Thai Rak Thai warns Sondhi of counter rally

BANGKOK: -- Thai Rak Thai Party deputy spokesman Suthin Klangsaeng Monday warned media tycoon Sondhi Limthongkul that rural people might stage a rally to show their dissatisfaction against Sondhi.

But Suthin said Thai Rak Thai MPs had been trying to ask the rural people not to come to Bangkok on February 4 to counter Sondhi's rally.

Suthin said Thai Rak Thai MPs had learnt from community leaders, village heads and kamnan that rural people had become fed up with Sondhi for trying to topple the government.

"They want to show their force to oppose Sondhi but we tried to ask them to be patient as we don't want a confrontation between two sides," Suthin said.

Earlier, Sondhi's Manager Online alleged that the government had been mobilising low-ranking government officials, especially temporary forestry officials, to come to Bangkok on February 4 to counter Sondhi's rally planned at the Royal Plaza.

--The Nation 2006-01-30

that rural people might stage a rally to show their dissatisfaction against Sondhi.

rural people can afford the time and money to travel to bangkok and stage a counter rally ?

this crackdown/war on poverty must be succeeding faster than expected....

I didn't think that many Thais up-country knew about Sondhi and his weekly rallies in Lumpini - but obviously, somehow, word has spread. I know most of the Thai press has given it generally scant coverage.

Must have been those pesky two thousand or so trouble makers that turned up at the last rally from Chiang Rai and Korat that spread the word.

Since details of Shin's sale to Temasek have become public, with much criticism of the way in which the transaction was arranged to avoid liability to paying any taxes whatsoever, interest in all matters "anti'Thaksin" and, in particular, this forthcoming rally has definitely risen.

It's definitely going to be a defining moment in recent Thai history.....could possibly bring Thaksin down....ultimately!

LET'S HOPE.................

Also: "Earlier, Sondhi's Manager Online alleged that the government had been mobilising low-ranking government officials, especially temporary forestry officials, to come to Bangkok on February 4 to counter Sondhi's rally planned at the Royal Plaza." - Original post -

Don't like the sound of this at all.....these guys are thugs....seems like the government, if Sondhi's sources are correct, is possibly going to engineer a violent show-down so Thaksin can, once and for all, assert his authority. i.e. "because of circumstances, be obliged to forcibly restore order."

Still goin'.......

Edited January 30, 200620 yr by bulmercke

that rural people might stage a rally to show their dissatisfaction against Sondhi.

rural people can afford the time and money to travel to bangkok and stage a counter rally ?

this crackdown/war on poverty must be succeeding faster than expected....

That is a good one.

Sondhi is not kept a secret on the broadcast media....my wife watches the news and knows about his activities. There has been coverage of this all along....its just that it seems that Thais are not very interested in what Sondhi has to say....my experience which is limited to life in a small village in the north is that people here like Thaksin just fine. Since he took office there have been three rounds of concrete pavement extension in our village and people like that. Village people travel around some. In our village the usual wage is from 100 to 200 baht per day and on this income people save enough to pool resources and rent a van and travel around and see the country....a trip to Bangkok is not out of the question for people from my village.

But, to be realistic, village people don't "stage rallies", some local active political person will do the organizing and probably "subsidise" expenses and where they get the money for the subsidy does not concern the people being subsidised even one little bit...hey its a cheap/free trip to Khrung Thep!!!!!.

Edited January 30, 200620 yr by chownah

Sondhi is not kept a secret on the broadcast media....my wife watches the news and knows about his activities. There has been coverage of this all along....its just that it seems that Thais are not very interested in what Sondhi has to say....my experience which is limited to life in a small village in the north is that people here like Thaksin just fine. Since he took office there have been three rounds of concrete pavement extension in our village and people like that. Village people travel around some. In our village the usual wage is from 100 to 200 baht per day and on this income people save enough to pool resources and rent a van and travel around and see the country....a trip to Bangkok is not out of the question for people from my village.

But, to be realistic, village people don't "stage rallies", some local active political person will do the organizing and probably "subsidise" expenses and where they get the money for the subsidy does not concern the people being subsidised even one little bit...hey its a cheap/free trip to Khrung Thep!!!!!.

Not surprising the North and Chiang Mai have benefitted from projects while Thaksin has been in office. He's put quite a disportionate amount of governmental money up there.

Problem in rural areas with disseminating news on Sondhi is that his show is only available on cable or satellite which most rural areas don't have much of. The public television stations, being quite governmentally biased, are typically going to show any news about him in an unfavorable light.

Very true about comments on the villagers "staging rallies."

Can one presume from the below article that not too many of the anti-Sodhi group will be teachers?

Some 100,000 teachers to rally with Sondhi

The Nation (for Maestro's benefit.. )

Published on Jan 30 , 2006

Some 100,000 teachers from around the country will join a planned rally at the Royal Plaza on February 4, one of their leaders said Monday.

Uaychai Watha said the teachers would join the rally of media tycoon Sondhi Limthongkul to highlight the teachers' demand that the government unconditionally cancel the plan to transfer supervision of government-run schools to local administrative organisations.

He said the teachers will submit a petition to His Majesty seeking an intervention in the government's plan to transfer schools' supervision.

Interesting that bulmercke plans on attending... I was thinking of doing the same myself...

as a side note, Are there any hotels around King Rama V's statue with bullet-proof window glass? (however, maybe I should ask that in the Thailand travel forum section).

Edited January 30, 200620 yr by sriracha john