Suthep threatens to capture five caretaker Cabinet members, Pheu Thai secretary-general

[Gsxrnz]

BOOM!

This lunatic has finally flipped..!!

Yes I think you're right.

I also believe he's become swept away with his own rhetoric (read: propaganda) and is unable to stand back and take a more lucid view of the situation.

He actually believes he's leading a righteous revolution of all the people that will not fail, that whatever sins/crimes he commits will be forgiven and proven necessary when he leads the people from the hand of tyrannical oppression.

Now....if the Thai people were truly oppressed a la Sadam's Iraq, and he had the ethics, morals, and principals of a Gandi, then I'd probably be his biggest supporter.

But he's not. He's a tin-pot corrupt political megalomaniac and if he was on fire I wouldn't even piss on him. And the same goes for every other politician in Thailand, including any colour or flavour you care to name. There's not a politician in Thailand I'd trust with 10 baht, or trust to not line their pockets at the first (and every) opportunity.

Whatever change this present disruption might bring about, the chances of the lives of the greater Thai people being improved is zero on the Kelvin scale. There will be a change in the political control of the country, there may be a new constitution, and their may be a lot of people in power that endorse the changes. But the next day it will be business as usual. Ka-ching!

I say again that the person that will eventually lead Thailand out of the corrupt cesspool it is has not yet been born and at least a generation must pass before any significant gains will be made.

I don't agree:

1. As can be seen in the protest numbers and the make up of the protestors, and as I hear regularly from my adult Thai son and his friends, people want change now.

2. Yes Suthep has quite some baggage and yes during this protest, at times, he's not been good at clear communications, and the message I hear is that folks don't him as the next PM or whatever (and partly because they a slew want new faces / different types of people) but they are prepared to follow him if he can generate actions to gain reform then an election.

Ok, I agree that there is a groundswell that want "change". But ask any of them (man on the street or politician) to clearly define what changes they want and a roadmap to get there, and they will struggle.

Do they want a corrupt free Thailand where the politicians, the police, the military leaders, and government administrators do not take bribes or commit blatant acts of thievery against the state and live on there meagre salary? And elections are heralded by the international community as free and honest?

Do they want a safe Thailand where busses don't crash routinely killing hundreds, where safety standards truly are 1st world, bridges don't fall over, and everybody obeys the road rules?

Do they want a prosperous Thailand where everybody's wealth and health are improved, income is taxed, and the government provides genuine social services for the people?

Because if that's what they want, it ain't gonna happen in your son's lifetime. Even if a Gahandi or Mandella figure existed in Thailand, and assuming he could avoid assassination, it would take him 20 years to make one iota of change as he'd be blocked at every turn - even with a groundswell of support from the majority of Thais.

And because of that, I'm of the opinion that one day in Thailand there really will be a civil war. It will be bloody and violent, and it will devastate the country. But it will only occur when somebody worthy emerges to lead the fight and rebuild in the aftermath.

This current megalomaniac may well lead the country into violence but it won't be a civil war - the irony is that he'll probably force some theoretical beneficial changes (on paper) that will not actually be followed through on, thus placating the Thai people for a while and prolonging the current corrupt system.

For the moment, it really doesn't matter who is in charge - change will only be given lip service by whomever assumes power.

Political change in itself just will not work here. The feudal system is too entrenched.

Make a note in your diary for 5 years from now and PM me that corruption in Thailand has been eradicated in the police and all government departments, and the country is now equal to the USA on the international corruption scale - it will be interesting reading. It won't happen of course, and I forecast that Thailand will be no better on the corruption scale than it is now, probably worse.

[Artist]

Hang on..Am I being thick? The content doesn't seem to match the headline. Did he really threaten to kidnap them or is this just trolling.

It has been very effective in producing a vitriolic response

Personally I think that this is the last opportunity to rid Thai politics of the Shinawatras and if it fails the whole country will lose. That's regardless of the rights and wrongs of it and the individual politicians involved.

Without the Sinawatras there is some chance of reconciliation between the two sides and a return to democracy, some law and order with the traditional level of corruption.

[easybullet3]

Did I hear that right?

Yep he wants kidnapping adding to the list of charges he already faces

BOOM!

This lunatic has finally flipped..!!

if burning down Central World is anything to go by, then I doubt anything at all will happen to Suthep. He will have a court case somewhere down the line, charges will be made, dropped, circus event. and he might do a little bit of time in jail. but most likely he will be sent back to his province on a bus and his ticket paid for.

[Larry001]

Suthep; big mouth who would be well and truely hiding behind his bodyguards

[Nowhereman60]

Did I hear that right?

Yep he wants kidnapping adding to the list of charges he already faces

BOOM!

This lunatic has finally flipped..!!

if burning down Central World is anything to go by, then I doubt anything at all will happen to Suthep. He will have a court case somewhere down the line, charges will be made, dropped, circus event. and he might do a little bit of time in jail. but most likely he will be sent back to his province on a bus and his ticket paid for.

How about burning it down with Suthep inside and all doors locked.

[Zolt]

Did I hear that right?

Yep he wants kidnapping adding to the list of charges he already faces

And hasn't been, and likely won't ever be held answerable for.

[LivinLOS]

Sadly it's only a threat. If there would be a corruption blacklist or something in Thailand, these 5 guys would be in the top 10.

Nickymaster,

Perhaps you should take a quick look at this guy's history of corruption and do a re-think,,,

1995 land title deeds in Khao sam liam, Kamala, and in Phuket.

2009 Disqualification as MP accused of violating the Thailand constitution by holding equity in a media firm,

Murder charges relating to 2010,

and now threats to kidnap five government officials,

and an oxygen thief.(unofficial but herd it mentioned)

He has no respect for foreigner's so why do you support this person???????????????????????????????

That is a very boring CV for a Thai Politician who has been around for decades....mate! Two cases the last 18 years and some trumped up charges from Tharit from the DSI.

Come on.. Bringing down the last eected Democrat government, 20 odd years ago, is surely a feather in anyones cap..

[dyertribe]

Perhaps I'm reading/interpreting things differently based on past "quotes" from Thai Politicians, but I don't believe he is saying to "kidnap" people per se, merely to blockade their residences and cause inconvenience.

Some may be lost in translation, but it would seem Suthep threatened to surround and block the residences of the PM and a few others and if still no progress within a few days take the PM and some in (protective) custody.

He has no authority to place anyone in protective custody. To do so is kidnapping and confining anyone to one area is deprivation of liberty.

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[GazR]

Just tit for tat rhetoric: chill-chill

[tullynagardy]

How many times can this buffon be so hopelessly outwitted???

Whilst hes calling to kidnap people the reds are calling for everyone to wear white and light candles! World opinion, and at home, shifts further away again. I just cant fathom why the Dems keep playing their hand so unbelievably badly.

[Thailand]

"He added, "The game must end. Therefore, that each Minister sends their children and wives to somewhere else, so they can escape in the case of emergency,"

Oh, how delightful of him - I control the protestors and I will not stop them from harming your families..... class, pure class....

An eye for an eye.

The Red shirt should not have threaten similar thing to the general's twin daughter in Phitsanulok.

That's all right then, thanks for clearing that up. Some of us thought it might be illegal.

[HerbalEd]

In most countries of the world one can be arrested and convicted for threatening to kidnap someone. But, evidently, not in Thailand.

[Thailand]

Almost as disturbing as Suthep himself is the fact that there are still some Thai Visa members supporting this nutcase.

One day, when you're curled up in your kennel at the shelter for bewildered bulldogs, you will look back on this time and think how fortunate Thailand was to have been rescued from a regime worse than anyone's worst nightmare and you will say a little prayer to your doggie god that fortunately, due to human genetic flaws, every now and then there is a mutant, a genetic throwback that dons a black shirt and preaches to the masses, inspires an uprising and inadvertently saves the world as the Thais know it.

[HUAHIN62]

It would appear that Suthep is now clutching at straws, the Bangkok shutdown while successfully shutting down areas of the city has not got him any closer to his goals.

As long as the PTP and the police leave the protesters alone the movement losses momentum as protesters desert to go back to work and the people of Bangkok start to lose their patience.

Now its a case of doing whatever they can to get the blood spilling for the coup Suthep has wanted from the beginning.

Suthep IS getting to his goals. Yingluck has assigned her icecream gang to hold meetings with all parties concerned to see if the elections can be delayed. Now Suthep, strategically, is going for the next step.

Suthep doesn't want a coup. He wants Yingluck to give in. The army also wants Yingluck to clean up her own mess. Thaksin wants a coup in order to blame the army for interfering with democracy.

By the way, in case you were wondering, this is Yingluck's ice cream gang.

Correct - A coup as Sutheo knows would invigorate UDD / PTP and prove their so far groundless accusations of impeding coups to be correct - which gives them more credibility. If however Yingluck folds and PTP implodes or fragments............well that's a much better outcome.

I think Suthep has played the army / coup card very well, just showing enough of it to keep the UDD focused on the army as a distraction allegedly looming in the shadows, while he goes on his merry way.

The fact that he and every other Thai politician is as mad as a box of frogs is neither here nor there.

Even if PTP implodes do you think TS will stop, he has 3 other parties already registered to take PTP's place? Playing with the reds could lead to his death, one red shirt that hates him enough to pull the trigger is all that it takes. Nobody is fully in control of the situation and one lunatic could send this country into a death spiral.

If Suthep should win this battle we will have anti-Suthep protest on BKK streets within 3 years and this time it will not only be red shirts but also all those who he have cheated out of their votes. If TS wins he will continue to go for the winner takes all system, with the yellows back in the streets within 3 years.

Which ever way it goes the normal Thai people will be the losers and the elites on both sides will grow richer and more corrupt.

[jaideeguy]

If I were a Thai, I would be ashamed to admit it at this point in history.............

[Spalpeen]

I've finally worked out what it is that Suthep is up to. He's laying the ground for a plea of insanity when the day comes for him to face trial on those murder and treason charges. The rolling eyes, the hollering, the wild claims......yes, that must be it.

[SOTIRIOS]

....any proof of this....???.....or just more twisted truths to justify ANYTHING this government does.....

...such as 3rd parties shooting up peaceful demonstrators....or 'putting contracts or bounties out' on anybody that opposes them.....

...who was the guy strangled with his shoelaces.....

...who was the person whose life and career were destroyed because she reported on the Rice Scheme discrepancies and irregularities.....

...on the other side of the coin....the popular monk who served to 'legitimize' (?) money......and was given safe passage out of the country....

[Just1Voice]

Any bets that Thaksin has already burned up the phone and sms airwaves to hire pros to take out Suthep when he heard about Suthep planning to take little sister "into custody"?

[Fullstop]

Enough is enough.

I think it time for "He who can not be named" to step in.... declare ALL sides lunatic kids and wipe the slate clean.

NEW parties will be invited to be formed and ANYONE who wants to be a part of any of those new parties must have a COMPLETELY clean police record.. Along with ALL members of their family.

Sorted.

[mausplan]

I also think Suthep is being clever, turning things on and off. The Gov are responding to him. I passed through the Asoke / Suk crowd about one hour ago. they seemed happy, souvenir sales looked brisk, lots of food, nice music and some powerful speakers in between , clean and organised. The only problem with Yingluck walking is that the next in line is Uncle Fester ( aka K.Surapong ) . Thats a scary thought. Can't they go straight to number three-oh no thats Big C. Yingluck come back we love you

[xminator]

Any bets that Thaksin has already burned up the phone and sms airwaves to hire pros to take out Suthep when he heard about Suthep planning to take little sister "into custody"?

No.

[pantareiyingluck]

There really rests only 1 cure now: a huge shot of Haldol (Haloperidol) in his megalomanic buttocks. I was cynical about the man but he seems to be superlative to my worst thoughts.

[cougar52]

Ok, that's flat out threatening to kidnap officials, which is a total and complete violation of the law. This man has lost his marbles, and think's he is untouchable and has God like powers to do what he wants.

I can only hope and pray that the cops, or the military, finally say "enough is enough" and snatch this lunatic off the streets and put him behind bars till he's a old, old man.

I was somewhat supportive of his goal of stopping the Amnesty Bill, but the power has gone to his head and now he thinks he can run things and that his way is the only way.

"I can only hope and pray that the cops, or the military, finally say "enough is enough" and snatch this lunatic off the streets"

Perhaps that's what he wants. Pushing the limits and forcing the caretaker government to act.

Much the same as the Red Shirt Leaders threatening the CC Judges and giving out their phone numbers and saying that they (Red Shirts) will arrest them. This PTP Government did not mention a word of condemnation for the actions of their Red Shirts along some of their own MP's, I might add,

[Kru Baa]

Wow! Really? How embarrassing for the people who follow him and the party that he represents.......Or maybe not if they are equally as stupid,

[rtco]

Thaksin's attempt to threaten Yingluck with being thrown into prison yesterday so she ( he ) could cling on - was not a particularly brotherly thing to do. One assumes he doesn't have her welfare at heart, with such clap-trap. Press sources have indicated that she wanted to step down yesterday. But Thaksin ( yes, the man who PT supporters insist has nothing to do with this administration ) would have nothing of it. Chalerm has been a waste of space in every capacity he's been placed in. And no one on the planet has issued more empty threats than he, which none of the supporters of this administration take the slightest note of. So when others pose empty threats - well ! they must really mean it ! Get protection for Chalerm, quick ! When in fact, nothing of the kind will happen. And everyone knows it. The sad thing for Chalerm - is that after the administration has quietly stepped down, no one's going to be paying the slightest attention to him. This protest has had three distinct and consistent characteristic : Peaceful. Peaceful, Peaceful. The supporters of this administration really can't stand that. They can't eat their breakfast. And so it will remain a peaceful demonstration. No one will apprehend anyone. In this country particularly. Never happened, never will. But fear not. There is still time to pray for a stillborn parliament. Still time to pray for perpetual dissolution. For those who consider that just peachy, good for you. The rest of Thailand will carry on, however, blissfully waving flags as they are, blowing whistles, and beaming broadly for a country they believe can be free of corruption.

Thaksin didn't attempt to have his sister thrown into prison he was merely pointing out that if she did under the Thai constitution she could be thrown in prison for neglect of duty or some other like charge.

Whatever you think about Thaksin and whether he is the puppeteer or not this Government was democratically elected and if the Feb 2nd elections go ahead unopposed they will be again. The complaint about bringing Thailand down with populist policies is also a little weird. Any elected Government will implement policies that they think will be good for them and help them win the next election. Look at all the promises that were made by Cameron and his cronies to win them the election the majority of which have been scrapped or changed/watered down. This is politics people.

As for Suthep he is a terrorist, an idiot, a liar and a self-deluded jerk but a rich one (or paid well for what he is doing) and as we know "money, money, money" is what counts here in Thailand ... it kind of gives you that cloak of the untouchable. His "non elected people" council is a joke ... the only people on this council will be puppets whose strings are being pulled by the rich and influential. The rural poor elected this Government and I note that there are red shirt protests starting up all over the Northern Provinces. They cannot afford to go to Bangkok and camp out there for days on end like those that are already there ... those with the money that is.

[Mackie]

Nothing surprises me any longer in Thailand. The dangerous precedent was made in 2010 when the authorities (wrongly) let off the hook criminals, thugs and terrorists, characters like Arisman, Jatuporn, Nattawut, Kwanchai etc... What did you expect? They were rewarded for their criminal actions and they continued with their criminal actions and intimidation of political opponents.

Suthep is all talk but those red thugs actually take direct terrorist actions. Throwing bombs around, shooting people, intimidating opposition and even threatening an army general etc...etc...

The way I see it, the reds overstepped the mark by threating the army general and the message has been delivered via Suthep. Don't even think about it. Incidentally, let's not forget, the red shirts introduced violence to Thai politics.

[rijb]

Enough is enough.

I think it time for "He who can not be named" to step in.... declare ALL sides lunatic kids and wipe the slate clean.

NEW parties will be invited to be formed and ANYONE who wants to be a part of any of those new parties must have a COMPLETELY clean police record.. Along with ALL members of their family.

Sorted.

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Dennis Rodman?

[BillyBobThai]

All that needs to be done is to send a SEAL/SWAT team to Dubai to get the square faced one.

[tonypace02]

The people who should be supporting Khun Suthep, his family, who should keep him where he can't hurt himself, and his party, who should be downplaying his rantings are really letting him down. Even the most ardent anti-Thaksin critics are having trouble with this one. In any other democratic country he would at least be in protective custody in some hospital by now.

[Mackie]

All that needs to be done is to send a SEAL/SWAT team to Dubai to get the square faced one.

In agreement. But the problem is that the square faced one has already hired SEAL/SWAT team to protect him and advance his interests in Thailand.