reasonable account supported by evidence ok, But this is gutter journalism as its worst. But hey that's just my opinion

To some extent I agree with you.

The piece from that nation is unbalanced, goes quickly into multiple directions / lacks focus. and is difficult to follow, and contains lots of utter rubbish from multiple perspectives. To be honest I'm quite surprised that the piece ever got into print.

Say what you like about the Nation and who the Nation appears to support however from my (limited) knowledge their opinion pieces normally have some focus and some level of reality. I say again I'm quite surprised it ever got into print.

[Reasonableman]

It's far too easy to generalize about all the complex interests involved, colored or colorless. It may be true among some segments, but it should not be used to smear all. This also applies to bandying propagandist terms around like "coupists" to smear all those who disagree with your view of the world, and all those who were not involved in, nor support, a coup as a political instrument. You can't have it both ways. If you dish it out, you have to expect to get some of it back.

[animatic]

Rather poorly written even by Nation standards.

He normally writes as vituperatively, but with more coherence.

In particulalar

" Abhisit Vejjajiva of the Democrat Party rose to the highest office in a power play designed to polarise the country further."

No doubt he meant destined not designed.

He is saying PAD is now making a move before the Reds totally take over

and truly become the group of thugs terrorizing all dissenters. The Charter rewrites

is what caused the Oct 7 attack on PAD that caused carnage and the eventual fall of Somchai.

The PTP doing what Thaksin asks is setting the stage yet again for a repeat.

If anyone is designing trouble it is external persons, but THAI external persons,

not this vague xenophobic rant about unspecified foreign influences.

The political intrigues that brought down Samak and Somchai were from THEIR OWN SIDE.

Samak could have been PM next day but Thaksin replaced him with the Bro in Law Somchai,

who was brought down by PPP's idiocies around the election, in-house incompetence and intrigues.

"The military won that battle on May 19, 2010 by quashing the unidentified armed red-shirt forces at Lumpini Park."

What is this blather ???

Unidentified my 3rd hind leg, the ring leaders were well known and documented.

As if needing to have more info on them was necessary. Only the actual shooters are unknown.

"We can see that the plot has been outlined and implemented so artfully to create deep divisions within the country. The theme is dialectical: the poor against the rich; the phrai against the ammart; democracy against dictatorship; freedom against censorship; freedom of expression against the lese majeste law.

Yes Thaksin and his crew have done a divide an conquer move. Even if a large portion of that is nothing more than propaganda and group brainwashing. But the choice of bedfellows that Thaksin let dry hump his leg have injected the old school Maoist red tactics to the land, and that is a Pandoras Box Thaksin will never control, ego run amok again. If he has unleashed a modern day 'French Revolution', He may well suffer a fate like Robspiere, or at very least be hoisted on his own petard.

In any case Thanong goes completely incoherent and contradictory by the end...

In dire need of a good editor.

The one thing that is right is the title.

How big and how disastrous is the question of the day.

Edited March 2, 2012 by animatic

[lannarebirth]

Rather poorly written even by Nation standards.

But about average for Thanong. He always manages to take a kernal of truth and twist into something surreal.