Suthep to abandon main protest site at Bangkok's Democracy Monument

[pantareiyingluck]

You accuse Yingluck being a puppet? Like Bush jr. has been for his dad. Or Medvedev for Putin. Or Blair for Bush? Here is Suthep demoslishing the few things which makes Thailand different from a 3rd world regime country. A democracy! Where the majority has chosen and its PM is not doing bad at all. Or does the governmental mistake of the rice pledge scheme hit YOU in your wallet? Governments do make mistakes but Yinglucks' should stay. It is the voice of Thai majority and Suthep is a messenger only with megalomanic symptoms. Follow Suthep and Thailamd will be a real regime and Banana Republic where the elite rules. Abhisit was a loser since 2010 already so he plays 2nd role now.

[sirineou]

It is really stupid, isn´t?

Why they not organize a statewide signatures action?

A simple petition.

Statewide!

Like

I agree that in future no criminals and/or corrupt people can work in government, parliament or as a civil servant.

Yes / No

It will be excluded, from now on, all persons from the Parliament, which

a have criminal records.

b running free on bail.

c were already banned from parliament in the past.

d against are corruption or crime cases opened.

I agree Yes / No

I guess in 1 Week they can get a lot of signatures from all parts in Thailand.

Yes that is called an election and it is scheduled for Feb2

Then we will see who will collect the most signatures

But he obviously knows that if the people were allowed to choose he will loose, so he is going for the who can shout the loudest route.

If paying 40% above the market rate for rice and buying votes make the current governnment legitimate then yes.

If passing a Bill at 4am, using unattended votes, in order to hand back billions to a convicted fraudster who is running the country rather than in jail, then yes.

But luckily many thai's are not that stupid.

It makes it just as legitimate as any other Thai goverment

[sirineou]

It is really stupid, isn´t?

Why they not organize a statewide signatures action?

A simple petition.

Statewide!

Like

I agree that in future no criminals and/or corrupt people can work in government, parliament or as a civil servant.

Yes / No

It will be excluded, from now on, all persons from the Parliament, which

a have criminal records.

b running free on bail.

c were already banned from parliament in the past.

d against are corruption or crime cases opened.

I agree Yes / No

I guess in 1 Week they can get a lot of signatures from all parts in Thailand.

Yes that is called an election and it is scheduled for Feb2

Then we will see who will collect the most signatures

But he obviously knows that if the people were allowed to choose he will loose, so he is going for the who can shout the loudest route.

Because he knows that if he doesn't block the elections, the new government will be solely composed out of people that belong to one or more of the 4 points Tomacht8 made clear should NOT be in any government.

Similar to the current government .

He is welcome to make this point during the election , convince the people of the merits in his argument and let the people decide,

But he either has no confidence in the straight of his argument , or his ability as a politician. or both.

Edited January 4, 2014 by sirineou

[Mosha]

Suthep to abandon Democracy Monument

Suthep may be a silly old bugger - but the one thing he is doing is rescuing democracy from these Shinawatra Mafia bozos

You have really nailed it. Have you actually taken in anything that has been going on?

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/4293-thaksin-democracy-is-not-my-goal/page-4

[rickirs]

What a fiasco! I don't know what the rest of the world must must think. There's one half of the population who repeatedly vote in an obviously corrupt and incompetent group of self-serving crooks, and another half who want to drag the country back to feudalism and are prepared to wreck the place to do it.

It would be funny if it weren't so pathetic.

It's more like 80% of the population who voted for Pheu Thai Party and 20% for the Democrat Party. To suggest that the population is almost split evenly between the two parties belies the seriousness of the attempted overthrow by a minority of a government representing a majority of Thai citizens.

[SinCityGr8One]

More ordinary men?

An ordinary man ?

Yes, very ordinary.

[retsdon]

The real elephant in the room is that the Democrats and their shadowy support are not in the least interested in democracy as a form of government. Elections are an inconvenient nuisance, and when they can't be won legitimately at the ballot box, some stratagem or other is manufactured to seize power some other way.

I don't really understand why they have gone down this road. PTP are certainly not unbeatable. The rice subsidy scheme is a bust. The rubber subsidy scheme is a bust. The car subsidy scheme is a bust. Millions upon millions of Thais now find themselves saddled with consumer debt that will keep the wolf at their door for years and years. Add Chinese economic rebalancing, US tapering, creeping world interest rate rises, and the smoke and mirrors stuff is coming home to roost big time.

So fine, demonstrate on the streets against the government, but why boycott the election? Why tear up the constitution? As a political party the Democrats should be champing at the bit to debunk Yingluk's dog and pony show and give PTP a hammering at the polls. Where is the slick TV advertising showing money pouring down a drain? Where are the billboards on every road showing a poor man carrying a mountain of debt on his back? Where are the newspaper exposes of the gross corruption and incompetence? Any normal political campaign manager would give his eye-teeth to have the political ammunition that Yingluk has handed to the DP.

But the DP are not interested in even trying. Abhisit and co prefer to throw their weight behind overthrowing the constituton of rhe country. Not once, but twice now, have they preferred the mob and junta option to the ballot box. Once might have been a mistake, twice is surely policy. So if you are a normal person, who would like to have some say in the running of the country and the only people not likely to tear up your voter registration card at the first opportunity are PTP - then that's who you're forced to vote for.

PTP haven't bought the popular vote. The Democrats have given it to them, and now their only option is to take it back by force and throw it in the bin. Terrible, terrible, lazy stupid people.

I agree with the most of your post. However, you keep forgetting that Thailand is not a typical western country where people are informed. Do you honestly believe that all those brainwashed poor souls in red mob villages have got any clue about what is going on in Thailand? Do you honestly believe that they have any information about the rice subsidy scheme scam, a rubber subsidy scheme scam, a tablet for every school child scheme scam etc...etc...There are hundreds radio stations in North/Northeast which operate outside the law and brainwash populace 24/7. Moreover, how are you going to conduct your political campaign anywhere in the red mob controlled areas if you are going to be subjected to physical intimidation and almost certainly stopped from promoting any political view which is contrary to their official party line. PTP line. You seem to not understand the complexity of Thailand and its political scene.

So what you're saying is that universal suffrage is inappropriate for Thailand. Sorry, that's defeatist. One, both sides have their propaganda outlets. Two, have you ever talked to those 'brainwashed poor souls in red mob villages'? I have because they're my inlaws, and to be honest they're just as canny as most every other Thai I've met. Three, it was the DP who started the political intimidation game when they engineered the first coup that overthrew the democratically elected government. So for sure there's hostility to them. But the same could be said for PTP in somewhere like Trang or Nakhon Si. What's required to overcome it is a dual-party commitment to the rule of law.

None of this is impossible or even new. All democracies have gone through growing pains. But what has to come before the child can grow into an adult is an unswerving commitment on the part of all those involved in politics to the democratic process itself. The ironically named Democrats unfortunately don't have that commitment. And therein lies the biggest problem facing Thailand.

[PeterSmiles]

It is really stupid, isn´t?

Why they not organize a statewide signatures action?

A simple petition.

Statewide!

Like

I agree that in future no criminals and/or corrupt people can work in government, parliament or as a civil servant.

Yes / No

It will be excluded, from now on, all persons from the Parliament, which

a have criminal records.

b running free on bail.

c were already banned from parliament in the past.

d against are corruption or crime cases opened.

I agree Yes / No

I guess in 1 Week they can get a lot of signatures from all parts in Thailand.

Yes that is called an election and it is scheduled for Feb2

Then we will see who will collect the most signatures

But he obviously knows that if the people were allowed to choose he will loose, so he is going for the who can shout the loudest route.

Because he knows that if he doesn't block the elections, the new government will be solely composed out of people that belong to one or more of the 4 points Tomacht8 made clear should NOT be in any government.

Similar to the current government .

He is welcome to make this point during the election , convince the people of the merits in his argument and let the people decide,

But he either has no confidence in the straight of his argument , or his ability as a politician. or both.

You must have realised that those 4 points are law in every western democratic country . Just another proof that Thai elections have nothing to do with democracy.

[DGIE]

But he said some good senior officers who disagreed have told him about the plot.

He wants to make people believe that some good senior officers are secretly supporting him .

[GeorgeO]

It's interesting how the tenor of these threads has changed! A couple of months ago most TV forum members were in favour of Mr.Suthep and all his works. Glad to see that most of you now see him for what he is.

I love the use of the word "most" by the Red Shirt apologists, when in fact there seem to be growing numbers of people who are very keen to see the elections cancelled, and reforms taking place as a prerequisite to any proposed voting.

And if you want to know the strength of feeling amongst the Thai population, ask Jatuporn why they have decided not to stage a Red Shirt rally in Bangkok a week on Monday...!!

It's because the unpaid rice farmers are showing him the middle finger. They have seen the light, and Thaksin has now lost his stronghold support...!!

[GeorgeO]

The real elephant in the room is that the Democrats and their shadowy support are not in the least interested in democracy as a form of government. Elections are an inconvenient nuisance, and when they can't be won legitimately at the ballot box, some stratagem or other is manufactured to seize power some other way.

I don't really understand why they have gone down this road. PTP are certainly not unbeatable. The rice subsidy scheme is a bust. The rubber subsidy scheme is a bust. The car subsidy scheme is a bust. Millions upon millions of Thais now find themselves saddled with consumer debt that will keep the wolf at their door for years and years. Add Chinese economic rebalancing, US tapering, creeping world interest rate rises, and the smoke and mirrors stuff is coming home to roost big time.

So fine, demonstrate on the streets against the government, but why boycott the election? Why tear up the constitution? As a political party the Democrats should be champing at the bit to debunk Yingluk's dog and pony show and give PTP a hammering at the polls. Where is the slick TV advertising showing money pouring down a drain? Where are the billboards on every road showing a poor man carrying a mountain of debt on his back? Where are the newspaper exposes of the gross corruption and incompetence? Any normal political campaign manager would give his eye-teeth to have the political ammunition that Yingluk has handed to the DP.

But the DP are not interested in even trying. Abhisit and co prefer to throw their weight behind overthrowing the constituton of rhe country. Not once, but twice now, have they preferred the mob and junta option to the ballot box. Once might have been a mistake, twice is surely policy. So if you are a normal person, who would like to have some say in the running of the country and the only people not likely to tear up your voter registration card at the first opportunity are PTP - then that's who you're forced to vote for.

PTP haven't bought the popular vote. The Democrats have given it to them, and now their only option is to take it back by force and throw it in the bin. Terrible, terrible, lazy stupid people.

I agree with the most of your post. However, you keep forgetting that Thailand is not a typical western country where people are informed. Do you honestly believe that all those brainwashed poor souls in red mob villages have got any clue about what is going on in Thailand? Do you honestly believe that they have any information about the rice subsidy scheme scam, a rubber subsidy scheme scam, a tablet for every school child scheme scam etc...etc...There are hundreds radio stations in North/Northeast which operate outside the law and brainwash populace 24/7. Moreover, how are you going to conduct your political campaign anywhere in the red mob controlled areas if you are going to be subjected to physical intimidation and almost certainly stopped from promoting any political view which is contrary to their official party line. PTP line. You seem to not understand the complexity of Thailand and its political scene.

So what you're saying is that universal suffrage is inappropriate for Thailand. Sorry, that's defeatist. One, both sides have their propaganda outlets. Two, have you ever talked to those 'brainwashed poor souls in red mob villages'? I have because they're my inlaws, and to be honest they're just as canny as most every other Thai I've met. Three, it was the DP who started the political intimidation game when they engineered the first coup that overthrew the democratically elected government. So for sure there's hostility to them. But the same could be said for PTP in somewhere like Trang or Nakhon Si. What's required to overcome it is a dual-party commitment to the rule of law.

None of this is impossible or even new. All democracies have gone through growing pains. But what has to come before the child can grow into an adult is an unswerving commitment on the part of all those involved in politics to the democratic process itself. The ironically named Democrats unfortunately don't have that commitment. And therein lies the biggest problem facing Thailand.

I disagree. The biggest problem in Thailand is currently the Shin clan and its subservient PTP, which is why we have the current unrest.

If they (Thaksin, et al) truly believe in democracy, then they should have no problem in agreeing to reforms prior to elections ... but of course, Thaksin is on record as having said that he does not believe in democracy...!!

[retsdon]

And if you want to know the strength of feeling amongst the Thai population, ask Jatuporn why they have decided not to stage a Red Shirt rally in Bangkok a week on Monday...!!

It's because the unpaid rice farmers are showing him the middle finger. They have seen the light, and Thaksin has now lost his stronghold support...!!

So why not stand in the election then?

[icare999]

It is really stupid, isn´t?

Why they not organize a statewide signatures action?

A simple petition.

Statewide!

Like

I agree that in future no criminals and/or corrupt people can work in government, parliament or as a civil servant.

Yes / No

It will be excluded, from now on, all persons from the Parliament, which

a have criminal records.

b running free on bail.

c were already banned from parliament in the past.

d against are corruption or crime cases opened.

I agree Yes / No

I guess in 1 Week they can get a lot of signatures from all parts in Thailand.

Yes that is called an election and it is scheduled for Feb2

Then we will see who will collect the most signatures

But he obviously knows that if the people were allowed to choose he will loose, so he is going for the who can shout the loudest route.

Because he knows that if he doesn't block the elections, the new government will be solely composed out of people that belong to one or more of the 4 points Tomacht8 made clear should NOT be in any government.

Similar to the current government .

He is welcome to make this point during the election , convince the people of the merits in his argument and let the people decide,

But he either has no confidence in the straight of his argument , or his ability as a politician. or both.

please come up here to red country and try to say anything against Taksin this government or even simply put up a poster IF your Thai its likely you'll escape at best with simply a beating and probably be killed I dare you to try so please stop talking BS and crap and live in real world. You simply have no idea do you

[GeorgeO]

What a fiasco! I don't know what the rest of the world must must think. There's one half of the population who repeatedly vote in an obviously corrupt and incompetent group of self-serving crooks, and another half who want to drag the country back to feudalism and are prepared to wreck the place to do it.

It would be funny if it weren't so pathetic.

It's more like 80% of the population who voted for Pheu Thai Party and 20% for the Democrat Party. To suggest that the population is almost split evenly between the two parties belies the seriousness of the attempted overthrow by a minority of a government representing a majority of Thai citizens.

I would strongly suggest that you refrain from commenting when you clearly have no idea what you are talking about. Go and do some homework and then come back tomorrow and try to tell us once again that the PTP gained 80% of the vote...!!

They did not even get a majority...!!

It is now the "silent majority" who are rising to take the country back from these despicable criminals...!!

[retsdon]

have the current unrest.

If they (Thaksin, et al) truly believe in democracy, then they should have no problem in agreeing to reforms prior to elections ... but of course, Thaksin is on record as having said that he does not believe in democracy...!!

What reforms? How can you agree to something that's yet to be proposed?

[GeorgeO]

And if you want to know the strength of feeling amongst the Thai population, ask Jatuporn why they have decided not to stage a Red Shirt rally in Bangkok a week on Monday...!!

It's because the unpaid rice farmers are showing him the middle finger. They have seen the light, and Thaksin has now lost his stronghold support...!!

So why not stand in the election then?

Certainly, as soon as it is clear that the reforms have been carried out so that any elections are free and fair...!!

[GeorgeO]

have the current unrest.

If they (Thaksin, et al) truly believe in democracy, then they should have no problem in agreeing to reforms prior to elections ... but of course, Thaksin is on record as having said that he does not believe in democracy...!!

What reforms? How can you agree to something that's yet to be proposed?

A discussion on reforms would require YL to actually be available at some time...!!

[Mackie]

And if you want to know the strength of feeling amongst the Thai population, ask Jatuporn why they have decided not to stage a Red Shirt rally in Bangkok a week on Monday...!!

It's because the unpaid rice farmers are showing him the middle finger. They have seen the light, and Thaksin has now lost his stronghold support...!!

So why not stand in the election then?

Why would they give any legitimacy to the most corrupted and incompetent lot which 'graced' Thai politics in this century? As we discussed earlier, it's not possible to have a fair political campaign in Thailand. Red shirts controlled areas are no go areas for their political opponents. PTP and their satellites are free to do their political campaigning wherever they want in Thailand. They are not physically intimidated by political opponents.

Forcing elections on 3rd of February 2014 is just another cynical move by this government. It falls within Chinese New Year celebrations when most of Thais of Chinese origin happen to travel around the country with their families. It just happens that quite a lot of them live in Bangkok and do not support PTP. I would not say a word if they offered a compromise and scheduled the election for some time in May 2014.

[oldthaihand99]

What a fiasco! I don't know what the rest of the world must must think. There's one half of the population who repeatedly vote in an obviously corrupt and incompetent group of self-serving crooks, and another half who want to drag the country back to feudalism and are prepared to wreck the place to do it.

It would be funny if it weren't so pathetic.

It's more like 80% of the population who voted for Pheu Thai Party and 20% for the Democrat Party. To suggest that the population is almost split evenly between the two parties belies the seriousness of the attempted overthrow by a minority of a government representing a majority of Thai citizens.

I would strongly suggest that you refrain from commenting when you clearly have no idea what you are talking about. Go and do some homework and then come back tomorrow and try to tell us once again that the PTP gained 80% of the vote...!!

They did not even get a majority...!!

It is now the "silent majority" who are rising to take the country back from these despicable criminals...!!

If they were the majority they wouldn't oppose an election.

[sirineou]

You must have realised that those 4 points are law in every western democratic country . Just another proof that Thai elections have nothing to do with democracy.

I agree these and other points need to be addressed in order to straighten democracy in Thailand, but I would not agree that the political system in Thailand has nothing to do with democracy, Thai democracy faces several challenges and need to be straightened

But you don't strengthen it by destroying it. These concerns and others can be addressed with in the democratic framework

He can present these argument to the people during the election, and through the strength of his argument, and his political skill convince the people that he should be elected, and when he is elected he will institute all the reforms he deems necessary.

It has being pointed out that he could not possible win in the north where the red shirts hold a majority.

Well no one is stopping them from engaging in the same political techniques that the opposition has, regardless how unsavory we might view them,

They for decades have ignored the north , letting it to rot, and now that their are "persona non grata' there they are crying sour grapes,

In my opinion they are Reaping what they have sown

[englishoak]

And if you want to know the strength of feeling amongst the Thai population, ask Jatuporn why they have decided not to stage a Red Shirt rally in Bangkok a week on Monday...!!

It's because the unpaid rice farmers are showing him the middle finger. They have seen the light, and Thaksin has now lost his stronghold support...!!

So why not stand in the election then?

Certainly, as soon as it is clear that the reforms have been carried out so that any elections are free and fair...!!

You really are deluded son, wishing something dosnt make it real.

Some people are so easy to fool, reform my ass, there cant be reforms of any substance Thai society just isnt going to tolerate it.

If the reforms that are needed were implemented there would be a revolution.

Anyone who thinks The Shins are the root problem is a total idiot, this is normal growing pains that most countries went through centuries ago, Thailand has resisted it and at some point will have to put up with the pain of change too, this will take form in mainly taxing the middle class properly and small businesses and no less than re thinking how even the police are paid the education system is run and the role of the army in a modern functioning democracy.

Trust me the people claiming to want change will be baying for blood when they have to foot the bill for real reforms. Everyone wants something they are not willing to pay for.

[Mackie]

It's really baffling how some supposedly educated westerners cannot see further than their noses. Anyone who thinks that the Shins are not the cause and the root of Thailand's political turmoil for the past decade must be an absolute imbecile.

[sirineou]

And if you want to know the strength of feeling amongst the Thai population, ask Jatuporn why they have decided not to stage a Red Shirt rally in Bangkok a week on Monday...!!

It's because the unpaid rice farmers are showing him the middle finger. They have seen the light, and Thaksin has now lost his stronghold support...!!

So why not stand in the election then?

Certainly, as soon as it is clear that the reforms have been carried out so that any elections are free and fair...!!

You really are deluded son, wishing something dosnt make it real.

Some people are so easy to fool, reform my ass, there cant be reforms of any substance Thai society just isnt going to tolerate it.

If the reforms that are needed were implemented there would be a revolution.

Anyone who thinks The Shins are the root problem is a total idiot, this is normal growing pains that most countries went through centuries ago, Thailand has resisted it and at some point will have to put up with the pain of change too, this will take form in mainly taxing the middle class properly and small businesses and no less than re thinking how even the police are paid the education system is run and the role of the army in a modern functioning democracy.

Trust me the people claiming to want change will be baying for blood when they have to foot the bill for real reforms. Everyone wants something they are not willing to pay for.

I agree with most of what you said. and you might even be right with that which I disagree with, that's why I gave you a "like"

I love Thailand and I love the Thai people and would certainly not want to see change in Thailand be paid by a river of blood.

Political change can either be revolutionary paid with blood, or evolutionary paid by hard work and discipline,

Democracy is hard work, it does not come easy.

Thailand now stands at the cross roads of history, I hope they don't choose the lazy road paved with blood.

and go down the long winding road of democracy and hard work.

[fish fingers]

You accuse Yingluck being a puppet? Like Bush jr. has been for his dad. Or Medvedev for Putin. Or Blair for Bush?

Yup. Just pass me back the shovel when you're done.

[retsdon]

It's really baffling how some supposedly educated westerners cannot see further than their noses. Anyone who thinks that the Shins are not the cause and the root of Thailand's political turmoil for the past decade must be an absolute imbecile.

Sure, it was all sweetness and light before the Shins came along. There have been 11 military coups in Thailand since 1932 - which puts the country about 4th behind Haiti, Afghanistan and Bolivia. The last one you can blame on the Shins if you like. For the others you'll need to look elsewhere.

[fish fingers]

The biggest change for me in Bangkok over the last decade, apart from the condo building madness is this new rich greedy yuppie class which developed since around 2005 - not sure to blame that on Thaksin but they sure do love him. That also goes for some of the well off farangs who made a good living in slightly unscrupulous ways.

[Smokemachine]

It is really stupid, isn´t?

Why they not organize a statewide signatures action?

A simple petition.

Statewide!

Like

I agree that in future no criminals and/or corrupt people can work in government, parliament or as a civil servant.

Yes / No

It will be excluded, from now on, all persons from the Parliament, which

a have criminal records.

b running free on bail.

c were already banned from parliament in the past.

d against are corruption or crime cases opened.

I agree Yes / No

I guess in 1 Week they can get a lot of signatures from all parts in Thailand.

Yes that is called an election and it is scheduled for Feb2

Then we will see who will collect the most signatures

But he obviously knows that if the people were allowed to choose he will loose, so he is going for the who can shout the loudest route.

Because he knows that if he doesn't block the elections, the new government will be solely composed out of people that belong to one or more of the 4 points Tomacht8 made clear should NOT be in any government.

Similar to the current government .

He is welcome to make this point during the election , convince the people of the merits in his argument and let the people decide,

But he either has no confidence in the straight of his argument , or his ability as a politician. or both.

please come up here to red country and try to say anything against Taksin this government or even simply put up a poster IF your Thai its likely you'll escape at best with simply a beating and probably be killed I dare you to try so please stop talking BS and crap and live in real world. You simply have no idea do you

Red country? You mean this province?

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=271212819694786&set=a.109928845823185.19885.100004182103583&type=1&theater

[Boxclever]

It is really stupid, isn´t?

Why they not organize a statewide signatures action?

A simple petition.

Statewide!

Like

I agree that in future no criminals and/or corrupt people can work in government, parliament or as a civil servant.

Yes / No

It will be excluded, from now on, all persons from the Parliament, which

a have criminal records.

b running free on bail.

c were already banned from parliament in the past.

d against are corruption or crime cases opened.

I agree Yes / No

I guess in 1 Week they can get a lot of signatures from all parts in Thailand.

The problem with your masterplan is, that would leave Thailand with absolute NO politicians at any level!

Which actually could be a blessing in disguise!!

That is for me zero problem!

If all rotten eggs are out!

Thailand have a lot of honest people.

Let them rule and not the criminals.

That is so funny!

Thailand ruled by honest people.

When is the next blue moon?

[englishoak]

So why not stand in the election then?

Certainly, as soon as it is clear that the reforms have been carried out so that any elections are free and fair...!!

You really are deluded son, wishing something dosnt make it real.

Some people are so easy to fool, reform my ass, there cant be reforms of any substance Thai society just isnt going to tolerate it.

If the reforms that are needed were implemented there would be a revolution.

Anyone who thinks The Shins are the root problem is a total idiot, this is normal growing pains that most countries went through centuries ago, Thailand has resisted it and at some point will have to put up with the pain of change too, this will take form in mainly taxing the middle class properly and small businesses and no less than re thinking how even the police are paid the education system is run and the role of the army in a modern functioning democracy.

Trust me the people claiming to want change will be baying for blood when they have to foot the bill for real reforms. Everyone wants something they are not willing to pay for.

I agree with most of what you said. and you might even be right with that which I disagree with, that's why I gave you a "like"

I love Thailand and I love the Thai people and would certainly not want to see change in Thailand be paid by a river of blood.

Political change can either be revolutionary paid with blood, or evolutionary paid by hard work and discipline,

Democracy is hard work, it does not come easy.

Thailand now stands at the cross roads of history, I hope they don't choose the lazy road paved with blood.

and go down the long winding road of democracy and hard work.

Unfortunately there is nothing to suggest Thailand with its lack of patience and history of coups and upheavals every few years will take anything but the short cut every time.

Change has been looming for a decade or so already, the signs are all there, moving forward the paradigm in the structure of power will inevitably change. All indications are when it does shift it will not last or be embraced as before. Factions are positioning and have been for some time.

I too hope for a peaceful long term easing into change, Honestly though the current focus on both sides being at each others throats hides a very real fear and change is a scary prospect. It is impossible in an increasingly educated and globally connected world for out of date and backward thinking systems who ignore the masses to survive as before. It certainly will not last long if they try to turn back time.Some will always wish things to be as they used to.... this is impossible of course as history shows 100% that things do not ever stay the same or move backwards for long.

Thailand has this belief everything here is different so the social rules and what people traditionally want here or will accept can be applied or forced on them forever , I dont think so somehow.

Thais are not good at compromise at all and some huge sacrifices will have to be made by many, I cannot unfortunately see people here coming to their senses without a lesson learnt the hard way, they have zero recent real bloody history to compare things with as many other countries have. Instead of learning from others mistakes and counting its fortune, I fear Thailand will continue down the same well trodden fools path made by others many years since.

This current political situation is just a side show for the future main event, how it goes can be seen as an indication of what will likely happen again in the not too distant future, just on a larger scale.

Edited January 4, 2014 by englishoak

[Mosha]

What a fiasco! I don't know what the rest of the world must must think. There's one half of the population who repeatedly vote in an obviously corrupt and incompetent group of self-serving crooks, and another half who want to drag the country back to feudalism and are prepared to wreck the place to do it.

It would be funny if it weren't so pathetic.

It's more like 80% of the population who voted for Pheu Thai Party and 20% for the Democrat Party. To suggest that the population is almost split evenly between the two parties belies the seriousness of the attempted overthrow by a minority of a government representing a majority of Thai citizens.

PTP got 48% of the vote.