Minister Charupong fears Bangkok Shutdown may lead to a coup

[Docno]

How strange that it only seems to be the caretaker government, the PTP and the Red Shirts talking about a coup?

Nobody else wants it, least of all the Army yet this unfounded rumour keeps surfacing.

Of course if the government had any proof then something should be done but I suspect if they did have proof not that many people would believe them anyway given their track record so far.

Just as an aside were any children hurt in Bangkok on Childrens Day and the Army Day?

The government was so sure that they would be that they wouldn't allow children into government house.

Really??? Here are some recent quotes from Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha:

"If every group does not stop trying to destroy their opposition, the army's soldiers will be ready to sacrifice their lives to protect the country."

"Soldiers will not allow themselves to be seen as taking sides with any group, because they must be the keepers of the rules and order of the society. They must finally stop the disunity to secure and bring the nation out of the crisis"

"It′s not only about [coup]. Everything happens because there is a cause. If there is no cause for something to happen, it won′t happen".

And my personal favourite:

"If a cow has a wound on its back, the crow will peck it. If there is no wound, there won′t be any pecking"

So you still think the PTP (and Thailand) has nothing to be concerned about??

I think that the PTP though NOT its rank and file supporters have everything to worry about.

A thought for you.

If the PTP is banned why don't all their supporters get behind Thida and the UDD and form their own political party.

They would certainly be far more welcome than Thaksin and the PTP and perhaps then they could prove to the country that they don't need to buy votes and that is not all about Thaksin.

Not an impossible or undesirable scenario. But there are two relevant points here concerning red shirts (based on my experiences talking to them in Isaan):

1. A lot of them still resent the fact that Thaksin, their elected man in Bangkok, was essentially ousted by the military (and their elite backers, it's presumed). They seem to understand that Thaksin was corrupt, but they feel that all/most Thai politicians are corrupt, but a least Thaksin also did something for the poor, the farmers, etc. [i'm only reflecting their thinking here]. So they see the choice as being between a corrupt person that takes care of the elites and a corrupt person who takes care of the common folk. Since Thaksin was the first PM to expressly put the needs of the less advantaged up front, he won a great deal of loyalty from them.... it may be hard to shake this.

2. The 'buying the votes' argument is largely discredited. It doesn't explain how the PTP comes out in the lead on opinion polls (where no-one is paid to respond), and Democrat politicians have admitted that their party has also played the same game. (My gf's parents received payment from both sides, I've been told). As I've argued previously, 500 baht may motivate people to go to the polls, but it won't get them to vote against what they see as being in their interest.

[oldsailor35]

All it needs to break those silly looking road blocks is for a few RTA Tanks or RPC's to do a few laps of Bangkok, stopping at nothing !

[Thait Spot]

How strange that it only seems to be the caretaker government, the PTP and the Red Shirts talking about a coup?

Nobody else wants it, least of all the Army yet this unfounded rumour keeps surfacing.

Of course if the government had any proof then something should be done but I suspect if they did have proof not that many people would believe them anyway given their track record so far.

Just as an aside were any children hurt in Bangkok on Childrens Day and the Army Day?

The government was so sure that they would be that they wouldn't allow children into government house.

Really??? Here are some recent quotes from Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha:

"If every group does not stop trying to destroy their opposition, the army's soldiers will be ready to sacrifice their lives to protect the country."

"Soldiers will not allow themselves to be seen as taking sides with any group, because they must be the keepers of the rules and order of the society. They must finally stop the disunity to secure and bring the nation out of the crisis"

"It′s not only about [coup]. Everything happens because there is a cause. If there is no cause for something to happen, it won′t happen".

And my personal favourite:

"If a cow has a wound on its back, the crow will peck it. If there is no wound, there won′t be any pecking"

So you still think the PTP (and Thailand) has nothing to be concerned about??

I think that the PTP though NOT its rank and file supporters have everything to worry about.

A thought for you.

If the PTP is banned why don't all their supporters get behind Thida and the UDD and form their own political party.

They would certainly be far more welcome than Thaksin and the PTP and perhaps then they could prove to the country that they don't need to buy votes and that is not all about Thaksin.

The red shirts would love to form their own party but they have 2 major issues.

Firstly, despite having some leaders from the south, they would have huge difficulty getting the necessary support.

Secondly, without Thaksin's funding they would not be able to break away let alone fund a campaign. I'm afraid they have become used to the hand that feeds and forgotten how to be grass roots

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