Thai Army chief orders tightened security, shed uniforms

[webfact]

Thai Army chief orders tightened security, shed uniforms
By Digital Content



BANGKOK, Jan 13 - Thai army chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha instructed army personnel to tighten security to prevent any untoward incident as the anti-government protesters came out on streets to shut down the city today.

Lt Gen Weerun Chanthasartkosol, commander of the Army Air Defence Command, said the army chief expressed concern over the ongoing anti-government demonstrations by the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC).

He instructed army personnel assigned to join police operations to adhere to peaceful means and strictly follow regulations.

Gen Weerun asserted that the army's presence is not meant to pressure the police, but the army personnel are only police aides under the orders of the Centre for the Administration of Peace and Order (CAPO).

Gen Weerun added that nine companies of soldiers have been deployed to protect key government office buildings including Government House, Government Complex in Chaengwattana district, and Pathumwan intersection.

He said all deployed soldiers have only batons and shields to protect themselves. If any incident occurs in areas where police are not deployed, he said, the soldiers will intervene to handle the situation first.

Meanwhile, Thai News Agency reported that security measures have been tightened at army headquarters in Rachdamnoen Nok Avenue. Soldiers and staff were instructed to wear plainclothes from tomorrow so that they will not be targets of attacks by ill-intended persons. (MCOT online news)


-- TNA 2014-01-13

[EricBerg]

In "the other" newspaper I read this:

"Col Winthai said army units have also been deployed to take care of the people and alert them to possible danger, and to prevent the authorities from doing any harm to them."

Perhaps one of the Nation's reporters can pick up the phone and ask the colonel what dangers he considers from which authorities.

[stubuzz]

He said all deployed soldiers have only batons and shields to protect themselves.

Soldiers and staff were instructed to wear plainclothes from tomorrow so that they will not be targets of attacks by ill-intended persons

Wont the batons and shields give them away?

[Tatsujin]

In "the other" newspaper I read this:

"Col Winthai said army units have also been deployed to take care of the people and alert them to possible danger, and to prevent the authorities from doing any harm to them."

Perhaps one of the Nation's reporters can pick up the phone and ask the colonel what dangers he considers from which authorities.

It's a (not so) veiled inference that the 3rd parties are Police.

Edited January 13, 2014 by Tatsujin

[Mampara]

In "the other" newspaper I read this:

"Col Winthai said army units have also been deployed to take care of the people and alert them to possible danger, and to prevent the authorities from doing any harm to them."

Perhaps one of the Nation's reporters can pick up the phone and ask the colonel what dangers he considers from which authorities.

Why don't u phone, because u sound like one of them.

[JoeThePoster]

Missed the birdie putt...dam_n!

Edited January 13, 2014 by JoeThePoster

[Mampara]

He said all deployed soldiers have only batons and shields to protect themselves.

Soldiers and staff were instructed to wear plainclothes from tomorrow so that they will not be targets of attacks by ill-intended persons

Wont the batons and shields give them away?

Another one, that can't read or understand English. Stick to the Thai friend.

[bunny11kk]

I don't think the red zombies dare to do anything to his daughters. He is not the guy red zombies can cope with.

[zydeco]

In "the other" newspaper I read this:

"Col Winthai said army units have also been deployed to take care of the people and alert them to possible danger, and to prevent the authorities from doing any harm to them."

Perhaps one of the Nation's reporters can pick up the phone and ask the colonel what dangers he considers from which authorities.

The difference is so vast between the two stories (MCOT's "protecting government buildings" and BP's "protecting demonstrators from authorities") that one of the two must be feeding out false info. My money is on MCOT for bending things to its point of view.

[Rob8891]

He said all deployed soldiers have only batons and shields to protect themselves.

Soldiers and staff were instructed to wear plainclothes from tomorrow so that they will not be targets of attacks by ill-intended persons

Wont the batons and shields give them away?

Another one, that can't read or understand English. Stick to the Thai friend.

The use of English is obligatory (check the forum rules). On the other hand, being unnecessarily offensive is your prerogative

[JoeLing]

Army performing in plain clothes? Guerrilla warfare?

According to the Geneva Convention:

"The absence of a military uniform usually indicates that a person is a civilian,
is therefore NOT ALLOWED to perform military functions and must not be attacked"

"In an extreme case, the armed forces of a State fighting against a handful of individuals.
In such situations, the almost certain loser has no interest in wearing military uniforms or
other distinctive signs."

"Obviously, the weak army will tend to dispense with its means of identification sooner
rather than later, and individuals fighting in an asymmetrical conflict are even more likely
to conceal their membership of an illegal organization. But the powerful army, if engaged
in such an unequal struggle is also tempted to give up, at least partially, its means of
identification."

Edited January 13, 2014 by JoeLing

[poisonus]

In "the other" newspaper I read this:

"Col Winthai said army units have also been deployed to take care of the people and alert them to possible danger, and to prevent the authorities from doing any harm to them."

Perhaps one of the Nation's reporters can pick up the phone and ask the colonel what dangers he considers from which authorities.

I think he meant the government and CAPO. The harm being the assistance of Thaksin's MIB randomly shooting into men, women and children.

[Emptyset]

In "the other" newspaper I read this:

"Col Winthai said army units have also been deployed to take care of the people and alert them to possible danger, and to prevent the authorities from doing any harm to them."

Perhaps one of the Nation's reporters can pick up the phone and ask the colonel what dangers he considers from which authorities.

There seems to be some doubt over whether or not that report is true. He's now denied saying that apparently. All reports based on the same source.

แก้วมาลา Kaewmala ‏@Thai_Talk 2h

INN News also reports Army sets up unit to discipline riot police to prevent violence. Same source.

Sowhat3 ‏@sowhat3 3h

@SpringNews_TV @Thai_Talk I was wondering who started spreading this false news. Now they are just caught redhanded. It's 'SpringNews'

Sowhat3 ‏@sowhat3 2h

@Thai_Talk @SpringNews_TV Of course, the same Army spokeman (Col Winthai) corrected this news on TNN news that he didn't say so.

bangkokpundit ‏@bangkokpundit 1h

@Thai_Talk A reports; B sees that A reports so B reports; C sees A and B report so also does etc...Not sure. It was going to be a post too!

Who knows. Maybe he did say it then deny it later.

Edited January 13, 2014 by Emptyset

[waza]

He looks pissed determined to counter the third hand or those that threaten his family. Well its Yinglucks (Thaksins) move now, and it sounds like the communication lines are down.

Edited January 13, 2014 by waza

[Emptyset]

He looks pissed determined to counter the third hand or those that threaten his family. Well its Yinglucks (Thaksins) move now, and it sounds like the communication lines are down.

Rumour has it that Yingluck is actually pretty close to Prayuth and trusts him. Don't know if it's true, but makes things more complicated if so. Would also explain a few things. Then again, getting on with YL on a personal level probably won't stop Prayuth from acting against the govt if the situation seems favourable. But who knows? I don't think there will be a coup but seems no one is sure what the end game is.

Maybe Suthep doesn't actually have such a well thought out plan as he thought, if military won't intervene, the only thing he can try and do is ramp up the pressure until govt is forced to negotiate something unfavourable. They're surely not going to agree to what Suthep wants though - signing their own death warrant. So how can Suthep win without the military? It's an open question.

Edited January 13, 2014 by Emptyset

[EricBerg]

In "the other" newspaper I read this:

"Col Winthai said army units have also been deployed to take care of the people and alert them to possible danger, and to prevent the authorities from doing any harm to them."

Perhaps one of the Nation's reporters can pick up the phone and ask the colonel what dangers he considers from which authorities.

There seems to be some doubt over whether or not that report is true. He's now denied saying that apparently. All reports based on the same source.

แก้วมาลา Kaewmala ‏@Thai_Talk 2h

INN News also reports Army sets up unit to discipline riot police to prevent violence. Same source.

Sowhat3 ‏@sowhat3 3h

@SpringNews_TV @Thai_Talk I was wondering who started spreading this false news. Now they are just caught redhanded. It's 'SpringNews'

Sowhat3 ‏@sowhat3 2h

@Thai_Talk @SpringNews_TV Of course, the same Army spokeman (Col Winthai) corrected this news on TNN news that he didn't say so.

bangkokpundit ‏@bangkokpundit 1h

@Thai_Talk A reports; B sees that A reports so B reports; C sees A and B report so also does etc...Not sure. It was going to be a post too!

Who knows. Maybe he did say it then deny it later.

I suppose it is normal to have such confusion in hectic times like this. No need to blame people for it.

[thecynic]

He looks pissed determined to counter the third hand or those that threaten his family. Well its Yinglucks (Thaksins) move now, and it sounds like the communication lines are down.

Rumour has it that Yingluck is actually pretty close to Prayuth and trusts him. Don't know if it's true, but makes things more complicated if so. Would also explain a few things. Then again, getting on with YL on a personal level probably won't stop Prayuth from acting against the govt if the situation seems favourable. But who knows? I don't think there will be a coup but seems no one is sure what the end game is.

Maybe Suthep doesn't actually have such a well thought out plan as he thought, if military won't intervene, the only thing he can try and do is ramp up the pressure until govt is forced to negotiate something unfavourable. They're surely not going to agree to what Suthep wants though - signing their own death warrant. So how can Suthep win without the military? It's an open question.

Suthep cannot win without the military. From my vantage point, he will need to instigate violence (using provocateurs) for the military to intervene, especially if the government (supporters) continues to show restraint. Although, that could be political suicide (if this already isn't).

My questions is that how long can this continue. And if the elections don't lead to a government being formed due to lack of enough numbers, what happens after that?

[Emptyset]

In "the other" newspaper I read this:

"Col Winthai said army units have also been deployed to take care of the people and alert them to possible danger, and to prevent the authorities from doing any harm to them."

Perhaps one of the Nation's reporters can pick up the phone and ask the colonel what dangers he considers from which authorities.

There seems to be some doubt over whether or not that report is true. He's now denied saying that apparently. All reports based on the same source.

แก้วมาลา Kaewmala ‏@Thai_Talk 2h

INN News also reports Army sets up unit to discipline riot police to prevent violence. Same source.

Sowhat3 ‏@sowhat3 3h

@SpringNews_TV @Thai_Talk I was wondering who started spreading this false news. Now they are just caught redhanded. It's 'SpringNews'

Sowhat3 ‏@sowhat3 2h

@Thai_Talk @SpringNews_TV Of course, the same Army spokeman (Col Winthai) corrected this news on TNN news that he didn't say so.

bangkokpundit ‏@bangkokpundit 1h

@Thai_Talk A reports; B sees that A reports so B reports; C sees A and B report so also does etc...Not sure. It was going to be a post too!

Who knows. Maybe he did say it then deny it later.

I suppose it is normal to have such confusion in hectic times like this. No need to blame people for it.

Yep, but also worth bearing in mind that even seemingly reliable reports with quotes (though not direct quotes) aren't necessarily reliable, I guess.

[Raspberry]

Maybe it's a good sign that the Army is trying to be neutral for the very first time. In the past 18 coups, The Army can act pretty quickly and only by the approval of the one and only. But this time....this time, it is reluctant. Could it be that the General has now a brain?

O, by the one and only, I mean the one and only, not the General. The...

Edited January 13, 2014 by Raspberry

[bigbamboo]

He looks pissed determined to counter the third hand or those that threaten his family. Well its Yinglucks (Thaksins) move now, and it sounds like the communication lines are down.

Rumour has it that Yingluck is actually pretty close to Prayuth and trusts him. Don't know if it's true, but makes things more complicated if so. Would also explain a few things. Then again, getting on with YL on a personal level probably won't stop Prayuth from acting against the govt if the situation seems favourable. But who knows? I don't think there will be a coup but seems no one is sure what the end game is.

Maybe Suthep doesn't actually have such a well thought out plan as he thought, if military won't intervene, the only thing he can try and do is ramp up the pressure until govt is forced to negotiate something unfavourable. They're surely not going to agree to what Suthep wants though - signing their own death warrant. So how can Suthep win without the military? It's an open question.

I doubt the army chief trusts the PM though. He's probably seen those You Tube clips too.

[marcusd]

Maybe it's a good sign that the Army is trying to be neutral for the very first time. In the past 18 coups, The Army can act pretty quickly and only by the approval of the one and only. But this time....this time, it is reluctant. Could it be that the General has now a brain?

O, by the one and only, I mean the one and only, not the General. The...

And that ONE is not able to at present I fear. YS can sit this out. No elections so delayed elections and then she can pass her bill for TS to come back because she said THIS GOVERNMENT will not pass the law but did not state any NEW government would not agree with the rules of the OLD government. So then the law to bring back Thaksin will pass as it is nearly there especially if a new election is called.

this si why I think there hgasd been no RED SHIRT violence as they are being told WAIT time is coming for dear leader to return and then the S.IT will hit the fans

So the games are well and truly on GLADIATOR style and the people lose out business loses out and Thailand will be irreparably damaged.

[BeforeTigers]

I was under the impression that soldiers, in any country, were not legally allowed to perform their regular duties out of uniform.
Or does that only apply to combat?
I could be completely misremembering that.
Anyone?

[michaeljordan]

Shed Uniforms and go protect Cowboy is it?

The Yellows will end up hurting themselves economicly as the Baht continues to weaken and tourism starts to collapse.

All the same time, NO ONE, seems to know what is going on.

[love1012]

Shed Uniforms and go protect Cowboy is it?

The Yellows will end up hurting themselves economicly as the Baht continues to weaken and tourism starts to collapse.

All the same time, NO ONE, seems to know what is going on.

You certainly dont if you like to make comment like that

[Robby nz]

There seems to be a lamentable lack of understanding of the OP whether by misreading or on purpose.

Those assigned to protection duty will be in uniform.

The ones asked to wear plain clothes are the ones who will be working at headquarters, as per those who normally work at headquarters.

[waza]

He looks pissed determined to counter the third hand or those that threaten his family. Well its Yinglucks (Thaksins) move now, and it sounds like the communication lines are down.

Rumour has it that Yingluck is actually pretty close to Prayuth and trusts him. Don't know if it's true, but makes things more complicated if so. Would also explain a few things. Then again, getting on with YL on a personal level probably won't stop Prayuth from acting against the govt if the situation seems favourable. But who knows? I don't think there will be a coup but seems no one is sure what the end game is.

Maybe Suthep doesn't actually have such a well thought out plan as he thought, if military won't intervene, the only thing he can try and do is ramp up the pressure until govt is forced to negotiate something unfavourable. They're surely not going to agree to what Suthep wants though - signing their own death warrant. So how can Suthep win without the military? It's an open question.

Suthep cannot win without the military. From my vantage point, he will need to instigate violence (using provocateurs) for the military to intervene, especially if the government (supporters) continues to show restraint. Although, that could be political suicide (if this already isn't).

My questions is that how long can this continue. And if the elections don't lead to a government being formed due to lack of enough numbers, what happens after that?

A coup would be of no advantage to Suthep as he has already won, Yingluck has dissolved the government and has no control over the treasury. The election will be void because their isn't enough registered candidates for the require MP positions and 308 PTP politicians may be disqualified. Yingluck is stalling for time and manipulating for control, her call for a round table meeting on Wednesday is to plead for concessions. The last thing they would want is for her government to resign and hand the initiative to Suthep. Consider if the election is postponed for 3 months and 308 PTP politicians are disqualified does that give the Dems the numbers to form a caretaker government? So as control is slipping from Yinglucks fingers wouldn't a coup be looking more attractive for the Thaksin proxy government? But that would take extreme violence to achieve.

Edited January 13, 2014 by waza

[Emptyset]

He looks pissed determined to counter the third hand or those that threaten his family. Well its Yinglucks (Thaksins) move now, and it sounds like the communication lines are down.

Rumour has it that Yingluck is actually pretty close to Prayuth and trusts him. Don't know if it's true, but makes things more complicated if so. Would also explain a few things. Then again, getting on with YL on a personal level probably won't stop Prayuth from acting against the govt if the situation seems favourable. But who knows? I don't think there will be a coup but seems no one is sure what the end game is.

Maybe Suthep doesn't actually have such a well thought out plan as he thought, if military won't intervene, the only thing he can try and do is ramp up the pressure until govt is forced to negotiate something unfavourable. They're surely not going to agree to what Suthep wants though - signing their own death warrant. So how can Suthep win without the military? It's an open question.

Suthep cannot win without the military. From my vantage point, he will need to instigate violence (using provocateurs) for the military to intervene, especially if the government (supporters) continues to show restraint. Although, that could be political suicide (if this already isn't).

My questions is that how long can this continue. And if the elections don't lead to a government being formed due to lack of enough numbers, what happens after that?

A coup would be of no advantage to Suthep as he has already won, Yingluck has dissolved the government and has no control over the treasury. The election will be void because their isn't enough registered candidates for the require MP positions and 308 PTP politicians may be disqualified. Yingluck is stalling for time and manipulating for control, her call for a round table meeting on Wednesday is to plead for concessions. The last thing they would want is for her government to resign and hand the initiative to Suthep. Consider if the election is postponed for 3 months and 308 PTP politicians are disqualified does that give the Dems the numbers to form a caretaker government? So as control is slipping from Yinglucks fingers wouldn't a coup be looking more attractive for the Thaksin proxy government? But that would take extreme violence to achieve.

Waza - The election will not be void. By-elections will be held until all seats are filled. The caretaker government continues until the next government is formed. If 308 MPs are banned, PT will surely already have a contigency plan. And since the Democrats aren't running in the election, how could they form a government after the election? Still quite a way from anyone being banned at this point. There are three stages, NACC, Senate and Court. So what if they are banned anyway? There's still no constitutional basis for the People's Council - obviously - therefore the intervention of "independent" agencies will not be enough to create one. Requires military or royal intervention per article 7, both still seem unlikely to me.

Why would a coup look more attractive to the government? How would that help them if the military sides with the protesters? If there is a coup, the military would no doubt cede power to pretty much the same people the protesters want in the Council (see some of the names Shaun Crispin mentioned), so what's the difference between the military route and the other unclear route to goal of getting this govt out? For the reasons I mention above, they're in no danger of losing control at this point UNLESS - imo - there is violence.

thecynic - well, Suthep's called for soldiers to side with the people but at the same time they've seemed ambivalent about the prospect of a coup. I still think you're right because I just can't see any other way Suthep is going to get what he wants. As for the q. about elections, as I say above, that's not as much of a problem as people assume. By-elections will take place and the parliament has 180 days to reach quorum and form a government, or a new general election must be held. It would not be easy for Suthep to block elections for 6 months, although it'd be easier if the ECT refuses to do its job and facilitate candidate registration in secure locations etc.

How long can Suthep keep this going? Good question. In Bangkok, not sure. Will be hard to maintain a shut down like this for too long, but could maintain a base in one location ala PAD in 2008. You don't need that many protesters to man these barriers, but the less there are, the easier it'll be for police to deal with them. And people will start to get more irritated the longer roads are blocked.

Blocking elections in the South, indefinitely I guess. But it gets harder to block with each by-election. In the third by-election the candidate would only require one vote to win and take his seat. As long as the ECT do their job, parliament should definitely meet quorum within the 180 days. Of course, the ECT officials might just start resigning en masse, claiming intimidation etc (think at least one guy in the South resigned claiming something like this?). That could be one way to prevent parliament meeting quorum.

[JoeLing]

I was under the impression that soldiers, in any country, were not legally allowed to perform their regular duties out of uniform.

Or does that only apply to combat?

I could be completely misremembering that.

Anyone?

There are reasons for some army personnel not to wear uniforms.

There is loooodas to read in the Geneva Convention, particularly sections:

Non-uniformed members of armed forces

Uniforms in internal armed conflicts

[JoeLing]

I was under the impression that soldiers, in any country, were not legally allowed to perform their regular duties out of uniform.

Or does that only apply to combat?

I could be completely misremembering that.

Anyone?

There are reasons for some army personnel not to wear uniforms.

There is loooodas to read in the Geneva Convention, particularly sections:

Non-uniformed members of armed forces

Uniforms in internal armed conflicts

Not sure if I can mention the ICRC's website here on TV

http://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/other/irrc_853_pfanner.pdf

well, if not, i'll be deleted. Sorry

[fish fingers]

The army are very split. The closest army base to Bangkok(apart from army based in Bkk) is at Sattahip (Marines), if things turn ugly they would be the first to make a move - a reliable source tells me that the man in charge there has been paid off by Thaksin, but most if not all the people under him inc the troops are ready to help the demonstrators.

Edited January 13, 2014 by fish fingers