Pro and Anti-Government Rally Thread

[Jai Dee]

Well this has been a pretty good one so far... prompting discussion and eliciting opinions... as well as informative... let's all try to keep it that way OK?

[britmaveric]

Well this has been a pretty good one so far... prompting discussion and eliciting opinions... as well as informative... let's all try to keep it that way OK?

[lukamar]

As I replied to a post re the wartime German leader prior to reading all the posts I have deleted that part.

Something for all to think about...........

Thai officials are surely monitoring foreigners, who could very easily be looked at as working to undermine political process or as subversive with their comments, and when reelected he may quickly work to patch any loopholes that may have made that possible before the next election.

Edited March 3, 2006 by lukamar

[lukamar]

secondly, if you reread my post, I did not suggest that the poster was going to murder Thaksin. I posed the question to him on whether he thought that was the only way to get rid of Thaksin.

..I even noticed one of "your" posters teetering on the edge of criticizing the king. and yet, you didn't delete his post?????

..when you allow others to insult me at their leisure when I was posting my viewpoint, I didn't see you coming to my aid. (so, where were you?)

this forum is getting to look more like a propaganda machine rather then a instrument for freedom of speech.

1:- I didn't find haha's comment about murdering Thaksin in the least offensive. I have asked myself a few times if the fanatical element in some of the Opposition have considered it.

2:- I agree with him here, the "Clique" seems to have immunity sometimes.

3:- Thai Visa a few years ago was a great place to discuss all sorts of things, but as the site grew and things became more monetary in nature the scope and the vision changed from a help forum to a money making endeavor. Thai Visa allows on it's site what makes it money, confrontation from opposing debate, there is nothing wrong with that, and like some of Thaksin's resources is situated off shore outside Thailand at 69.93.20.90 in the US.

[lukamar]

It appears that a fast response to an opposing view and heavy handed action is alive and well both in the Thai Government and on Thai Visa.

[Ricardo]

It appears that a fast response to an opposing view and heavy handed action is alive and well both in the Thai Government and on Thai Visa.

I Disagree.

The member in question was imputing an illegal action, and a point-of-view, which the postings referred-to did not indicate or support, IMHO. He was following his own agenda, why I can't begin to guess, and insultingly. I think this is called 'flaming, no ? And is against forum-rules.

Good point re the monitoring of posts by local officials.

This is a news/discussion forum, I personally find it helpful & educational to see the ideas and insights of other members, who have a different point-of-view or longer experience of the country. I don't for a moment believe that we have any influence on actual events in Thailand, and would hope that any such officials would realise this, and make allowances for our different cultural & political backgrounds. And would give due credit for our friendly & positive general-attitude towards their country.

[Jai Dee]

It appears that a fast response to an opposing view and heavy handed action is alive and well both in the Thai Government and on Thai Visa.

I disagree... your posts criticising ThaiVisa have been visible in the Forum for some 4 1/2 hours already... with no mod edits or deletions... isn't that an example of freedom of speech?

Some of us do have to sleep too...

This is a news/discussion forum, I personally find it helpful & educational to see the ideas and insights of other members, who have a different point-of-view or longer experience of the country.

Exactly... and we'd like to keep it that way too.

I don't for a moment believe that we have any influence on actual events in Thailand, and would hope that any such officials would realise this, and make allowances for our different cultural & political backgrounds. And would give due credit for our friendly & positive general-attitude towards their country.

Agree with this one as well... although one would hope that some of the Thai officials reading the forum take note of some of the opinions presented here... perhaps we farang have some ideas that they could benefit from?

I personally wouldn't mind if some Senator stole an idea posted on this forum and offered it as his own in Parliament... anything if it assisted the country in a positive way.

[Jai Dee]

PM's rally designed to a fault

Judging from its arrangements, feng shui appears to have featured prominently in Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's organisation of the gathering in support of himself yesterday at Sanam Luang.

Take the main stage. It was placed on the opposite side of the park to that where his nemesis Sondhi Limthongkul and the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) had staged their own anti-Thaksin really earlier this week. On the other hand, the pro-Thaksin camp had been able to mobilise about twice as many people.

Then consider the colours. Thaksin's stage was painted blue, while his antagonists' was predominantly yellow. All of Thaksin's crew, speakers as well as Cabinet members and MPs, wore white shirts and black trousers or skirts.

Tied to each end of the stage was an orange-and-green balloon, probably also according to fengshui principles.

His opponents had used yellow pieces of cotton with the words "Restoration of the nation" printed on them, while members of Thaksin's crowd sported larger pieces of paper or stickers with "Love Thaksin, vote Thai Rak Thai" emblazoned on them.

Both sides had student representatives on stage and an undertone of religiosity.

Where political veteran Chamlong Srimuang brought monks from the Santi Asok Buddhist sect to the anti-Thaksin rally, last night's event saw followers of the Dhammakaya religious centre passing out free food and water to participants.

Thaksin's supporters arrived in a uniform manner, and just about all of them had a paper national flag in their hands. Some were carrying placards in praise of the embattled prime minister; most were cheering and shouting agreement to just about anything he said, including self-criticism.

A person with a microphone in his hand was in charge of ensuring that people behaved in an orderly fashion. They wore "I love Thaksin" headbands. Individually, each subgroup resembled a group of mainland Chinese tourists milling through the Bangkok International Airport.

In accordance with their uniforms, participants gave uniform answers. "We've come here because we love Thaksin," said many of those asked by The Nation.

An elderly man slipped up and pointed to his village chief, indicating the man responsible for making him come here. He then thought better of it and declared suddenly: "No, no one brought us here or paid us to come here. We all came on our own at our own expense."

One man, reeking of alcohol, complained that he had only been paid Bt200, although his meal and transportation had been free.

About half of the participants at yesterday's event appeared to have come from the provinces, from all four corners of the country. Out-of-town busses and vans cluttered the streets of Bangkok and choked entry points to the capital.

Unlike the anti-Thaksin coalition whose slogan is "Thaksin get out!", yesterday's participants roared their support: "Thaksin, fight, fight!"

The prime minister himself shouted the line shortly after taking the stage.

Where Sondhi relied on his TV crew, Thaksin hired a professional team from VS Service Film and Studio to oversee the broadcast of yesterday's event.

Source: The Nation - Sat, March 4, 2006

[cdnvic]

There's nothing wrong with disagreeing with the government, or it's policies, but you need to do it within lawful means. You may disagree with the laws regulating alcohol sales, and many if not most here do. You cannot however, post info on your illegal bootlegging service.

You can state that guns should not be regulated, but you may not sell Uzi's in the classifieds section.

I'm not saying we don't occasionally get too paranoid about what's posted here, I know I have before, but we're doing our best to ensure a quality forum, and by and large I think we do ok.

If you can't get your own way all the time, relax, its just html. No need to get upset about it.

cv

[Jai Dee]

VENUS' VISION

Why we are grateful to Thaksin

It may be hard to believe, but I've noticed something at these anti-Thaksin demonstrations. All of a sudden, different groups of anti-Maew activists are dying to express their gratitude to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra for various reasons. Strange it is, but let me tell you who they are and why:

Street vendors

Meatball and dried-squid vendors would love to have 10 prime ministers like Thaksin. They just won back all those long-lost customers who have acquired a taste for dining out at high-end shopping malls. Now they're patronising roadside vendors once again. And the smiles on the vendors' faces reflect their skyrocketing revenues. They were more than willing to serve the anti-Thaksin crowd.When the protesters marched to Democracy Monument in the wee hours of Monday morning, quite a few vendor carts travelled alongside them.

Santi Asoke

This unorthodox and long-reclusive Buddhist sect has suddenly received free publicity as the Dharma Army.

When the sect, comprising monks, nuns and lay followers, marched to Sanam Luang last Sunday morning, it boosted the morale of the other protesters, and the sect re-entered mainstream society. Thanks to our political leader, Santi Asoke has emerged as a symbol of "moral" force against evil.

Human-rights advocates

Isn't Thaksin a heaven-sent gift to human-rights advocates? They preach philosophically that human rights are natural rights. The United Nation's Declaration of Human Rights states; "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights." That's also spelled out in our Constitution, but little did Thais realise there even were such rights.

Now, after five years of Thaksin's rule, Thai citizens have become increasingly aware of these rights. Sondhi Limthongkul put it succinctly when he told the rally that exercising these rights is as natural as breathing the air.

University and high-school students

They used to be accused of indulging in drugs and other social ills and blamed for the Kingdom's moral decay. But a lot of these students have apparently broken their stereotype and showed that they, too, care about Thailand's future and refuse to stay apathetic.

When these students announced their anti-Thaksin stance, they provided a much-needed boost to the morale of grown-ups.

Folk artists

Before Thaksin's time, when did you last experience the improvised folk chant lam tat? And how long has it been since a song-for-life band or Chinese-opera troupe performed in front of tens of thousands of people? Now they perform political satire before appreciative crowds.

The Chinese opera "Justice Pao Struggles with the Square Face" and some hilarious lam tat sessions would never have pulled in such big crowds if Thaksin and his cohorts had not provided good material.

News media

In my own industry, journalists and photographers - despite their exhaustion from covering protest after protest - are indebted to Thaksin for all he has said and done during the five years. In modern Thai history, no political leader has inspired as much investigative reporting into corruption. Journalists should also remember Thaksin as the man who successfully created awareness about press freedom by stomping on it every so often.

But only when he made frustrated citizens take to the streets did newspaper sales start soaring. News websites experienced a meteoric increase in their number of hits. To give you a rough idea, The Nation website reported the highest traffic of all time this past Monday, the day after the big Sanam Luang rally.

Snoh Thienthong

Once he left the stage at Sanam Luang, Snoh would probably have loved to say a big "Thank you" to the man he once supported. As Thaksin stubbornly adhered to "my brand of democracy", Snoh whitewashed himself and emerged as a ray of hope for democracy. By condemning the premier onstage, the veteran politician was reborn as Righteous Snoh from his previous existence as a political dinosaur.

Me and my fellow protesters

Throughout my life, I always wondered what it would be like to participate in a demonstration and march along Thailand's historic Rajdamnoen Avenue. My generation learned about the student uprisings of October 14, 1973, and October 6, 1976, largely from textbooks and old news clippings, but nothing can compare with the real thing.

A genuine sense of excitement and comradeship transform everyone who joins in. They have nothing else in common except showing up to exercise their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. It was inspiring to see one woman coming straight from the office in high heels, a family bringing their little toddler along, groups of senior citizens, even some disabled in wheelchairs. Who says Thai democracy is in decay?

We might be shouting, "Thaksin, awk pai!" ("Thaksin, get out!") but I and all of the other protesters would like to thank the prime minister for branding us a "stupid mob". Little did he realise that so many would consider it a rare honour to be a part of such a stupid mob under his CEO-ship.

Source: Editorial Opinion from The Nation - Sat, March 4, 2006

[asd]

Hot Pics !!!! from Photographer in pro Government rally at Sanam Luang in Bangkok, 03 March 2006.

Photographer claimed that motorcyclists at Wat Mai soi received 500 baht per person to participated in this rally.

This really can make you easy money !! It works !!

They wear the helmets on the road but Thaksin and his entourage did not wear the legally required helmets while riding motorcycles in Roi Et's At Samat district.

http://203.150.224.53/specials/Bangkokians/jan18.php

By the way, I think that Thai people love to use Suzuki Smash.

http://www.omc.com.kh/smash.htm

Money isn't the root of evil, people choose whether they are evil or not.

Thaksin's rural supporters came from Lopburi province,the province of Lopburi lies just over 150 kilometers due north of Bangkok. Photographer claimed that they were hired from a powerful rural politician.

Thaksin came to power on a promise to give every village a one-million-baht revolving fund in a bid to reduce poverty.

The plan was that villagers could borrow from the fund, repay it and then other villagers in turn could borrow, in effect giving people a chance to lift themselves from the mire of poverty. But critics say the scheme fell at the first hurdle, and villagers instead bought new mobile phones and motor vehicles with the money and then failed to pay it back.

"OK, bored now, want to go home."

"We had no other choice"

"What The hel_l Are We Doing Here? "

Supporters went back to their home by a luxury bus.

Goodbye Thaksin !! We want 1,000 baht per person and per day next time.

[Jai Dee]

PM Thaksin indicated he will hang himself should he misbehave

Prime Minister Thaksin has indicated that he was greatly touched by the support people shown him yesterday at the Sanam Luang address in which he explained the many issues he was accused of, and indicated that if he did not behave right he would be glad to hang himself.

Dr. Thaksin yesterday at Sanam Luang indicated he was not a dictator, and also said he was very exhausted from his work. However, he said he was greatly touched when he saw the people who have traveled to the venue to support him, and affirmed that he shall drive the country forward and rapidly solve poverty should he be elected again. The premier also stated that he had never desecrated the law nor lacked ethics, as he would be glad to borrow Mr. Chalard Worachat's (ฉลาด วรฉัตร) rope to hang himself if that was the case.

Pol. Lt. Gen. Thaksin also insisted he has never interfered with the press or independent organization as accused of.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 04 March 2006

[h90]

Dam*, I just wanted to sell my Uzi's in the classified section.....

There's nothing wrong with disagreeing with the government, or it's policies, but you need to do it within lawful means. You may disagree with the laws regulating alcohol sales, and many if not most here do. You cannot however, post info on your illegal bootlegging service.

You can state that guns should not be regulated, but you may not sell Uzi's in the classifieds section.

I'm not saying we don't occasionally get too paranoid about what's posted here, I know I have before, but we're doing our best to ensure a quality forum, and by and large I think we do ok.

If you can't get your own way all the time, relax, its just html. No need to get upset about it.

cv

Edited March 4, 2006 by h90

[penzman]

PM Thaksin indicated he will hang himself should he misbehave

Prime Minister Thaksin has indicated that he was greatly touched by the support people shown him yesterday at the Sanam Luang address in which he explained the many issues he was accused of, and indicated that if he did not behave right he would be glad to hang himself.

Dr. Thaksin yesterday at Sanam Luang indicated he was not a dictator, and also said he was very exhausted from his work. However, he said he was greatly touched when he saw the people who have traveled to the venue to support him, and affirmed that he shall drive the country forward and rapidly solve poverty should he be elected again. The premier also stated that he had never desecrated the law nor lacked ethics, as he would be glad to borrow Mr. Chalard Worachat's (ฉลาด วรฉัตร) rope to hang himself if that was the case.

Pol. Lt. Gen. Thaksin also insisted he has never interfered with the press or independent organization as accused of.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 04 March 2006

Faithful to his "minimum of one stupid comment per appearance" average.

I wonder if he does apply that facial cream of his all the way down his neck

[asd]

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said on Saturday his political future would be decided at the ballot box as the political opposition pressed ahead with a boycott of snap elections next month.

"You cannot defy the voice of the people and you don't have the right to make decisions on their behalf," Thaksin said after the three main opposition parties rejected his offer of political reforms on Friday aimed at defusing a growing political crisis.

Thailand's main opposition Democrat Party published ads in major Thai newspapers on Saturday, saying the election could not be fair because Thaksin has taken over political institutions meant to be independent.  

"This election is not a solution to the crisis faced by the country. It is an attempt to whitewash and extend a mandate that he and his cronies have exploited at the expense of the people and the country," one of the ads read.

Friday's rally, held two days before a major anti-Thaksin protest at the same venue on Sunday, was designed in part to demonstrate his support in the countryside where 70 percent of Thais live and who helped return him to power last year in a second landslide election victory.

Thaksin has seen his popularity wane since relatives sold off their $1.9 billion stake last month in Shin Corp, the telecoms empire he founded, to a Singapore state investment firm.

The deal angered the middle class in Bangkok who demanded Thaksin's resignation over the tax-free deal which has fueled weekend anti-government protests in the capital.

MAJOR RALLY

Tens of thousands of protesters are expected at Sunday's rally organized by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) which threatened to take its followers on street marches if Thaksin did not resign.

PAD rejected Thaksin's offer on Friday to meet one-on-one with his critics and vowed to press on until the Thai leader was forced out.

"People listening to his speech felt that what he said did not clear any of the charges made against him," a PAD spokesman told reporters.