Thai Police in position to retake Bangkok rally sites

[jollyman]

"TNN is on air on True but not with live coverage from BKK. Can't find any showing of the current situation and operations on any mainstream channels which doesn't really surprise me "Its a conspiracy man, Thailand VSF (Very Serverly F***cked)"

[eskatonia]

P p

P

L

[pkspeaker]

That's where Bashar Assad's confiscated VX nerve gas comes in,

If they clear the protesters today, what is to stop them coming back in greater numbers tomorrow, and Sunday, and Monday,....................?

[Hulkster]

If you need a bus to Surat Thani tonight, you might be waiting a long time

[taony]

Don't see anything on Thai TV on this, must not be happening.

[noikrit]

Suppose they have to make room for the incoming Farmer Protesters ....

[speedtripler]

they have been training for months to do this. Let's hope they do it right and the protesters don't do something stupid. No shooting no violence just pick up your tents and move to the park.

all the tents should be confiscated daily so there is no option to move down the road a bit and set up somewhere else

theres strength inn numbers so having them move to the park is not smart unles you want a group thats so big its hard to control

[GeorgeO]

This is not how the Bangkok police will do it: South Korean Riot Police Training

Wow. That's coordination!

Yes, it's quite a show when it's a choreographed example of what's supposed to happen during a demonstration; however, that's not how it generally pans out. And it certainly wouldn't pan out that way in Thailand.

The police here have no deep-seated desire to get hurt, they are simply not paid enough to put themselves in harm's way, particularly when they know that they are fighting for someone else's cause. They would quickly turn and run if things started to heat up ... or else, they would simply lose the plot and start opening up with live ammunition.

Neither of those outcomes would look good for the police, for Chalerm, for Yingluck or for her brother, so why on earth are they even contemplating a crackdown at this stage? I do, of course, recognise that the end is nigh for this government, so no doubt Thaksin has ordered such a crackdown. Yet another major error on his part.

When this government falls, and reforms are put in place, there will be no safe hiding place for Thaksin anywhere in the world. He, his sister, and all of the muppet puppets who have been involved in the rape and pillage of this nation will get their comeuppance in the end...!

[speedtripler]

Don't see anything on Thai TV on this, must not be happening.

state of emergency means media can only broadcast news thats approved by the PM

i think she even has the power to tell them not to broadcast anything if she wants .........

[speedtripler]

This is not how the Bangkok police will do it: South Korean Riot Police Training

Wow. That's coordination!

When this government falls, and reforms are put in place, there will be no safe hiding place for Thaksin anywhere in the world. He, his sister, and all of the muppet puppets who have been involved in the rape and pillage of this nation will get their comeuppance in the end...!

not really ,its highly unlikely that the elite will ever see a jail cell no matter how many billions they have stolen

[tomyummer]

This is not how the Bangkok police will do it: South Korean Riot Police Training

Wow. That's coordination!

Yes, it's quite a show when it's a choreographed example of what's supposed to happen during a demonstration; however, that's not how it generally pans out. And it certainly wouldn't pan out that way in Thailand.

The police here have no deep-seated desire to get hurt, they are simply not paid enough to put themselves in harm's way, particularly when they know that they are fighting for someone else's cause. They would quickly turn and run if things started to heat up ... or else, they would simply lose the plot and start opening up with live ammunition.

Neither of those outcomes would look good for the police, for Chalerm, for Yingluck or for her brother, so why on earth are they even contemplating a crackdown at this stage? I do, of course, recognise that the end is nigh for this government, so no doubt Thaksin has ordered such a crackdown. Yet another major error on his part.

When this government falls, and reforms are put in place, there will be no safe hiding place for Thaksin anywhere in the world. He, his sister, and all of the muppet puppets who have been involved in the rape and pillage of this nation will get their comeuppance in the end...!

In a perfect world sir. In a perfect world.

[h90]

Don't see anything on Thai TV on this, must not be happening.

state of emergency means media can only broadcast news thats approved by the PM

i think she even has the power to tell them not to broadcast anything if she wants .........

yes Emergency law means total media control.....of course only for the best of the people...

[chainarong]

About time.

Hopefully it will go off smoothly without any problems.

You have really got no understanding of the situation here in Thailand. I read your posts on a daily basis, and I see the majority of posters criticise and despise you, and yet you still continue to post utter twaddle. Have you got any experience in life whatsoever? How on earth do you think an open confrontation with the police v peaceful protesters exercising their democratic right to demonstrate will go off smoothly and without any problems? Your continual aggravating posts should be reserved for the playground at kindergarten. Juvenile at best. How old are you?

It wont go over to well , like in 1992 they refused to shoot at their mother , father, brother, sister relations, friends and laid down their guns and went with the protesters , end of the junta era, history can repeat.

[Suriya4]

Great. So now every Valentine's Day can be remembered as the Valentine Massacre. And on a Buddhist holiday nonetheless.

While Yingluck and her son are out of town merrit making...."it wasn't me"

Reminds me of the movie Godfather.

When he was in church, his thugs go on a shooting spree.

[tx22cb]

Don't see anything on Thai TV on this, must not be happening.

state of emergency means media can only broadcast news thats approved by the PM

i think she even has the power to tell them not to broadcast anything if she wants .........

Don't know about the laws, but the authorities are allowing BlueSky to broadcast, so they have not used their power to the extreme.

And in this age of Twitter, you can't stop news.

[icommunity]

By law enforcement agencies to take over protest sites is giving face to the violence protesters. They can say, 'oh, it is because of police crackdown on their protest sites.' I can say it is hardly any protesters around. For almost three months, these so called 'millions of protesters' have not been able to shut down BKK and I wonder where are there now. For sure, they did not go home because of police or military crackdown on them.

[celso]

At this point the police are just glorified street cleaners, there's no one at the protest sites!

[ManopY]

watching tnn24, which was reporting live. Now the screen has gone black?

TNN is on air on True but not with live coverage from BKK. Can't find any showing of the current situation and operations on any mainstream channels which doesn't really surprise me.

Blue Sky Channel: http://www.blueskychannel.tv/

ASTV : http://www.tvjaa.com/stream/astv.html

T-News: http://tnewstv.com/tv_index/

[webfact]

Riot police in Thailand deploy to reclaim protest sites
by Boonradom Chitradon

BANGKOK, February 14, 2014 (AFP) - Thailand deployed thousands of riot police in Bangkok on Friday to try to reclaim the government headquarters and other areas long occupied by protesters seeking to force the prime minister from office.

The authorities plan to re-take several sites including Government House and the interior ministry, National Security Council chief Paradorn Pattanatabut told AFP, saying officials would attempt to negotiate with the demonstrators first.

"We will re-take wherever we can and arrest protest leaders," he said. "It's not a crackdown on the protests -- it's enforcement of the law over the protest sites."

The operation appeared to be focused on the government district rather than major intersections in the commercial centre that have become the main focus of the rallies in recent weeks as part of what protesters have described as the "Bangkok shutdown".

The leaders of the anti-government movement had called for a big two-day protest starting on Friday.

Security forces were seen clearing a rally site near Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's offices, which she has been unable to use for about two months due to the protests.

Riot police removed protesters' tents and warned demonstrators through a loudspeaker not to resist the operation, according to AFP reporters at the scene. There were no reports of clashes.

"Police must clear this area where it is dangerous and there are constantly incidents," police announced.

"There are also many suspects wanted for arrest who are mixing with protesters," they said. "We ask all protesters not to resist or obstruct police work."

Yingluck's government held a general election earlier this month in an attempt to assuage opposition protesters who have staged more than three months of mass street demonstrations demanding her resignation.

Paradorn said there was illegal assembly and possession of weapons at the rally sites.

"These are all government offices and the government has to serve the people," he said.

- Election uncertainty -

The protesters want Yingluck to stand down to make way for an unelected "People's Council" to enact reforms to tackle corruption and alleged vote-buying before new polls are held.

The main opposition Democrat Party boycotted the February 2 vote, saying it would not end a political crisis stretching back to a military coup in 2006 that ousted Yingluck's elder brother Thaksin Shinawatra as premier.

Demonstrators prevented 10,000 polling stations from opening in the vote, affecting several million people, mainly in opposition strongholds in Bangkok and the south.

Protesters have occupied major intersections in the capital since January 13, although disruption to people's daily lives has been limited.

Attendance has fallen sharply, with most sites nearly deserted for much of the day and several thousand people joining the rallies in the evenings.

There has been a series of grenade attacks and shootings in the capital -- part of a wave of political violence linked to the protests that has left at least 10 people dead and hundreds injured.

Yingluck's opponents say her government is controlled by Thaksin, who fled Thailand in 2008 to avoid going to jail for a corruption conviction and now lives in Dubai.

Pro-Thaksin parties have won every election for more than a decade, most recently in 2011 under Yingluck, helped by strong support in the northern half of the kingdom.

The Election Commission on Tuesday set a date of April 27 for election re-runs in constituencies where voting was disrupted by protesters.
But there is still no decision on what to do about 28 constituencies that have no candidates because demonstrators blocked the registration process.

On Wednesday, in a boost to the government, the opposition lost a legal bid to nullify the February election .

Yingluck also faces an investigation by an anti-corruption panel into possible negligence of duty in connection with her flagship rice subsidy scheme -- a move that could potentially result in her impeachment.


-- (c) Copyright AFP 2014-02-14

[wxpwzrd]

At this point the police are just glorified street cleaners, there's no one at the protest sites!

The police are cowards. They won't do anything that will risk their comfort. Unless, the risk/reward ratio strongly favors reward.

[Suriya4]

At this point the police are just glorified street cleaners, there's no one at the protest sites!

The police are cowards. They won't do anything that will risk their comfort. Unless, the risk/reward ratio strongly favors reward.

It is a trap.

It is.

[jaapfries]

This is not how the Bangkok police will do it: South Korean Riot Police Training

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbFSVh1mmiw

Thank you for sharing that; wauw: that is rather incredible alright ! ! ! Maybe the protesters should "work-it" like those extremely well trained Korean cops do and then the Thai' cops would be nowhere . . . . . . L.O.L.

[h90]

About time.

Hopefully it will go off smoothly without any problems.

You have really got no understanding of the situation here in Thailand. I read your posts on a daily basis, and I see the majority of posters criticise and despise you, and yet you still continue to post utter twaddle. Have you got any experience in life whatsoever? How on earth do you think an open confrontation with the police v peaceful protesters exercising their democratic right to demonstrate will go off smoothly and without any problems? Your continual aggravating posts should be reserved for the playground at kindergarten. Juvenile at best. How old are you?

It wont go over to well , like in 1992 they refused to shoot at their mother , father, brother, sister relations, friends and laid down their guns and went with the protesters , end of the junta era, history can repeat.

Won't happen, because the government uses border police...kind of military style police from red strongholds....Not normal Bangkok police.

[jayboy]

The first stage of the war on the shutdown of Bangkok has begun.

Yes, you reds do like your violence, don't you?

Seems a rather odd statement to make given the different approaches for clearing the city centre in 2010 and now.The former if you recall involved the army shooting innocent victims.The latter involves internationally praised patience and restraint.

In 2010 before a single bullet was fired the peaceful protestors threatened to blow up LPG truck, grenade attacked at Thai banks, attacked Thai charity with grenades, stormed parliament, attacked NPP and TPI buildings with M16 and grenades, stormed police hospital, stormed TV station, bomb attacks on electricity pylons, 2 police taken hostage, destroy CCTV cameras, dumped tyres on sky train tracks and beating soldiers to within an inch of their lives. Abhisit should have got a Nobel Peace Prize for showing restraint. After all this he gave the protesters 48 hours to clear or the soldiers would come in. 48 hours latter the soldiers came in. No back tracking. No changing his mind. A resolute leader were the people knew where they stood.

The latter is Chalerm stating every few days for weeks now we will come in and break the protests up yet he never does. Telling them he will come in in disguise and arrest Suthep. Never did. Have an emergency decree that states no more than 5 people can gather yet they have and continue to. More buildings have been taken over during the decree than before it. The CMPO (centre for maintaining peace and order) telling the EC they are responsible for maintaining peace and order. The latter reminds me of how the PTP managed the floods in 2011. With absolute incompetence. Reminds me of how they ran the rice scheme. With absolute incompetence.

Going by the PTP track record I will let you behead me if the streets of Bangkok are empty of protestors tomorrow night. That is how incompetent I think the PTP are at leading. Inappropriate to say I would let you behead me? Apparently it is OK because the PTP Deputy PM, Labour Minister, Head of CMPO said it too.

Your all garbage if you disagree. Is that appropriate? Apparently it is because another Deputy PM said it. So don't tell me I am talking inappropriately because if you do then you would not support a party that thinks those comments are acceptable.

So you believe Abhisit deseves the Nobel Peace Prize notwithstanding he faces charges for murder.I suspect the authorities in Stockholm may take a different view.It certainly defines your fruitcake status.

I don't think anyone suggests this is the end of protests simply the clearance of detritus and the re taking of government buildings.Indeed as Suthep and his backers grow increasingly desperate I would expecr their intimidation and violence to increase.They have already lost the international case.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Asiantravel]

will this be before or after they have arrested Suthep ?

[LuckyLew]

just take away all aspects of comfort and the protest will die out

lock toilets

dismantle the big karaoke stage during the day when its empty

stop people making shops in the protest areas by not letting them in with their stock

confiscate tents and sleeping bags during the day so there is no place to sleep except outside on concrete

deny access to food and drink vendors so they will have nothing to eat or drink by blocking the roads inwards

see how long it lasts when peolpe are cold ,tired ,sore and hungry and thirsty ......they will leave one by one without

the police having to use violence on them

Do you really think the people in charge would be able to pull it off with out ensuing violence?

[animatic]

..."We will re-take wherever we can and arrest protest leaders," he said. "It's not a crackdown on the protests -- it's enforcement of the law over the protest sites."

He said there was illegal assembly and possession of weapons at the sites....

And when someone dies will they get the same treatment for

the same actions as Abhisit and Suthep are getting for the EXACT SAME REASONING.

Charged with murder for 'clearing out an illegal rally'?

Only difference is police vs army doing the cleaning out.

Hypocrisy 101.

It's OK when you do what your enemy did, because you believe you are better people.

It's OK to charge your enemy for a crime for doing what you are doing because you are in charge now.

Edited February 14, 2014 by animatic

[djjamie]

About time.

Hopefully it will go off smoothly without any problems.

You have really got no understanding of the situation here in Thailand. I read your posts on a daily basis, and I see the majority of posters criticise and despise you, and yet you still continue to post utter twaddle. Have you got any experience in life whatsoever? How on earth do you think an open confrontation with the police v peaceful protesters exercising their democratic right to demonstrate will go off smoothly and without any problems? Your continual aggravating posts should be reserved for the playground at kindergarten. Juvenile at best. How old are you?

You post crap like the above, and you have the nerve to accuse someone else of "posting utter twaddle"? Here you go, here's the kind of weapons the police are finding as they close down your "peaceful protesters'" sites:

https://twitter.com/richardbarrow/status/434159353298296834

You mean Thaksin's police are coming into a protest site that is trying to topple Thaksin. I won't be surprised if they find Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Now I am no megalomaniac like Thaksin, BUT if a groups of people wanted to remove my sister from power for abusing that power and my people went into their house I would tell them to plant weapons as well cause they want my sister out.

An element of the PDRC are no angels. Far from it yet with all these weapons found not one seems to be used against the police coming in. Strange isn't it? Why have all these weapons, but don't use them against the police unless it was for self defense against the red shirts.

So in light of the police being offered NO resistance by the protestors one could assume the weapons were;

• Self defense against red shirts
• Planted by Thaksins men (police)

Now if the police wanted to quell rumor and innuendo they would allow the army to come in with them as observers to keep the police "honest"

I won't even mention 2010. The comparison has been done to death.

As for Richard Barrows. The most politically polarized unbalanced blogger in Bangkok.

Edited February 14, 2014 by djjamie

[ETatBKK]

man, today is a Mekha Bucha day ! did someone forget this calm and peaceful religious day ?

[rickirs]

"RETAKE BANGKOK". For the sake of the city, its residents, employees, and businesses these protests need to end. Seeing as Suthep is not trying to overthrow the government, Yingluck is still the PM, the Feb. 2nd elections have taken place for 80% of the country, and the remaining elections will be complete before April, there is no further legitimate point for the illegal occupation of Bangkok public property and the government facilities. Whether the re-opening of Bangkok and government facilities happens without violence is Suthep's responsibility. Let's see him get his supporters peacefully OFF the streets and OUT OF government facilities. Happy Makhah Bucha.