Violence in Thailand grasps international attention

[webfact]

Violence grasps international attention
The Nation


WSJ's front page/Feb 24, 2014

BANGKOK: -- Violence last weekend in Thailand has grasped global attention, with wide coverage by international media.

Since the anti-government demonstration started in late October, 21 have lost their lives (20 in Bangkok and 1 in Trat), aside from hundreds of the injured.

Wall Street Journal put the report on Thailand on its front page today. Headlined "Blast Kills Two Near Thai Rally", it said "drive-by shootings and bomb attacks have plagued political protests here in recent months as anti-government demonstrators step up their campagin to force the resignation of Yingluck, Thailand’s elected leader."

Singapore’s Straits Times also posted news analysis on its website today. "With four people including three young children killed in just two days, violence appears to have escalated as Thailand’s political impasse goes further into a dead end."

http://www.stasiareport.com/the-big-story/asia-report/thailand/story/news-analysis-thailand-edging-deeper-violence-20140224

An AFP report said: "The attacks, which appear to mark an escalation of unrest in nearly four months of political crisis, earned condemnation from UN chief Ban Ki-moon while Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra labelled them "terrorist acts"."


-- The Nation 2014-02-24

[Basil B]

Not front page in the UK, the Ukraine has been the font page for weeks now, thankfully the what has happened in Thailand has not been as violent, what is a big pity with the BBC coverage is fails to mention it is mainly government supports shooting at the anti government protesters.

[winstonc]

wow crazy dave i see where you got that name from..please dont give me visions of your fury love eggs im eating..

[Prbkk]

reincarnation TV style..

[Dogmatix]

Red shirts at the War Drums meeting in Khorat cheering news of deaths and injuries caused pro-Thaksin terrorists at Trat.

[tullynagardy]

what is a big pity with the BBC coverage is fails to mention it is mainly government supports shooting at the anti government protesters.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-26319058 - Quite the opposite of what you say actually

"it appears to be the start of retaliation by the armed wing of the so-called "red-shirt" movement that backs the governing Pheu Thai party"

I actually think its wrong for them to say that. Dont get me wrong, it could well be red shirt thugs bankrolled by Thaskin, but it could equally be a last ditch effort by Suthep to stir up a military coup following the failure of the protests to do so. I dont put anything past either side on this, both of which are controlled by some seriously sinister people.

The BBC has massively changed its coverage in recent weeks. It previously referred to "anti democracy protests" and "calls for an unelected council". (which was accurate) and now talks about "interim government." For reasons its hard to say, Jonathan Head has changed his rhetoric massively

[Suriya4]

Now Suthep must be happy.

No I don't mean the death, please don't misunderstand me.

I mean Suthep must be happy that the world in paying attention, now supporting his people's movement to make him the secretary general of the People's Council of Thailand.

[somchai jones]

The average man in the street in the UK hasn't got a clue what's going on in Thailand and couldn't give a toss.

I'm not opining as to whether this is a good or a bad thing, it's simply the way it is......

[CockneyGit]

I can't understand the concept of there being so called ''Red Farangs'' or ''Yellow Farangs'' on here.

The truth of the matter, from an ex-pat/farang point of view, is surely that the country that we choose to call home is going through a huge revolution and none of us know which way it will end.

It's pointless choosing sides, as whoever is in power, does it really affect us that much..?? No, not really.

All we should be hoping for is that all sides of this current situation are ousted from Thai politics all together and that there is some kind of satisfactory conclusion whereby both the Thai people and the expats who are here trying to make an honest living can have at least a little respect for not only the Government but also the authorities in general.

Sadly, corruption is so ingrained in Thai society (at all levels), that any satisfactory outcome is a very long way off.

All this Reds v Yellows nonsense is just a convenient excuse for much deeper issues.

[Thai at Heart]

All weekend in UK, Ukraine, Olympics , rugby and Liverpool winning.

Thais having a political spat and being unable to understand democracy is hardly new.

They probably need an underwater, katoey, 24 hour kissing contest to get on the news.

[SICHONSTEVE]

Not front page in the UK, the Ukraine has been the font page for weeks now, thankfully the what has happened in Thailand has not been as violent, what is a big pity with the BBC coverage is fails to mention it is mainly government supports shooting at the anti government protesters.

Just what I was thinking.

It fails to highlight the fact that peaceful protesters are the ones dying and that it's Yingluck's red shirt 'terrorists' (as she describes her supporters) that are perpetrating the violence. You can guarantee that if it was the other way around the press would be screeching "the PDRC's supporters are massacring the democratically elected government's supporters"

[SICHONSTEVE]

I can't understand the concept of there being so called ''Red Farangs'' or ''Yellow Farangs'' on here.

The truth of the matter, from an ex-pat/farang point of view, is surely that the country that we choose to call home is going through a huge revolution and none of us know which way it will end.

It's pointless choosing sides, as whoever is in power, does it really affect us that much..?? No, not really.

All we should be hoping for is that all sides of this current situation are ousted from Thai politics all together and that there is some kind of satisfactory conclusion whereby both the Thai people and the expats who are here trying to make an honest living can have at least a little respect for not only the Government but also the authorities in general.

Sadly, corruption is so ingrained in Thai society (at all levels), that any satisfactory outcome is a very long way off.

All this Reds v Yellows nonsense is just a convenient excuse for much deeper issues.

.......and what would be you solution to engineering the way out of this??

[soalbundy]

Violence grasps international attention......... Almost sounds as if they are proud of it.....At last someone has noticed us

[bigbamboo]

I can't understand the concept of there being so called ''Red Farangs'' or ''Yellow Farangs'' on here.

The truth of the matter, from an ex-pat/farang point of view, is surely that the country that we choose to call home is going through a huge revolution and none of us know which way it will end.

It's pointless choosing sides, as whoever is in power, does it really affect us that much..?? No, not really.

All we should be hoping for is that all sides of this current situation are ousted from Thai politics all together and that there is some kind of satisfactory conclusion whereby both the Thai people and the expats who are here trying to make an honest living can have at least a little respect for not only the Government but also the authorities in general.

Sadly, corruption is so ingrained in Thai society (at all levels), that any satisfactory outcome is a very long way off.

All this Reds v Yellows nonsense is just a convenient excuse for much deeper issues.

I'm a green farang myself.

I find Thai politics amusing at it's best, pitiful at it's worst. Thankfully I don't have to vote for any of them.

[ExpatOilWorker]

wow crazy dave i see where you got that name from..please dont give me visions of your fury love eggs im eating..

Who is crazy Dave?

Never mind, just take your medicine. The nice doctors in white coats will visit you shortly.

[ggold]

Why do you think it is wrong?

It is the truth.... and don't bother asking for proof,

You see Im one of these old fashioned types that demands rationale and proof for everything I do. Just like when a wealth manager is convincing me of where to store capital, Ill demand to see proof of why it is likely to rise, in this case Ill need more than a faceless guy on a forum saying "its the truth."

The simple fact is you cant be sure its the truth and all you can do is make a guess based on political preference.

The people who benefit more from such atrocities are Sutheps crew, so it`s more likely that the attacks emanate from that side. That is an educated guess, it could be wrong, but likely to be true.

The government gains nothing from them. All they have to do is sit back and watch the protests fizzle out which they have done. They have won the PR battle at every stage so far its hard to see why they would change now.

First you say

Im one of these old fashioned types that demands rationale and proof for everything I do

Then you say

The people who benefit more from such atrocities are Sutheps crew, so it`s more likely that the attacks emanate from that side. That is an educated guess, it could be wrong, but likely to be true.

That is neither rational and you certainly can't prove it. So how educated is that?

The government may not have anything to gain, but I can think of a few in PTP who would like a bit of retribution for Suthep's Jibes! And then there are the fighting RED Shirts!

[tullynagardy]

Why do you think it is wrong?

It is the truth.... and don't bother asking for proof,

You see Im one of these old fashioned types that demands rationale and proof for everything I do. Just like when a wealth manager is convincing me of where to store capital, Ill demand to see proof of why it is likely to rise, in this case Ill need more than a faceless guy on a forum saying "its the truth."

The simple fact is you cant be sure its the truth and all you can do is make a guess based on political preference.

The people who benefit more from such atrocities are Sutheps crew, so it`s more likely that the attacks emanate from that side. That is an educated guess, it could be wrong, but likely to be true.

The government gains nothing from them. All they have to do is sit back and watch the protests fizzle out which they have done. They have won the PR battle at every stage so far its hard to see why they would change now.

First you say

Im one of these old fashioned types that demands rationale and proof for everything I do

Then you say

The people who benefit more from such atrocities are Sutheps crew, so it`s more likely that the attacks emanate from that side. That is an educated guess, it could be wrong, but likely to be true.

That is neither rational and you certainly can't prove it. So how educated is that?

The government may not have anything to gain

huh?

I didnt say I could prove it, I said its an educated guess based on the fact the government has nothing to gain from such actions. Look you even said so yourself at the bottom of your post.

Edited February 24, 2014 by tullynagardy

[brewsterbudgen]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Not front page in the UK, the Ukraine has been the font page for weeks now, thankfully the what has happened in Thailand has not been as violent, what is a big pity with the BBC coverage is fails to mention it is mainly government supports shooting at the anti government protesters.

Just what I was thinking.

It fails to highlight the fact that peaceful protesters are the ones dying and that it's Yingluck's red shirt 'terrorists' (as she describes her supporters) that are perpetrating the violence. You can guarantee that if it was the other way around the press would be screeching "the PDRC's supporters are massacring the democratically elected government's supporters"

Any concern about the dead policemen, another two of whom died today?

The violence is being perpetrated by both sides, or possibly even by shady outsiders.

[ggold]

You see Im one of these old fashioned types that demands rationale and proof for everything I do. Just like when a wealth manager is convincing me of where to store capital, Ill demand to see proof of why it is likely to rise, in this case Ill need more than a faceless guy on a forum saying "its the truth."

The simple fact is you cant be sure its the truth and all you can do is make a guess based on political preference.

The people who benefit more from such atrocities are Sutheps crew, so it`s more likely that the attacks emanate from that side. That is an educated guess, it could be wrong, but likely to be true.

The government gains nothing from them. All they have to do is sit back and watch the protests fizzle out which they have done. They have won the PR battle at every stage so far its hard to see why they would change now.

First you say

Im one of these old fashioned types that demands rationale and proof for everything I do

Then you say

The people who benefit more from such atrocities are Sutheps crew, so it`s more likely that the attacks emanate from that side. That is an educated guess, it could be wrong, but likely to be true.

That is neither rational and you certainly can't prove it. So how educated is that?

The government may not have anything to gain

huh?

I didnt say I could prove it, I said its an educated guess based on the fact the government has nothing to gain from such actions. Look you even said so yourself at the bottom of your post.

Huh yourself. If you are going to quote me, then quote the whole statement so as not to distort it to you're own benefit. I said;

The government may not have anything to gain, but I can think of a few in PTP who would like a bit of retribution for Suthep's Jibes! And then there are the fighting RED Shirts!

Now do you undersatand?

[Cricketnut]

I hope the international media start waking up to the fact that all the major violence if from one side... The government, and any violence from the protest side is only in response to government backed violence.

They should also have the intelligence to understand that the government gains lots from these latest brutal attacks on children.

They revealed their hand when they decided to go straight to the courts and say.... see, this is what happens when you tie our hands'. Which even a child would know was totally incorrect.

The courts will say that the government know fully that the decision was made to stop the CMPO from using force against protesters, or to try to disperse them.

The court said nothing about that being extended to unprovoked terrorist attacks on peaceful demonstrators.

Certain government ministers have clearly and KNOWINGLY twisted this ruling AND THEY dam_n WELL KNOW IT.

This should be grounds for impeachment with immediate effect for deliberately twisting simple facts.

I am willing to put my balls on a bet that the government have set these attacks up to give their stupid interpretation of a very simplistic and straightforward court ruling. This is not only a massive contempt of court, but a massive contempt of any sense of humanity.

What makes it even more stupid, is that there are many farang on here who agree with them.. I mean... come on &lt;deleted&gt;. Is your argument worn so tissue thin that you have to resort to backing up this sort of childish rubbish?? Have you really come to the last of your ammo??

I doubt you have any grasp about the reality of you throwing your support behind such a despotic government and terrorist charged militant force.

Do you actually know what you are supporting? Do you realise that when you cheer on the red shirt push to overthrow the PDRC rallys, that it will be the final flare up and civil war will start for real?

Are you looking forwards to living in Thailand during a civil war where YOU will almost certainly be targeted???

Oh yes... You will be one of the first to be suspected in this already xenophobic country.. You will be the first to be offed and all your assets seized by the rebels.... These will likely be the red shirt rebels that attack you, they are the brain dead ones. It will be poetic justice.

You will have to flee with what you can.... Then maybe you will realize that you have been supporting the wrong team.

I for one have already made my evacuation plan, when the shit goes off from the camp you support. I will be long gone and unaffected.

Good luck to you.... You will need it.

First post ever? lol

We at last have an expert. Were you here in 06? 10? ... Judging from your comments you better leave now as it may seem to other posters from both sides that it could appear that one has no realisation of how Thais in generally speaking of course love many a farang who adopt and life their way of life...

Sent from my i-mobile i-STYLE 8.2 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Cricketnut]

Why do you think it is wrong?

It is the truth.... and don't bother asking for proof,

You see Im one of these old fashioned types that demands rationale and proof for everything I do. Just like when a wealth manager is convincing me of where to store capital, Ill demand to see proof of why it is likely to rise, in this case Ill need more than a faceless guy on a forum saying "its the truth."

The simple fact is you cant be sure its the truth and all you can do is make a guess based on political preference.

The people who benefit more from such atrocities are Sutheps crew, so it`s more likely that the attacks emanate from that side. That is an educated guess, it could be wrong, but likely to be true.

The government gains nothing from them. All they have to do is sit back and watch the protests fizzle out which they have done. They have won the PR battle at every stage so far its hard to see why they would change now.

First you say

Im one of these old fashioned types that demands rationale and proof for everything I do

Then you say

The people who benefit more from such atrocities are Sutheps crew, so it`s more likely that the attacks emanate from that side. That is an educated guess, it could be wrong, but likely to be true.

That is neither rational and you certainly can't prove it. So how educated is that?

The government may not have anything to gain, but I can think of a few in PTP who would like a bit of retribution for Suthep's Jibes! And then there are the fighting RED Shirts!

AND let's not forget the fighting popcorn shooters!

Sent from my i-mobile i-STYLE 8.2 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Cricketnut]

Not front page in the UK, the Ukraine has been the font page for weeks now, thankfully the what has happened in Thailand has not been as violent, what is a big pity with the BBC coverage is fails to mention it is mainly government supports shooting at the anti government protesters.

Just what I was thinking.

It fails to highlight the fact that peaceful protesters are the ones dying and that it's Yingluck's red shirt 'terrorists' (as she describes her supporters) that are perpetrating the violence. You can guarantee that if it was the other way around the press would be screeching "the PDRC's supporters are massacring the democratically elected government's supporters"

Any concern about the dead policemen, another two of whom died today?

The violence is being perpetrated by both sides, or possibly even by shady outsiders.

agree. The majority of posters think that a policeman's life is not as of any value to that of a protestor who may even be related to a deceased person and vice versa. IMO , I think TV needs more solidarity and condemnation, not egos stroking for likes on a post one makes. How about, none of us like a post for 24 hours and show some solidarity for the THAI people and not our political differences?

Sent from my i-mobile i-STYLE 8.2 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[brewsterbudgen]

Not front page in the UK, the Ukraine has been the font page for weeks now, thankfully the what has happened in Thailand has not been as violent, what is a big pity with the BBC coverage is fails to mention it is mainly government supports shooting at the anti government protesters.

Just what I was thinking.

It fails to highlight the fact that peaceful protesters are the ones dying and that it's Yingluck's red shirt 'terrorists' (as she describes her supporters) that are perpetrating the violence. You can guarantee that if it was the other way around the press would be screeching "the PDRC's supporters are massacring the democratically elected government's supporters"

Any concern about the dead policemen, another two of whom died today?

The violence is being perpetrated by both sides, or possibly even by shady outsiders.

agree. The majority of posters think that a policeman's life is not as of any value to that of a protestor who may even be related to a deceased person and vice versa. IMO , I think TV needs more solidarity and condemnation, not egos stroking for likes on a post one makes. How about, none of us like a post for 24 hours and show some solidarity for the THAI people and not our political differences?

Sent from my i-mobile i-STYLE 8.2 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Thanks for liking my post!

[SICHONSTEVE]

Not front page in the UK, the Ukraine has been the font page for weeks now, thankfully the what has happened in Thailand has not been as violent, what is a big pity with the BBC coverage is fails to mention it is mainly government supports shooting at the anti government protesters.

Just what I was thinking.

It fails to highlight the fact that peaceful protesters are the ones dying and that it's Yingluck's red shirt 'terrorists' (as she describes her supporters) that are perpetrating the violence. You can guarantee that if it was the other way around the press would be screeching "the PDRC's supporters are massacring the democratically elected government's supporters"

Any concern about the dead policemen, another two of whom died today?

The violence is being perpetrated by both sides, or possibly even by shady outsiders.

agree. The majority of posters think that a policeman's life is not as of any value to that of a protestor who may even be related to a deceased person and vice versa. IMO , I think TV needs more solidarity and condemnation, not egos stroking for likes on a post one makes. How about, none of us like a post for 24 hours and show some solidarity for the THAI people and not our political differences?

Sent from my i-mobile i-STYLE 8.2 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Shouldn't that read a lot of posters think that a protesters life is not as valuable as a policeman's which evidently seems to be the case.

Have you never noticed that when there is a plane crash a British newspaper will say 257 people died 25 BRITISH as if the others don't count quite so much!!

[Robby nz]

Why do you think it is wrong?

It is the truth.... and don't bother asking for proof,

You see Im one of these old fashioned types that demands rationale and proof for everything I do. Just like when a wealth manager is convincing me of where to store capital, Ill demand to see proof of why it is likely to rise, in this case Ill need more than a faceless guy on a forum saying "its the truth."

The simple fact is you cant be sure its the truth and all you can do is make a guess based on political preference.

The people who benefit more from such atrocities are Sutheps crew, so it`s more likely that the attacks emanate from that side. That is an educated guess, it could be wrong, but likely to be true.

The government gains nothing from them. All they have to do is sit back and watch the protests fizzle out which they have done. They have won the PR battle at every stage so far its hard to see why they would change now.

First you say

Im one of these old fashioned types that demands rationale and proof for everything I do

Then you say

The people who benefit more from such atrocities are Sutheps crew, so it`s more likely that the attacks emanate from that side. That is an educated guess, it could be wrong, but likely to be true.

That is neither rational and you certainly can't prove it. So how educated is that?

The government may not have anything to gain

huh?

I didnt say I could prove it, I said its an educated guess based on the fact the government has nothing to gain from such actions. Look you even said so yourself at the bottom of your post.

Perhaps you could give a detailed explanation of how the killings could possibly help Suthep.

And don't say because he wants the army to step in because that is just BS.

The only one who can benefit from the killings is Chalerm. He has ben slapped in the face by the courts more than once and must be hurting.

He desperately wants to get his SOE in full operation and the only way he can get that is through an escalation of violence to try to prove that it is needed.

Whether you want to argue that he represents the Govt or not is up to you, but you could have an educated guess.

[Cricketnut]

Not front page in the UK, the Ukraine has been the font page for weeks now, thankfully the what has happened in Thailand has not been as violent, what is a big pity with the BBC coverage is fails to mention it is mainly government supports shooting at the anti government protesters.

Just what I was thinking.

It fails to highlight the fact that peaceful protesters are the ones dying and that it's Yingluck's red shirt 'terrorists' (as she describes her supporters) that are perpetrating the violence. You can guarantee that if it was the other way around the press would be screeching "the PDRC's supporters are massacring the democratically elected government's supporters"

Any concern about the dead policemen, another two of whom died today?

The violence is being perpetrated by both sides, or possibly even by shady outsiders.

agree. The majority of posters think that a policeman's life is not as of any value to that of a protestor who may even be related to a deceased person and vice versa. IMO , I think TV needs more solidarity and condemnation, not egos stroking for likes on a post one makes. How about, none of us like a post for 24 hours and show some solidarity for the THAI people and not our political differences?

Sent from my i-mobile i-STYLE 8.2 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Thanks for liking my post!

Did I like it or just put forth a suggestion. Time for some to re-read and get some sleep.... Sic

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[rickirs]

Yes, there is no denying violence against and by civilians in connection with anti-government protests gets world attention. Look at all the attention in the past by international news media given to Cambodia, Mynamar, and Eqypt who needed a change in goverance for the sake of survival of its citizens. But I think the reality is that the world community does not view Thailand as an absolute democracy where all governing positions are elected, where police enforce the rule of law, where the military falls under civilian control, and where the only other independent federal agency is the Supreme Court appointed by an elected legislative body. Thailand is an anomoly in governance compared to the Ukraine and Venzuela.

I believe that the world community does not condone the acts of overthrowing an elected government by former government leaders who only came to power through military power, used violence themselves to keep their power, used State of Emergency to control open protests, seek to regain their power through disruption of the democratic process, who stand against the nation's constitution on the freedom to vote, who insist on an unelected "council" to rule the nation in place of an elected legislative body, etc. The case for attention on Ukraine and Venzuela protests are far more legitimate concerns for democracy than it is on Thailand.

Suthep's "yellow revolution" does not appeal to democratic nations who do not tolerate anarchy as a legitimate process for change in goverance. International news media naturally likes to report on violence, it's audience catching. But as you surely have witnessed in various world news media, coverage of Thailand anti-government protests is very lightweight, spoken with general platitudes such that a listener is unlikely to jump up and say, "Bully for you Suthep!" compared to the very media empathy and depth of coverage given to Ukraine and Venzuela.

[Cricketnut]

Yes, there is no denying violence against and by civilians in connection with anti-government protests gets world attention. Look at all the attention in the past by international news media given to Cambodia, Mynamar, and Eqypt who needed a change in goverance for the sake of survival of its citizens. But I think the reality is that the world community does not view Thailand as an absolute democracy where all governing positions are elected, where police enforce the rule of law, where the military falls under civilian control, and where the only other independent federal agency is the Supreme Court appointed by an elected legislative body. Thailand is an anomoly in governance compared to the Ukraine and Venzuela.

I believe that the world community does not condone the acts of overthrowing an elected government by former government leaders who only came to power through military power, used violence themselves to keep their power, used State of Emergency to control open protests, seek to regain their power through disruption of the democratic process, who stand against the nation's constitution on the freedom to vote, who insist on an unelected "council" to rule the nation in place of an elected legislative body, etc. The case for attention on Ukraine and Venzuela protests are far more legitimate concerns for democracy than it is on Thailand.

Suthep's "yellow revolution" does not appeal to democratic nations who do not tolerate anarchy as a legitimate process for change in goverance. International news media naturally likes to report on violence, it's audience catching. But as you surely have witnessed in various world news media, coverage of Thailand anti-government protests is very lightweight, spoken with general platitudes such that a listener is unlikely to jump up and say, "Bully for you Suthep!" compared to the very media empathy and depth of coverage given to Ukraine and Venzuela.

A thoughtful post indeed.....

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[Rhiwfawr]

Well Mr Suthep,,,,,,u have blood on your hands......

[Scott]

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