PDRC to shut down Bangkok by end of next week

[Sydebolle]

Well, guess that does it. His supporters are not those Isanees who clog the Asian Highways Number 1, 2, 3 and 4. Latter are busy getting a) drunk and then killed in road accidents which are actually not permitted to happen as the clerics are ridding these highways from evil ghosts and spirits.
Hence the supporters are mostly in town when the deluge comes back. Just wondering how long it will take to get the troops into gear (again).

The right cause but the wrong man at the helm; God bless us all and this country!

[thaight]

No pain, no gain. I hope the PDRC have worked out how to implement a strategy for exit counseling for a couple of million people from the cult of Shinawat. As with any cult following, rebuilding the followers self esteem and life can be difficult and traumatic after coming to terms with having been used by the cult leader for his own personal benefit only. I have to admit some surprise that Thaksin has been so successful in building such a cult following, he can't levitate like Shoko Asahara, can't write pop songs like Charlie Manson and doesn't have the good looks of Jimmy Jones. Either way, I wish PDRC luck trying to deprogram and re-educate the Isaanites.

Thailands future rests in your hands Khun Suthep. Fight the good fight, uniting the country will earn you reverence in the Thai history books.

yes i'm sure re-writing the history books is part of suthep's grand plan, but the rest of your post is just bizarre...

what gain has come from the many coups that have gone before?... what gain will come from taking power away from the people?... what gain will come from making the more fanatical reds angry and providing propaganda for their leaders?... what gain will come from replacing one corrupt leader with another corrupt leader?... what gain will come from demonstrating that power in thailand can be achieved by terrorism?...

There is a lot to be gained through returning the power back to the people instead of having thieves misusing and abusing it for their own personal enrichment!!

Suthep should be given a medal for his services to Thailand in returning democracy to it's people, we should be eternally grateful to him and I wish him a happy retirement once his task is completed.

Can't you see through a "pitch" when it's in front of you? Suthep has no plans to give the country back to the people - he's taking it away rfom them, denying people basic democratic rights such as voting, closing down cities, ordering the police to <deleted> off and not arrest him... IT'S A PITCH.. He's speaking platitudes my friend - People's Democratic Party <deleted>!! He wants to take down a legally (yeah yeah, blah blah) elected government and replace it with an unelected rabble of his choosing, he calls it "returning the country to the people" and dimwits are lapping it up. A turd is still a turd even if you call it a flower.

"democratically elected" and "dictator" are in seemingly most cases one and the same across the world. Name me a healthy opertating democracy that serves the peoples best interest at heart across the globe today? Anybody that attempts to distinguish between the two with any sincerity is avin a larf and plugged in to a false reality.

[stevo52]

whats more corrupt can you tell me the crowd in govvy now? or the one that wants to get in ? either way i think both have there fingers in the till & does it really matter whose at the top ???

i can't understand what all the fuss is about !

[lor]

When are the so-called "millions of people" out there (in addition to many of you posters) going to come to the realization that Suthep is a megalomanical nutcase. Everything he's done recently can be compared to the jerks in history thoughout the world who have tried to overturn a duly elected government. As most civilized societies and countries do in this modern age, if you're not satisfied with the current government, come up with an electable slate of nominees when election time comes around. You can't just say, "I don't like this group so I'll just lead a movement to get rid of this one, and if I don't like the next one, I'll get rid of that one too".

You may be right but he is correct when he says that the whole political system in Thailand is wrong. It cannot be fixed by the people who run it now. Thailand needs to make a fresh start, new people, no vote buying, no corruption. Sack the whole police force and make every one apply for their old job back but not reemploy police who have a mansion paid for by their police salary. Thailand needs a fresh start.

[SICHONSTEVE]

Doesn't he have an appointment on Jan 2 in court ??

Right on que, human shield of epic proportions, what a coward.

At least he has stayed in Thailand ... so far .... not like the convicted criminal coward living in dubai

if he turns up at court ill take it back

Abhisit went, why wouldn't he

it will be good global political capital for him if the government has the leader of the current revolutuion charged with the murder of 90 odd reds

his defense might be its a politically motivated charge

now where have i heard that before?

His defence might be that the charges are completely groundless and it should be thrown out of court with immediate affect. Tarit should be in court for abuse of his powers and wasting the court's time when they should be dealing with real criminals such as those siphoning off money from the various government scams they set up for this purpose!!

[AllanB]

This may be the last nail in the coffin of the Thai economy. Lack of infrastructure, rising wages, low levels of skills and surrounded by emerging neighbours, with this new level of political instability why would any of the big multinationals stay?

The Baht is already dropping unabated, and it only takes a few satang to Thai whiskey up a mob of already pisstoff Thais to push it into free-fall. Loose change to a few of the Banksters who are probably orchestrating this..

Edited December 29, 2013 by AllanB

[oldsailor35]

Stupid meglomaniac Suthep. And then the Redshirts can just do the same !!

What damage won't this idiot do to his country just to satisfy his own desire for power.

[brit1984]

Some of you are mentioning the possibility of the rabble closing down Swampy. Do you think they would close down DMK too? I have a selfish reason for asking, as I am flying into CM via DMK to see my family after working elsewhere for 10 months and would hate to be delayed or stranded in the other country or at DMK.

indeed that is very selfish

you should be fighting on the streets for suthep... he will give compensation to your family if you die

i thought he already explained if you are not in the gang, you should not be in bangkok

you are just an obstacle like those savages from the rice paddies (otherwise known as the electorate) on the path to glory

just get out of the way...

[brit1984]

When are the so-called "millions of people" out there (in addition to many of you posters) going to come to the realization that Suthep is a megalomanical nutcase. Everything he's done recently can be compared to the jerks in history thoughout the world who have tried to overturn a duly elected government. As most civilized societies and countries do in this modern age, if you're not satisfied with the current government, come up with an electable slate of nominees when election time comes around. You can't just say, "I don't like this group so I'll just lead a movement to get rid of this one, and if I don't like the next one, I'll get rid of that one too".

You may be right but he is correct when he says that the whole political system in Thailand is wrong. It cannot be fixed by the people who run it now. Thailand needs to make a fresh start, new people, no vote buying, no corruption. Sack the whole police force and make every one apply for their old job back but not reemploy police who have a mansion paid for by their police salary. Thailand needs a fresh start.

there is nothing "fresh" about suthep or his plan

[kennypowers]

Why can't this fool just wait for the elections. Scared he will lose? Even if he gets his own way, he'll be ousted within 3 years by another uprising that accuses him of getting into power illegally.

[MJP]

This may be the last nail in the coffin of the Thai economy. Lack of infrastructure, rising wages, low levels of skills and surrounded by emerging neighbours, with this new level of political instability why would any of the big multinationals stay?

The Baht is already dropping unabated, and it only takes a few satang to Thai whiskey up a mob of already pisstoff Thais to push it into free-fall. Loose change to a few of the Banksters who are probably orchestrating this..

The Baht collapsing is the one action that might keep the multinational's manufacturing bases here. Other than that, I agree, the Thai's won't realise what they had until they lost it.

Edited December 29, 2013 by MJP

[oldsailor35]

The Army is likely to pragmatically hang back until one party clearly gets the upper hand. It has its own serious problems with "watermelon soldiers" and fractious splits with formally preeminent Battalions vying to jockey with recent "usurper" Battalions. The April the 10th 2010 Dinso Road grenade attack that killed Colonel Kriengsak Nanda-P is widely reported as Army on Army wrangling. Sadly, Suthep will keep going as the Army doesn't yet know the likely winners, is fearful of internal splits becoming ruptures, and knows there will be a serious backlash of yet another coup. Expect Bkk to be held hostage to such protests for the foreseeable future as the wrangling enters deadlock.

Surely the bulk of the RTA do not come from Benito Suthep country (the south) but the north. So will these soldiers just roll over and support Benito.

[SICHONSTEVE]

What 'history of corruption'?

What prison time has he served and when did he have time in court?

Can you substantiate your claims?

5 mins in google or similar will show you suthep's history of involvement / leading corruption is no less than most of those he opposes (in fact more than yingluck)

that most thai politicians / police / military / etc are never held accountable for the corruption for which they are well known is an outrage but it is not a problem that will be fixed by a guy who is part of that very problem

i consider abhisit and korn as rare exceptions to this corrupt elite and hope they will stand up soon before the "democrats" are cast into oblivion by suthep

Why don't you do the Googling and give me a list of these corrupt practices he was supposed to have participated in

[oldsailor35]

I know I am stupid, but can someone please explain to me, how spoiling the lives and businesses of the people, who voted for you (Dems has many voters in Bkk) is going to make them support your cause?

Suthep! Your "enemy" is in the north. So take your stupid fight to Khon Kaen, Surin or Buriram.

But I guess you are too much of a chickenshit to do that!!

Yes, he is too gutless to venture north of Bangkok.

[JoeLing]

More dribble

.......... He is trying to give the people power. ........

What?

With a "Peoples Council"?

By ignoring Thailand's constitution?

Abolishing elections?

I recon it's more like he's harvesting "Peoples Power" for his own personal gain.

[Yunla]

"democratically elected" and "dictator" are in seemingly most cases one and the same across the world. Name me a healthy opertating democracy that serves the peoples best interest at heart across the globe today? Anybody that attempts to distinguish between the two with any sincerity is avin a larf and plugged in to a false reality.

Democracies as sliding-scale system globally, none of them are in what I would consider the 75%+ true Democracy part of the scale. Dictatorships are different and not on the scale at all. Even Autocratic regimes operating within a Democratic framework are accountable on some level. Pure Dictatorships are accountable to nothing. Thailand is a hybrid functioning CM~PD but really on the sliding scale of political engines ranging from rusty old Skoda to a well-oiled modern Porsche. it fails hard under the current parliamentary mechanisms.

The problem as said before is that the Thais need qualified mechanics to fix the political machine, but instead they just keep driving it into the river and chucking rocks at it while it sinks.

Edited December 29, 2013 by Yunla

[Gil]

My hunch:

Someone with an "S" will be shot dead within 2 weeks. TIT

Edited December 29, 2013 by Gil

[SICHONSTEVE]

Why can't this fool just wait for the elections. Scared he will lose? Even if he gets his own way, he'll be ousted within 3 years by another uprising that accuses him of getting into power illegally.

Why can't you bigoted numbskulls get it into your head that he is not seeking power.

He simply wants to set up an unbiased council of academics, professionals and people from all walks of life to amend the outdated and unfair practices that bedevil Thai politics and then he is going to walk away from it all!!

You should cut the cra* about him being power hungry when he is ALL FOR elections AFTER the reforms have been agreed and implemented. He even stated that if any PTP related party (without the Shinawatra element) gets into power in a fair election then he would respect their legitimacy to rule.

Have you got it yet!!.

[englishoak]

What 'history of corruption'?

What prison time has he served and when did he have time in court?

Can you substantiate your claims?

5 mins in google or similar will show you suthep's history of involvement / leading corruption is no less than most of those he opposes (in fact more than yingluck)

that most thai politicians / police / military / etc are never held accountable for the corruption for which they are well known is an outrage but it is not a problem that will be fixed by a guy who is part of that very problem

i consider abhisit and korn as rare exceptions to this corrupt elite and hope they will stand up soon before the "democrats" are cast into oblivion by suthep

Why don't you do the Googling and give me a list of these corrupt practices he was supposed to have participated in

why would you expect others to do for you what your so clearly interested in ? if you were of a mind to which clearly your not youd have already bothered, which you probably have and just want an argument for the sake of it.... what the heck for ? no one is calling Suthep a saint and his past dealings are well documented and no its not made up ... go do your own graft and research if your so interested in knowing the details.

[Smokemachine]

Both sides have legitimate gripes. Neither side is talking to the other.

This is not 2010. This is much more serious. If the people in Bangkok take control of the whole nation, it is really going to hit the fan. If the Shins refuse to share power, it is really going to hit the fan.

It is going to hit the fan. Stay out of the way.

Thai people deserve better than this. Seeing this is one of the saddest things I have ever seen in my entire life.

thai people deserve exactly this

they have voted for who paid the most, promised the most and blindly voted for whatever colour they are told to vote for by the village headman

what they need is educating about issues but most don't care

65% said in a poll that corruption is ok for them

it seems a big issue to us westerners but in the most part Thais don't really give a shit and think not much further than tomorrow

this politics gig is all too much like hard work ...

You do realise at the micro level they are far more bothered about what affects them such as local funding schemes and things that make a difference to their lives than what some hi sos want in the capital right ?

Until they see thier lives improved they will support whoever delivers and like it or not for the rural poor it isnt and has not been nor will be the the yellows..

hearts and minds ... nothing the yellows are saying or proposing will make a bit of difference in the sticks and until that changes neither will their vote, and that is well understood in BKK .... the talk is there but talk is cheap they have had the proof with the healthcare and lately the rice subsidy... (bad that it may be ) they see what improves their lot and its not yellow...

Its not hard all the opposition had to do was to focus on the needs of the many instead of the few ... sadly they blew it

The rice subsidy scam again?

I thought all the pro-red have got the message NEVER bring up the rice subsidy scam again.

Even the YL ministers have shut up in this issue.

I think you miss the live conference meeting, Jatuporn and his guy vs reporters and some other agencies. You may find the video in youtube. They are asking for the actual profit and loss, discrepancies , stock take. They (Jatuporn) can't even give the answer.

They did gave a merry-go-round figure but the participants give them an intensive drilling about the given figure. The video show they themselves got into merry-go-round mode instead. Giving lame explanations again and again, no proper convincing statement. And their body language show reveal alot without themselves knowingly. Nevertheless body language doesn't fully count as any proof for wrongdoings. We are not expert in this profession. We shall give them the benefit of doubt. To be fair, they need to give a fully account of this rice subsidy SCAM to the taxpayers who are very concern with the possibility of huge corruption involved.

But we know well this has been shoved under the carpet.

Ptp Internal announcement:

shsssh........

"NOBODY IS TO BRING UP THIS ISSUE AGAIN!"

[personchester]

He going to try to hold Bangkok hostage and the police, courts and military do not have the balls to do anything about it.

The military, even without the support of the police have the power to stop this to happen in Bangkok which after all is Thailand's capital, and such events should not occur, and therefore should have to be avoided.

The Military have taken political control many times in the past in order to prevent such problems in Bangkok, and they might do this again this time.

The police will support the military in those matters, and the court officials (Judges) keep an eye on the street damage creators and will then prosecute them as in the past..

The election tales place in February 2014, and it is up to the Thai people to decide which party will be elected in order to run the country politically in a democratic manner.

[englishoak]

Why can't this fool just wait for the elections. Scared he will lose? Even if he gets his own way, he'll be ousted within 3 years by another uprising that accuses him of getting into power illegally.

Why can't you bigoted numbskulls get it into your head that he is not seeking power.

He simply wants to set up an unbiased council of academics, professionals and people from all walks of life to amend the outdated and unfair practices that bedevil Thai politics and then he is going to walk away from it all!!

You should cut the cra* about him being power hungry when he is ALL FOR elections AFTER the reforms have been agreed and implemented. He even stated that if any PTP related party (without the Shinawatra element) gets into power in a fair election then he would respect their legitimacy to rule.

Have you got it yet!!.

No need to get abusive if you wish to believe in the tooth fairy thats up to you most of us grew out of it.

[JXCutter]

As long as Soi Cowboy is open, beer can be delivered and the Skytrain runs so girls can get to work does anyone really care?

[Hellhound66]

When are the so-called "millions of people" out there (in addition to many of you posters) going to come to the realization that Suthep is a megalomanical nutcase. Everything he's done recently can be compared to the jerks in history thoughout the world who have tried to overturn a duly elected government. As most civilized societies and countries do in this modern age, if you're not satisfied with the current government, come up with an electable slate of nominees when election time comes around. You can't just say, "I don't like this group so I'll just lead a movement to get rid of this one, and if I don't like the next one, I'll get rid of that one too".

You may be right but he is correct when he says that the whole political system in Thailand is wrong. It cannot be fixed by the people who run it now. Thailand needs to make a fresh start, new people, no vote buying, no corruption. Sack the whole police force and make every one apply for their old job back but not reemploy police who have a mansion paid for by their police salary. Thailand needs a fresh start.

there is nothing "fresh" about suthep or his plan

There is no "fresh start". Thais by nature are greedy, power hungry, corrupt and self serving. Even giving alms is covetous in the land of the 'actually I couldn't give a $hit about anyone else". Just sit back - enjoy the weaker Baht, the fewer <deleted> Russian, Indian and Chinese tourist arrivals and cheaper prices that will come about shortly.

[rreddin]

Go on, I dares ye. Shut down the airports and the ports and the industrial estates. No? Suthep, you're just chicken.

The Goal is not the airport, ports and industrial estates! It is the government offices and private house of the PM and other Ministers!

Do you not think that there is a plan in place to keep the essential parts of the government working?

[BSJ]

"PDRC to shut down Bangkok by end of next week"

Cum on people, lets be real. To shut down Bangkok in the true meaning of the statement would involve two armies (50k soldiers) that the Yellows haven't got, it would require invoking martial law and taking custody of all the unfriendly politician's.

What's more likely is there will be scattered disruption to the lives of Bangkokian's with some specific protests and demonstrations at key locations.

And the outcome will be massive disruption to the tourist high season and financial chaos....already started!

[bbbbooboo]

I'm thinking that if this fool carries on with his threats(or promises depending on how you look at it) then the army will simply step in and deal with him.

[SICHONSTEVE]

What 'history of corruption'?

What prison time has he served and when did he have time in court?

Can you substantiate your claims?

5 mins in google or similar will show you suthep's history of involvement / leading corruption is no less than most of those he opposes (in fact more than yingluck)

that most thai politicians / police / military / etc are never held accountable for the corruption for which they are well known is an outrage but it is not a problem that will be fixed by a guy who is part of that very problem

i consider abhisit and korn as rare exceptions to this corrupt elite and hope they will stand up soon before the "democrats" are cast into oblivion by suthep

Why don't you do the Googling and give me a list of these corrupt practices he was supposed to have participated in

why would you expect others to do for you what your so clearly interested in ? if you were of a mind to which clearly your not youd have already bothered, which you probably have and just want an argument for the sake of it.... what the heck for ? no one is calling Suthep a saint and his past dealings are well documented and no its not made up ... go do your own graft and research if your so interested in knowing the details.

I didn't bring it up - I just don't think people should go around making claims if they cannot be substantiated.

[gbswales]

Where is the prime minister? What does she have to say in response to this latest plan by the protesters? Why isn't she in Bangkok overseeing the crisis?

You think she could be safe in Bangkok with this lunatic running the show?

Bullying is the only thing he has left because if a straight contest between him and Thaksin were possible, and even fairly run, I believe that T would still get the majority.

The only way to deliver a fair election in Thailand is to allow a neutral third country to monitor the whole process and Thailand could never accept the "loss of face" that involving another country would bring.

If they SERIOUSLY are seeking electoral reform before an election then why can't they be explicit about the terms of the reform they are seeking and put this to the present, legally elected, government as a solution. It is not enough to say you want reform you have to say what reforms you mean.

As for ridding the country of this family then that is quite unfair - because not every distant relative of Thaksin is part of the problem and many may not even support him - why should their right to enter politics be unjustly denied.

I am not for one side or the other but without all the cards on the table nothing can ever be resolved amicably

[tirak66]

...Either way, I wish PDRC luck trying to deprogram and re-educate the Isaanites.

..

it sounds like a Pol Pot program...