Suthep To Face His Critics At Military-Organised Forum

[smedly]

Khun Suthep is not a villain. He is a hero. One man against all odds, a man who has never faced charges for his shady land deals (they were all squeaky clean because he never faced charges, you see?). This paragon of proven virtue wants to fix this broken system. I laud him for his pristine efforts. He is truly a paragon among men, despite all the silly claims that he was corrupt. After all, corruption must be proven and NO ONE proves an amart guilty of anything in Thailand. You critics just go back to the drawing board. And by the way, that whole fake scandal about the Red Bull heir was a lie—just read the Thai papers and you can find how silly the whole thing was..

Suthep speaks for the people, you idiots. These claims of undemocratic power grabs and delusions of grandeur are just foreigners interfering in Thai politics. Not one single Thai really objects to Suthep, because he is an incarndine of trust.

When will you people wake up? Suthep is the Lord Buddha come back, the Christian Messiah come back and the prophet Muhammad returned all rolled into one.

The forces of good will give him the blessing he deserves. The forces of men will give him the blessings he has earned. Stay out of the way, foreigners. He has warned others about this, as is his holy right, and you are just grist under the mill if you do not heed his sacred writ..

Long live Suthep! May his shining example inspire all Thais who are middle class, and better. And I say better because if you make more money than someone else that you also are better than them.

Come on, farangs! Your cash makes you superior! You HAVE to love that. And so you can occupy the moral high ground with him... Let's have a Suthep party downtown and celebrate his wonders!

good post but one thing I must say

I for one feel that what suthep is doing is required - Thaksin and PTP and history has taught us that.

If your attack on falangs is directed mostly to posters on Thaivisa then I think you will find that a very high percentage of the suthep bashers on here are actually Thai, there has been a raft of new members suddenly started posting lies and BS the last couple of weeks

The Thai political system is faulty, PTP have shown us that in recent weeks were they have yet again tried to exploit cheat lie steal abuse the system in ways nobody could have imagined, financially I think the damage is done but politically they were stopped in their evil tracks by the Thai people

The good that has come of from PTP is to show very clearly what needs to be done to fix or improve the system - I have posted my own thoughts on this as have many others on TV and strangely they are quite similar to sutheps proposals about the reform that is required

Three of the biggest and in my opinion most important changes that need to take effect are very simple but would have a profound effect on the political landscape - I have mentioned them several time and I will do it again

1. Constitution or Charter Amendments and certain other bills like amnesty must have a 2/3 majority vote in the house (this is the most important) if it had been in place already we would not have had the situation we are facing now.

2. No more immunity from prosecution for MP's (they are not above the law and in some ways should receive greater punishment for breaking it)

3. Change the 5 year ban of convicted MP's to life ban and ban any person from taking office with criminal convictions

[smedly]

Makes me smile every time I see someone calling Suthep an idiot, stupid, as bad or worse than Thaksin or any of the other silly things they say about him.

Consider what he has achieved in the last 45 days.

He has got hundreds of thousands of ordinary Thais from all walks of life out on the streets to vent their previously hidden feelings about the corrupt PT Government.

He has got the Amnesty bill scrapped, a bill that would have exonerated all the red shirt leaders and their boss Thaksin, would have dropped over 25 thousand corruption cases at present under investigation, corruption that has cost the country billions of baht. A bill that would have set a president that corruption can be excused. He did this even though the same bill would have also excused him of any charges against him.

He has got the PT Govt to resign.

He has got every group in the country realalising that there needs to be some sort of reform to clean up politics.

And now he has got these groups talking about it and in most cases coming together to talk about it.

Sure they are not all coming together as yet, but give it time it will happen.

In the mean time there are those who have vested interests in keeping things the same and they are the ones who will eventually have to be pushed out in order for the country to move forward.Who

Who will reform Suthep's government if he is successful at becoming dictator?

The people will not allow it, same as they stopped PTP before they went too far

[Robby nz]

Makes me smile every time I see someone calling Suthep an idiot, stupid, as bad or worse than Thaksin or any of the other silly things they say about him.

Consider what he has achieved in the last 45 days.

He has got hundreds of thousands of ordinary Thais from all walks of life out on the streets to vent their previously hidden feelings about the corrupt PT Government.

He has got the Amnesty bill scrapped, a bill that would have exonerated all the red shirt leaders and their boss Thaksin, would have dropped over 25 thousand corruption cases at present under investigation, corruption that has cost the country billions of baht. A bill that would have set a president that corruption can be excused. He did this even though the same bill would have also excused him of any charges against him.

He has got the PT Govt to resign.

He has got every group in the country realalising that there needs to be some sort of reform to clean up politics.

And now he has got these groups talking about it and in most cases coming together to talk about it.

Sure they are not all coming together as yet, but give it time it will happen.

In the mean time there are those who have vested interests in keeping things the same and they are the ones who will eventually have to be pushed out in order for the country to move forward.

Well, it doesn't make me smile to see a country ( one for which we all have affection) paralysed and divided by this guy. Ordinary people are losing their livelihoods as a consequence of these actions, foreign investors losing confidence, tourists cancelling, thugs fighting in the streets. He is no different from the previous cabal of bullies wanting to retain their ' born to rule' authority. He seems quite happy to destroy the country in his obsession with Thaksin. Everyone knows that politics is a rotten business and the majority of Thai politicians would steal a stale crust from a blind chook , if it suited them. It does make me smile to note that some seem to believe that this guy is different. Most Thais do not believe so, as reflected in the latest polls.

Of course you don't Prbkk for you are one of the first to post abusive comments about him, as per the above post.

If you could just get away from your obsession with hating him then possibly you could see that this country does need political reform, a serious attempt made at combatting corruption and bringing good government and a law that applies equally to everyone for the good of the country and the people.

How about giving it a try, sit down quietly and have a go at clearing your mind of the hatred then think about what this country really needs and how it could be achieved, then you could make an attempt at a positive post.

[Prbkk]

Nothing remotely approaching hatred in my feelings here, just an intense dislike of bullies and those poiticians who offer incredibly simplistic answers to complex questions. I can understand the level of frustration with PTP. Fortunately the Thai people, given the pols and the ever dwindling numbers at the protests, have decided that Suthep's "good people" may not be the panacea they were seeking.

[blaze]

And just how does one reform politics to guarantee 'good government'- (and by that I assume you mean regarded as 'good' by all citizens)?

Do we seriously need more courts?

Or is it that the courts are being soft on the current government?

If that is the case, should it not be judicicial rather than political reform that is required?

(First though, you would have to provide evidence to support the notion that the Constitutional Court etc are being soft on the gov't)

Why has there been no talk from the Suthep camp about changing the constitution?

Doesn't that alert you to the possibility that these people envision changes that go far beyond the constitution- that just maybe they want to change the entire process by which people assume the powers of government.

Or is the demand to somehow institutionalize the existance of Thaksin out of the minds of those who support the policies he introduced (or that they associate him with- rightly or wrongly). How could that be done.

It is interesting that we have not heard anything close to a concrete specific about these 'reforms' aside from the makeup of the People's Council.

I don't think Suthep is a fool one bit- I think he is biding his time- Start with the People's Council- and then tinker with it- expand it a bit- make it more appealing to those pesky foreigners and trade partners who stupidly equate it with a kind of fascism- Then write a constitution once the new 'system== the Brave New World is in place.

And in a sense this is very wise of him- he is capitalizing on the way that Thais are more afraid of freedom (with the individual responsibility and risks that come with freedom) than with surrendering some of their 'rights' as citizens. They like strong leadership- providing they have faith in the essental 'goodness' of that leader.

This of course seems far fetched- but then the notion of a "peoples Council' made up of a thousand individuals- many appointed to Suthep- to change the entire nature of politics in the nation also seems far fetched- But this has happened before in history- we all know that.

And there's no reason it can't happen again.

[wprime]

When I look the international press, I must say, it not show the situation here real. The Shin-Clan is a criminal Network and was going to undermining the Constitution for get full power. Normaly they must condemned for high treason. Taksin manipulate the rural people in a manner that should people remember on Hitler. He sow a lot of hate in their heads, look at the red mob, remember 2010.

Agreed, on the ABC (in Australia) a few nights ago they said "the anti-government mob allege that the PTP is a puppet for Thaksin". Ok that's technically not false but they make it sound like a conspiracy theory without merit. It's amazing how two years of censorship can make everyone forget that the PTP used to openly declare themselves as Thaksin's puppet.

[tezzainoz]

So basically the PCAD would hold the balance of power if these "reforms" where to go through.

"300 members of the Council would be selected from different occupations, while other 100 would be delegated to "experts" appointed by the PCAD"

Wow...Absolute democracy?

Agreed Thailand needs TRUE DEMOCRACY

400 Idiots who have no idea how to do any thing but line their pockets with government money

But as long as they are elected by other idiots only interested in them selves, not the country

The last thing we need is 400 people who have experience in their chosen field

400 people who know what to do

and we need Yingluck who's profiles show she has no history in running a large organization

Not some one who as experience in doing the job and making the hard decisons

Democracy is great when people understand what they are voting for not to make a 100 baht

In your policy True democracy is letting the 1st year school kids vote for Ronald McDonald for Headmaster so they can get free handburgers

Wow...democracy?

[binjalin]

Makes me smile every time I see someone calling Suthep an idiot, stupid, as bad or worse than Thaksin or any of the other silly things they say about him.

Consider what he has achieved in the last 45 days.

He has got hundreds of thousands of ordinary Thais from all walks of life out on the streets to vent their previously hidden feelings about the corrupt PT Government.

He has got the Amnesty bill scrapped, a bill that would have exonerated all the red shirt leaders and their boss Thaksin, would have dropped over 25 thousand corruption cases at present under investigation, corruption that has cost the country billions of baht. A bill that would have set a president that corruption can be excused. He did this even though the same bill would have also excused him of any charges against him.

He has got the PT Govt to resign.

He has got every group in the country realalising that there needs to be some sort of reform to clean up politics.

And now he has got these groups talking about it and in most cases coming together to talk about it.

Sure they are not all coming together as yet, but give it time it will happen.

In the mean time there are those who have vested interests in keeping things the same and they are the ones who will eventually have to be pushed out in order for the country to move forward.

pure fantasy

[Robby nz]

Makes me smile every time I see someone calling Suthep an idiot, stupid, as bad or worse than Thaksin or any of the other silly things they say about him.

Consider what he has achieved in the last 45 days.

He has got hundreds of thousands of ordinary Thais from all walks of life out on the streets to vent their previously hidden feelings about the corrupt PT Government.

He has got the Amnesty bill scrapped, a bill that would have exonerated all the red shirt leaders and their boss Thaksin, would have dropped over 25 thousand corruption cases at present under investigation, corruption that has cost the country billions of baht. A bill that would have set a president that corruption can be excused. He did this even though the same bill would have also excused him of any charges against him.

He has got the PT Govt to resign.

He has got every group in the country realalising that there needs to be some sort of reform to clean up politics.

And now he has got these groups talking about it and in most cases coming together to talk about it.

Sure they are not all coming together as yet, but give it time it will happen.

In the mean time there are those who have vested interests in keeping things the same and they are the ones who will eventually have to be pushed out in order for the country to move forward.

pure fantasy

You might like to expand on that a little, or a lot.

Tell me what I have written that is not true, go through it point by point and show me the errors.

[icare999]

Makes me smile every time I see someone calling Suthep an idiot, stupid, as bad or worse than Thaksin or any of the other silly things they say about him.

Consider what he has achieved in the last 45 days.

He has got hundreds of thousands of ordinary Thais from all walks of life out on the streets to vent their previously hidden feelings about the corrupt PT Government.

He has got the Amnesty bill scrapped, a bill that would have exonerated all the red shirt leaders and their boss Thaksin, would have dropped over 25 thousand corruption cases at present under investigation, corruption that has cost the country billions of baht. A bill that would have set a president that corruption can be excused. He did this even though the same bill would have also excused him of any charges against him.

He has got the PT Govt to resign.

He has got every group in the country realalising that there needs to be some sort of reform to clean up politics.

And now he has got these groups talking about it and in most cases coming together to talk about it.

Sure they are not all coming together as yet, but give it time it will happen.

In the mean time there are those who have vested interests in keeping things the same and they are the ones who will eventually have to be pushed out in order for the country to move forward.

Well, it doesn't make me smile to see a country ( one for which we all have affection) paralysed and divided by this guy. Ordinary people are losing their livelihoods as a consequence of these actions, foreign investors losing confidence, tourists cancelling, thugs fighting in the streets. He is no different from the previous cabal of bullies wanting to retain their ' born to rule' authority. He seems quite happy to destroy the country in his obsession with Thaksin. Everyone knows that politics is a rotten business and the majority of Thai politicians would steal a stale crust from a blind chook , if it suited them. It does make me smile to note that some seem to believe that this guy is different. Most Thais do not believe so, as reflected in the latest polls.

and you i guess would be happy for Taksin to continue taking total control of everything and happy for an amnesty to pardon him and all other criminals and happy to see Thailand become Taksins one party police state without any protest from anyone. SOme great democracy that will be with Taksin and his red thugs deciding that they can do anything they want, ignore all laws and court decisions and happily carry on pillaging and looting the nations wealth, taxes and assets for their own and family's sole benefit while throwing a few crumbs at the poor while assuring them they will all be rich in 6 months.

You vision of a future here is onto one my wife, her family and most of her friends want which is why Suphet has managed to gain so much support. MY wife and family and many of her friends come from lowest rung in society but are not so stupid as to be brainwashed by Taksin and his fantastic PR machine. Even Goebbils could not match Taksin's skills in lies and falsehoods.

it is your hero Taksin, his red thugs, his clan and cronies who are slowly and surely destroying Thailand.

We will see what happens but doth be so sure that this time your hero will be able to fool most of the people most of the time. He might get away with it again and if so their will b e no peace here. If he goes all will be much better I guarantee you.

[khunken]

Nothing remotely approaching hatred in my feelings here, just an intense dislike of bullies and those poiticians who offer incredibly simplistic answers to complex questions. I can understand the level of frustration with PTP. Fortunately the Thai people, given the pols and the ever dwindling numbers at the protests, have decided that Suthep's "good people" may not be the panacea they were seeking.

First - compliments to Robby nz who has actually seen through the Suthep-hatred and shown what has actually been achieved - not enough but a fair amount nevertheless.

You on the other hand have nothing to add except your 'intense dislike' with no suggestions about what should be done to sort out the faux democracy, vote buying and worsening level of corruption.

Not many are actually supporting Suthep personally but many agree with his attempt to clean up what I mentioned above and get rid of, or at least curtail, the Shin clan's increasingly overpowering control of all arms of democracy by hook or by crook, especially the latter.

It is no surprise that the protests are dwindling but they have been big enough to instigate a serious level of discussion among Thais to work out how to reform the current political systems. Not the sort of pretend 'reform' or 'reconciliation' put forward by Yingluck but real reform which includes action.

Edited December 14, 2013 by khunken

[blaze]

What would you suggest Khuhken- this is a serious problem-- one that many of us have debated for twenty odd years in this country- how could Thailand become a fully functioning democracy- without coups, without street violence- with governments permitted to serve their terms-- without the perception of corruption (albeit unproved in most cases)--

Is it the system that needs changing- or is it the very culture from which the system derives- OR_ is it a case that the whole notion of liberal democracy as practiced (on paper) is incompatible with Thai culture?

If that is the case, what systemic changes would YOU initiate?

[khunken]

What would you suggest Khuhken- this is a serious problem-- one that many of us have debated for twenty odd years in this country- how could Thailand become a fully functioning democracy- without coups, without street violence- with governments permitted to serve their terms-- without the perception of corruption (albeit unproved in most cases)--

Is it the system that needs changing- or is it the very culture from which the system derives- OR_ is it a case that the whole notion of liberal democracy as practiced (on paper) is incompatible with Thai culture?

If that is the case, what systemic changes would YOU initiate?

Yes it is a serious problem and the first step would be to take it seriously. No, I don't think that liberal democracy is incompatible with Thai culture. Local culture is not static, nor is it the same in all parts of the country.

What must change is the attitude towards the laws of the country which is not a cultural facet but why corruption is endemic in Thailand, as it is in many other developing nations. It needs to be tackled from both the top & bottom. At the top proper sharp-toothed bodies are needed to control (impossible to eliminate) corruption by politicians, bureaucrats and the police. The latter needs total reform together with the DSI.

From the bottom, the education system needs a wide cleansing with more schools to reduce classroom numbers, fair & effective exam results & no buying of places in desired schools & universities.

I could go on - land taxation, subsidies, bail system & more. It's not a short term job but an evolutionary task for an independent body.

[jayboy]

What would you suggest Khuhken- this is a serious problem-- one that many of us have debated for twenty odd years in this country- how could Thailand become a fully functioning democracy- without coups, without street violence- with governments permitted to serve their terms-- without the perception of corruption (albeit unproved in most cases)--

Is it the system that needs changing- or is it the very culture from which the system derives- OR_ is it a case that the whole notion of liberal democracy as practiced (on paper) is incompatible with Thai culture?

If that is the case, what systemic changes would YOU initiate?

Yes it is a serious problem and the first step would be to take it seriously. No, I don't think that liberal democracy is incompatible with Thai culture. Local culture is not static, nor is it the same in all parts of the country.

What must change is the attitude towards the laws of the country which is not a cultural facet but why corruption is endemic in Thailand, as it is in many other developing nations. It needs to be tackled from both the top & bottom. At the top proper sharp-toothed bodies are needed to control (impossible to eliminate) corruption by politicians, bureaucrats and the police. The latter needs total reform together with the DSI.

From the bottom, the education system needs a wide cleansing with more schools to reduce classroom numbers, fair & effective exam results & no buying of places in desired schools & universities.

I could go on - land taxation, subsidies, bail system & more. It's not a short term job but an evolutionary task for an independent body.

I am geninely pleased to be able to agree with this.I would add some points

1.Justice system needs to be strengthened wirth genuine independence, free of political influence.Judges too often bear the impression of the last person who sat on them.Courts should be very clear where their role ends and role of legislators begins.

2.Education system needs to detach itself from the "wai khru" mentality as society itself becomes less deferential.Students should be encouraged to question and be suspicious of received wisdom.English and Mandarin languages to be given high priority.

3.Tax regime to be overhauled.End capital gains exemption on sales of listed equities.Bring in land tax on lines Korn suggested.

4.Local governors to be elected.One of the few Suthep suggestions I like.

[bangon04]

Agreed Thailand needs TRUE DEMOCRACY

400 Idiots who have no idea how to do any thing but line their pockets with government money

But as long as they are elected by other idiots only interested in them selves, not the country

The last thing we need is 400 people who have experience in their chosen field

400 people who know what to do

and we need Yingluck who's profiles show she has no history in running a large organization

Not some one who as experience in doing the job and making the hard decisons

Democracy is great when people understand what they are voting for not to make a 100 baht

In your policy True democracy is letting the 1st year school kids vote for Ronald McDonald for Headmaster so they can get free handburgers

Wow...democracy?

Unfortunately it does appear that without education, the "masses" are not ready for a true democracy. But then which country in the world has a "true" democracy which is not influenced or controlled by big business, religious interests or military-industrial interests?

Thais have been living with blatant corruption and patronage for so long, it will take a while before they learn to mitigate or hide it better.

[Credo]

"Consider what he has achieved in the last 45 days."

He has achieved nothing positive. His achievement was similar to the many derailments that shut down the railroad for 75 days. They 'fixed' it, it opened, and the first train managed to derail. Suthep is in the same category.

The problem is the patronage system and the cultural imperialism of the amart, mixed with the extraordinary weakness of all the institutions that make an effective civil government function. Nothing in the country works until somebody up the food chain tells them to work, then they are told what to do, who to do it to and how long they have to do it.

Ordinary people get arrested and thrown in jail, those up the ladder don't get arrested. They might get 'invited' to the police station, and they might just graciously decline.

If they are charged, will they be convicted? A good chance they won't. If they are, they will be found not guilty.

This is the most visible system we see, but virtually every other ministry works the same way.

In most developed countries, it does not matter who is in power, or if they die, or if there are elections. The civil government keeps working and order is maintained.

In Thailand nothing happens until someone up the line says it will happen and there is usually someone further up the line who just might upstage someone lower.

They got rid of Thaksin, but they never could really get rid of Thaksin. If they get rid of Suthep, they will never really be rid of Suthep. The civil gov't must be strengthened and work efficiently and effectively regardless of who is in power. Corruption, in all its forms, must be eliminated -- not only the illegal corruption but the state-sanctioned many legal forms of corruption.

Edited December 14, 2013 by Credo

[khunken]

What would you suggest Khuhken- this is a serious problem-- one that many of us have debated for twenty odd years in this country- how could Thailand become a fully functioning democracy- without coups, without street violence- with governments permitted to serve their terms-- without the perception of corruption (albeit unproved in most cases)--

Is it the system that needs changing- or is it the very culture from which the system derives- OR_ is it a case that the whole notion of liberal democracy as practiced (on paper) is incompatible with Thai culture?

If that is the case, what systemic changes would YOU initiate?

Yes it is a serious problem and the first step would be to take it seriously. No, I don't think that liberal democracy is incompatible with Thai culture. Local culture is not static, nor is it the same in all parts of the country.

What must change is the attitude towards the laws of the country which is not a cultural facet but why corruption is endemic in Thailand, as it is in many other developing nations. It needs to be tackled from both the top & bottom. At the top proper sharp-toothed bodies are needed to control (impossible to eliminate) corruption by politicians, bureaucrats and the police. The latter needs total reform together with the DSI.

From the bottom, the education system needs a wide cleansing with more schools to reduce classroom numbers, fair & effective exam results & no buying of places in desired schools & universities.

I could go on - land taxation, subsidies, bail system & more. It's not a short term job but an evolutionary task for an independent body.

I am geninely pleased to be able to agree with this.I would add some points

1.Justice system needs to be strengthened wirth genuine independence, free of political influence.Judges too often bear the impression of the last person who sat on them.Courts should be very clear where their role ends and role of legislators begins.

2.Education system needs to detach itself from the "wai khru" mentality as society itself becomes less deferential.Students should be encouraged to question and be suspicious of received wisdom.English and Mandarin languages to be given high priority.

3.Tax regime to be overhauled.End capital gains exemption on sales of listed equities.Bring in land tax on lines Korn suggested.

4.Local governors to be elected.One of the few Suthep suggestions I like.

Agree with most of that with one addition & one disagreement.

Courts should be very clear where their role ends and role of legislators begins & legislators should be clear that checking their role is part of democracy.

Capital gains tax on sales of listed equities is not a good idea as it discourages investors from investing and companies from listing on a stock exchange. I would agree with a tax on short-term gains - such as day trading but whether it would prove more costly to enforce than the tax receippts is a moot point.

[siampolee]

So basically the PCAD would hold the balance of power if these "reforms" where to go through.

"300 members of the Council would be selected from different occupations, while other 100 would be delegated to "experts" appointed by the PCAD"

Wow...Absolute democracy?

Exactly the same process as employed by Thaksin, his family and their brown nosing acolytes when forming the late puppet administration led by his cloned sister.

[kjun12]

While I am not about to defend Yingluck and her gang, I despise Suthep. A low-rent sleze is one ever lived. He is the one with blood on his hands and one of the country's prime eletist who, in no way, is willing to help poor people.

[Scott]

A post with the comment inside the quote has been deleted. Please make sure your comment is not included in someone's post.

[VegasVic]

So basically the PCAD would hold the balance of power if these "reforms" where to go through.

"300 members of the Council would be selected from different occupations, while other 100 would be delegated to "experts" appointed by the PCAD"

Wow...Absolute democracy?

Coming in as an absolute autocrat you definately need two different factions below you to vie for your attention, so I guess the 300 member council would be the brownshirts(SA) and the 100 experts would be the SS. I think I've seen this movie before

[Ulic]

As I see it Thailand now has to choose between bad and bad.

Is there really no one in this beautiful country with an IQ above 100 who can start a normal party ?? I wonder....

Personally I see the choices are between bad and very bad. But they do flip flop back and forth.

[rijb]

Nothing remotely approaching hatred in my feelings here, just an intense dislike of bullies and those poiticians who offer incredibly simplistic answers to complex questions. I can understand the level of frustration with PTP. Fortunately the Thai people, given the pols and the ever dwindling numbers at the protests, have decided that Suthep's "good people" may not be the panacea they were seeking.

First - compliments to Robby nz who has actually seen through the Suthep-hatred and shown what has actually been achieved - not enough but a fair amount nevertheless.

You on the other hand have nothing to add except your 'intense dislike' with no suggestions about what should be done to sort out the faux democracy, vote buying and worsening level of corruption.

Not many are actually supporting Suthep personally but many agree with his attempt to clean up what I mentioned above and get rid of, or at least curtail, the Shin clan's increasingly overpowering control of all arms of democracy by hook or by crook, especially the latter.

It is no surprise that the protests are dwindling but they have been big enough to instigate a serious level of discussion among Thais to work out how to reform the current political systems. Not the sort of pretend 'reform' or 'reconciliation' put forward by Yingluck but real reform which includes action.

Here are a couple more Suthep supporters... http://www.chiangraitimes.com/news/20951.html

[binjalin]

Gen Tanasak in his opening remarks admitted he had heard Mr Suthep's speeches at rallies but "didn't understand them".

​That just about sums Dear Leader up

anyway, thank God, the Military supports elections on Feb 2nd and will stay out of it - a mature and great decision

[spare5]

I believe the army is wise enough to be on the "People" side.

[binjalin]

I believe the army is wise enough to be on the "People" side.

it looks like the Army is "wise enough" to stay out of it and I applaud them for maturity and wisdom

let the "people" decide at the Feb 2nd election

[Pukehina1]

what a bunch of tossers !! 32 thb to the US $ and climbing = Fantastic Beer is cheaper, Food is cheaper get off the moral high ground and get back to your own trough

[Thailand]

So basically the PCAD would hold the balance of power if these "reforms" where to go through.

"300 members of the Council would be selected from different occupations, while other 100 would be delegated to "experts" appointed by the PCAD"

Wow...Absolute democracy?

Exactly the same process as employed by Thaksin, his family and their brown nosing acolytes when forming the late puppet administration led by his cloned sister.

But without the people being able to vote, does not seem to be the same to me?

[pkspeaker]

I love these posts suggesting all these new changes to the constitution and charters that now need to take place. And in order to make these changes the PM, the PM that was elected by a large majority 2 years ago, has to resign and an un-elected 'council' needs to take her place.

I guess my question is..why the hell were the changes not made in the post-coup Constitution. The reason for the coup were all these issues, corruption, 'vote-buying', whatever.. in the post-coup writing of the new constitution-the PAD/Democrats/yellow shirts and whoever else had the opportunity to advocate changes that would stem abuses of power etc. all the crap they insist is their real problem. <deleted> happened, now they need another new constitution, they need new constitutions until they write one that allows the losers of each election to govern, in the next election, the person that gets the least votes will be the PM, because the person who gets most votes has too many 'stupid people' votes.

The 'vote-buying' crap is a farce, it's been called out as a lie in numerous newspaper articles. The EC monitors the elections, international orgs also monitor the elections, Yingluck is not winning because of vote-buying, she's winning because she gets many more votes than that idiot on the democratic ticket-who's campaign slogan is apparently "rural people are stupid and unsophisticated" I can't imagine how the Democrat party keeps losing.

Suthep and his predecessor Sondhi have a history of corruption themselves and now they have become these anti-corruption crusaders.

The problem is not the constitution, vote buying, corruption, etc. the only problem is this group of nuts refuses to accept the reality that the PT party is playing by the rules(at least as much as any other party) and wins the elections. PT opposition took this path early on , instead they could have been working the democtatic system to win power legitimatly, they could have tried to win over some PT districts, they could have been making aliances with 3rd parties, but instead they drop out and tune out.

Khun Suthep is not a villain. He is a hero. One man against all odds, a man who has never faced charges for his shady land deals (they were all squeaky clean because he never faced charges, you see?). This paragon of proven virtue wants to fix this broken system. I laud him for his pristine efforts. He is truly a paragon among men, despite all the silly claims that he was corrupt. After all, corruption must be proven and NO ONE proves an amart guilty of anything in Thailand. You critics just go back to the drawing board. And by the way, that whole fake scandal about the Red Bull heir was a lie—just read the Thai papers and you can find how silly the whole thing was..

Suthep speaks for the people, you idiots. These claims of undemocratic power grabs and delusions of grandeur are just foreigners interfering in Thai politics. Not one single Thai really objects to Suthep, because he is an incarndine of trust.

When will you people wake up? Suthep is the Lord Buddha come back, the Christian Messiah come back and the prophet Muhammad returned all rolled into one.

The forces of good will give him the blessing he deserves. The forces of men will give him the blessings he has earned. Stay out of the way, foreigners. He has warned others about this, as is his holy right, and you are just grist under the mill if you do not heed his sacred writ..

Long live Suthep! May his shining example inspire all Thais who are middle class, and better. And I say better because if you make more money than someone else that you also are better than them.

Come on, farangs! Your cash makes you superior! You HAVE to love that. And so you can occupy the moral high ground with him... Let's have a Suthep party downtown and celebrate his wonders!

good post but one thing I must say

I for one feel that what suthep is doing is required - Thaksin and PTP and history has taught us that.

If your attack on falangs is directed mostly to posters on Thaivisa then I think you will find that a very high percentage of the suthep bashers on here are actually Thai, there has been a raft of new members suddenly started posting lies and BS the last couple of weeks

The Thai political system is faulty, PTP have shown us that in recent weeks were they have yet again tried to exploit cheat lie steal abuse the system in ways nobody could have imagined, financially I think the damage is done but politically they were stopped in their evil tracks by the Thai people

The good that has come of from PTP is to show very clearly what needs to be done to fix or improve the system - I have posted my own thoughts on this as have many others on TV and strangely they are quite similar to sutheps proposals about the reform that is required

Three of the biggest and in my opinion most important changes that need to take effect are very simple but would have a profound effect on the political landscape - I have mentioned them several time and I will do it again

1. Constitution or Charter Amendments and certain other bills like amnesty must have a 2/3 majority vote in the house (this is the most important) if it had been in place already we would not have had the situation we are facing now.

2. No more immunity from prosecution for MP's (they are not above the law and in some ways should receive greater punishment for breaking it)

3. Change the 5 year ban of convicted MP's to life ban and ban any person from taking office with criminal convictions

[pkspeaker]

Interesting article but I don't think the military will launch a coup, even if Mr. Suthep has some influential people on his side. First of all that article talks about how in 2010 the military backed up the police and now it's just the police and the military won't help. This is misleading, the Red Shirts had taken over the entire central bangkok and erected large barriers, and some of them were armed with machine guns, rockets, and grenades. The yellow shirt mob is sometimes violent, but the police have managed to keep them in check, as most of the time they are outside GOVT house at democracy monument. There are 200 unarmed military assisting the police.

ANd secondly, if the military backs Suthep and overthrows Yingluck, the Red Shirts will be right back on the streets demanding new elections in order to overthrow Suthep or his cronies, then what? then the world will pressure them to allow another election and they'll be right back where the started.

People who think the military can help the PAD/PDRC have no vision.

>Here are a couple more Suthep supporters... http://www.chiangrai...news/20951.html