Army notifies Bangkok of impending tank maneuver

[webfact]

Army Notifies Bangkok Of Impending Tank Maneuver

KHAOSOD English



BANGKOK: -- The Royal Thai Army has confirmed it was about to roll tanks into streets of Bangkok, but don′t panic, it would be merely part of routine work, according to the statement released by the army.

Apparently conscious of the rumour about possible military coup circulating around the country, the army took pain to announce in advance the plans of various armoured divisions to move their armaments for field work practice outside of Bangkok throughout the month.

On 6 August, the 1st Division King′s Guard will move their armaments from 4th Cavalry Division in Dusit district to Phahonyothin Train Station, via Kiak Kai intersection route, the statement reads.The equipment will then be transported to Kanchanaburi Train Station.

"The troop will come back to Bangkok with their armaments on 17 August via the same route," it says.

Later, the army announced, the 2nd Chivalry Division King′s Guard will move their armaments back from the training ground in Lopburi Province to Phahonyothin Train Station on 9 August, before transporting the equipment to the barracks on Kiak Kai Road and Sanam Pao area.

Another series of maneuver will occur on 19 August, according to the army. On that day, the Antiaircraft Division will transport equipments from their Pahonyothin Barrack to Kiak Kai Barrack by train, then continue toward Lopburi Province on army vehicles. The armaments is scheduled to return to Bangkok on 23 August.

A spokeswoman of the military apologised for inconvenience that may occur from the transportation of troop and armaments.

“This is not a preparation for a coup d’état”, she said.

As anti-government protests were set to take place in Bangkok and fears about possible unrest returned to the capital city, many are whispering that the military might take advantage of the situation and put an end to the elected government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, similar to what happened to her brother Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra in September 2006.

Full story: http://www.khaosod.co.th/en/view_newsonline.php?newsid=TVRNM05UUTFNVFk0TVE9PQ==

-- KHAOSOD English 2013-08-03

[Robby nz]

It was reported on facebook last week that APC;s were on the move towards BKK.

This must be bad timeing if nothing else.

Surely they must have known what was going on with politics and could have scheduled their movements for a better time.

Lets hope it is 'nothing else' this country doesn't need more blood on the streets.

[RickBradford]

2nd Chivalry Division King′s Guard

Oooh, how gallant!

[Somtamnication]

I would be weary of foxes warning the chickens that they are just passing through.

[arthurboy]

If anyone really believes that the mounting political protests, the upcoming amnesty bill, the tightened security around parliament and recent riot control drills, the imposition of the Internal Security Act, the mass deployment of police this weekend and the King and Queen moving to Hua Hin and now this are just coincidental, they need to read between the lines.

And quickly.

[Thai at Heart]

If anyone really believes that the mounting political protests, the upcoming amnesty bill, the tightened security around parliament and recent riot control drills, the imposition of the Internal Security Act, the mass deployment of police this weekend and the King and Queen moving to Hua Hin and now this are just coincidental, they need to read between the lines.

And quickly.

Arthur, anyone can see this is all just coincidence. Lol

[Payboy]

This is not a preparation for a coup détat, she said.

Yeah, there's always an advance press release for those.

[theblether]

Could be a cracking double bluff.

[OzMick]

Do you feel lucky punk?

[dudu]

We have notified or told? no regard for the the damage they may cause to the roads of course...

[ilyushin]

You just gotta love the Royal Thai Army.

Best news that I've seen in months.

AAA (Antiaircraft Division) is just next door to me. I guess I'll see the rapid deployment on the 19 Aug.

[Colabamumbai]

Maybe time for a coup. After all I think Thailand leads the worlds for coups.

[BKS22]

As if the roads aren't already in poor condition. 30 ton tanks will do wonders on them!

[NongKhaiKid]

Does anyone remember the dying days of Saddam's reign when his spokesman nicknamed Baghdad Bob or Comical Ali was live on television assuring the world that the coalition was being repulsed and in the background were US tanks ?

I could see Chalerm in that role here.

[Tywais]

As if the roads aren't already in poor condition. 30 ton tanks will do wonders on them!

Maybe they'll use the sidewalks. Won't know they were there.

[ezzra]

The rumors of a coup has fueled the speculations that the sudden move to Hua Hin

by their majesties was to get them out of the city to avoid a repeat of the last

incident where a mob was converging on the hospital where their majesties

were staying.

[draftvader]

We have notified or told? no regard for the the damage they may cause to the roads of course...

As a motorcyclist I am not sure how you can do much more damage to the roads in BKK. Are we sure the tanks are built for that kind of terrain?

[terminatorchiangmai]

I hope they will have / use transporters , even the Chinese have them.

[thinkingofhow]

This is a clear message to the government (at a vulnerable time), by the powers that they are in control and quite capabile taking control at any moment. The government must conceed to their wishes. You can see by the timing, the play here. It could not come at a much more obvious time for the government. The media, the papers and a clear demonstration "threat" by ther army. Who is in control of Thailand, not the govenrment thats for sure. The government is only an elected representation of the people..... what has that got to do with control. The ARMY, controled media, those that own and run the ARMY run Thailand. Always have, always will, 8 military cou's...... who do you think controls Thailand? Who ever controls the Army and that is NOT the government.

[wealth]

Well, I chose coincidence as option

[GeorgeO]

If anyone really believes that the mounting political protests, the upcoming amnesty bill, the tightened security around parliament and recent riot control drills, the imposition of the Internal Security Act, the mass deployment of police this weekend and the King and Queen moving to Hua Hin and now this are just coincidental, they need to read between the lines.

And quickly.

Arthur, anyone can see this is all just coincidence. Lol

As much as I would like to see this government ousted, I really do think that to facilitate this by any other means than the ballot box would be very unwise. Whether we like it or not, they came in as a democratically-elected government and they must be beaten in the same way.

It is clear that what they have done since coming into power has served only to demonstrate that they couldn't run a piss-up in a brewery, and also that their primary focus has consistently been on lining their own pockets, as well as bringing back the past master of that particular art.

I believe that we will have to rely upon the realization amongst those in the lower echelons that they have been betrayed by their leaders, ultimately at great financial cost to those who can least afford it. When the sh1t does eventually hit the fan, we are going to see massive loss of confidence in Thailand, followed by a mass exodus of foreign funds, the baht currency in freefall, revised GDP growth, heightened inflation, and, a resultant rapid rise in the CPI.

Clearly, the ones who will be affected the worst by all of this will be those on low incomes, the very people this government has blatantly used in its rise to power. Unfortunately, I see only blind faith amongst these very people, so the tendency amongst these "biggest losers" is likely to be to blame the opposition for all of this, and thus, we have a vicious circle of social partisan hatred and economic decline.

[h90]

It was reported on facebook last week that APC;s were on the move towards BKK.

This must be bad timeing if nothing else.

Surely they must have known what was going on with politics and could have scheduled their movements for a better time.

Lets hope it is 'nothing else' this country doesn't need more blood on the streets.

There are always political tensions. If they would have done it 3 weeks ago, some would tell they use the quite time for a "surprise coup".

[udonthani1]

Received today from my embassy:

"The Thai government has activated the Internal Security Act from August 1 to 10, 2013, in the Bangkok districts of Phra Nakhon, Dusit and Pomprab Sattruphai, in preparation for possible political demonstrations. There will be an increased security presence in these districts where a number of tourist attractions are located, including the Grand Palace and Wat Po. Demonstrations, which have the potential to suddenly turn violent, are often accompanied by a heightened police and military presence, and as well as traffic delays and roadblocks."

[DiNiro]

This is a clear message to the government (at a vulnerable time), by the powers that they are in control and quite capabile taking control at any moment. The government must conceed to their wishes. You can see by the timing, the play here. It could not come at a much more obvious time for the government. The media, the papers and a clear demonstration "threat" by ther army. Who is in control of Thailand, not the govenrment thats for sure. The government is only an elected representation of the people..... what has that got to do with control. The ARMY, controled media, those that own and run the ARMY run Thailand. Always have, always will, 8 military cou's...... who do you think controls Thailand? Who ever controls the Army and that is NOT the government.

Precisely.

Anybody that disagrees hasn't read up.

Those books are banned for a reason.

[Tywais]

Posts removed based on No Discussion of the Monarchy in Political Context. Be very careful there or find yourself suspended.

[Sunderland]

Who are they intending to fight in Kanchanaburi? Don't they know the Japanese already left?

[h90]

Who are they intending to fight in Kanchanaburi? Don't they know the Japanese already left?

They do a maneuver, they are not fighting someone.

[glennb6]

the last line of the front page BkkPost article says "A military source said army chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha has put over 30 companies on standby in case police seek help in handling protesters.

(Please credit and share this article with others using this link:http://bangkokpost.com/news/politics/362785/pm-invites-all-sides-to-talk-reform. View our policies at http://goo.gl/9HgTd and http://goo.gl/ou6Ip. © Post Publishing PCL. All rights reserved.) thank you credit where due.

Never read the lines directly, read between them.

[Tatsujin]

Weren't the Army on "manouvers" just before the last coup also?

[Thai at Heart]

If anyone really believes that the mounting political protests, the upcoming amnesty bill, the tightened security around parliament and recent riot control drills, the imposition of the Internal Security Act, the mass deployment of police this weekend and the King and Queen moving to Hua Hin and now this are just coincidental, they need to read between the lines.

And quickly.

Arthur, anyone can see this is all just coincidence. Lol

As much as I would like to see this government ousted, I really do think that to facilitate this by any other means than the ballot box would be very unwise. Whether we like it or not, they came in as a democratically-elected government and they must be beaten in the same way.

It is clear that what they have done since coming into power has served only to demonstrate that they couldn't run a piss-up in a brewery, and also that their primary focus has consistently been on lining their own pockets, as well as bringing back the past master of that particular art.

I believe that we will have to rely upon the realization amongst those in the lower echelons that they have been betrayed by their leaders, ultimately at great financial cost to those who can least afford it. When the sh1t does eventually hit the fan, we are going to see massive loss of confidence in Thailand, followed by a mass exodus of foreign funds, the baht currency in freefall, revised GDP growth, heightened inflation, and, a resultant rapid rise in the CPI.

Clearly, the ones who will be affected the worst by all of this will be those on low incomes, the very people this government has blatantly used in its rise to power. Unfortunately, I see only blind faith amongst these very people, so the tendency amongst these "biggest losers" is likely to be to blame the opposition for all of this, and thus, we have a vicious circle of social partisan hatred and economic decline.

They cannot risk letting Thaksin back into the country with amnesty. They cannot and will not. The shinawatras will be in power as a dynasty for a long time, and will slowly dismantle the amart.

The victory will be complete. I don't like coups, and don't believe they should intervene, it is just that ptp insists on pardoning the guy. It's a step too far.