Thailand is swerving towards the edge of a moral, political precipice

[ikke]

"As usual, we have not had a single word of concern from Yingluck to indicate that she or her government feels the slightest sense of accountability for attacks that have slain innocent bystanders and unarmed protesters. It is official - "accountability" does not exist in the vocabulary of our current governing body."

Nice yellow statement , non of the bombs that where "thrown" towards (un-armed ???) protesters exploded so the I assume the whole trowing grenades with pin still in , taped pin etc.. is the job of this yellow thug.

Every day you still see Suthep in a AH style yelling to the protesters, although there is a arrest warrant on him since 3 months, why they still not take him and get him to court ,

The word accountability is sure not in in the vocabulary of Suthep and his followers, he is fully accountable for the financial damage the protest caused and he is the only responsible for tearing the country down to the edge of a moral, political precipice !

why do you all keep blaming Suthep for not being arrested

Is this not the governments job to do

so you now all accept the Government can not do their jobs

Yes 100% right , I do not understand why the Government and Police not do their job on arresting this fascist Suthep and his illegal armed forces (so called guards)

[ikke]

"As usual, we have not had a single word of concern from Yingluck to indicate that she or her government feels the slightest sense of accountability for attacks that have slain innocent bystanders and unarmed protesters. It is official - "accountability" does not exist in the vocabulary of our current governing body."

Nice yellow statement , non of the bombs that where "thrown" towards (un-armed ???) protesters exploded so the I assume the whole trowing grenades with pin still in , taped pin etc.. is the job of this yellow thug.

Every day you still see Suthep in a AH style yelling to the protesters, although there is a arrest warrant on him since 3 months, why they still not take him and get him to court ,

The word accountability is sure not in in the vocabulary of Suthep and his followers, he is fully accountable for the financial damage the protest caused and he is the only responsible for tearing the country down to the edge of a moral, political precipice !

why do you all keep blaming Suthep for not being arrested

Is this not the governments job to do

so you now all accept the Government can not do their jobs

Yes 100% right , I do not understand why the Government and Police not do their job on arresting this fascist Suthep and his illegal armed forces (so called guards)

[Morch]

Again, permit me to respond to this blatant anti-Govt. POV, and by extension, anti-democratic....When reading this attempt to provide an intellectual underpinning to what the Amart, and especially the Suthep and Co. coup-mongers are attempting, some quotes just leap out of the narrative, when one is equally exposed to the other side.

>"Thailand is swerving towards the edge of a moral, political precipice..."

Anti-Democrats need to promote an armageddon, crisis sense to Thai politics, if they hope to get any traction at all. This quote reflects it....Nowhere in this piece is there any reference to Thailand's political strength, currently being wedded to Electoral and Parliamentary democracy. But that is exactly the 'strength' they want to take away, and bury their intentions in seemingly lofty intellectualization. I see little 'moral' relationship to the coup-mongering of Suthep and his handlers.

>.."to indicate that she or her government feels the slightest sense of accountability for attacks.."

Because they are not accountable for coup-monger mayhem, generating explosions falsely characterized as "attacks".... The coup-mongers need to have 'attacks' in order to feed a sense of crisis and disorder. Visiting the sins of the coup-mongers onto the elected govt. doesn't resonate with the majority voters, whose electoral choices they want to nullify.

>"One day they insist that everybody must respect the law, bar none. The next day, after the court rules against them, they say the judiciary and the laws should not be used as an instrument to promote divisiveness"

This again attributes normality to the abnormal reality of these so-called independent organizations working in unison, to destroy this elected Govt.. Jatuporn encapsulated the views of the electoral majority, pro-democracy crowd in his speech yesterday, indicating "the ammart wield influence over independent organisations under the 2007 constitution and has close ties to the military."

>"Our government believes that winning an election has given it the absolute mandate to act in any way it sees fit..."

Back to the old saw of trying to characterize an electoral mandate as being akin to a parliamentary dictatorship. Yup, winning an election proffers certain prerogatives....But to follow the Opposition spin of Govt. unaccountability, loses sight of re-election concerns. If the Govt. acted as the Opposition charges, what would their chance of re-election be?....But then I suppose, this kind of thinking doesn't resonate with anti-Democrats.

>"Gone is our moral compass.....It is not only that we are politically bankrupt, we are morally ruined"

Back to my first point of their need to create a sense of a hopeless political morass.....The only hopeless morass I see by those who espouse this thinking, is their own electoral futility....But in their arrogance, they don't see that....They seem to be unaware of the possibility of a winning electoral strategy....They cannot perceive that what they are doing, may not be akin to lofty political inspiration....Until they get off this kick, it will indeed be politically hopeless for them. Pointing fingers at others for their own difficulties and systemic governing deficiencies will not fly. If they are so self-righteously interested in Reform, get back to Parliament and actualize it, and figure out how to be more effective electorally.

Red shirt leaders past and present often engage doomsday speech mode - that is not an anti-government-only trait, more to do with the norms of Thai political rhetoric.

You may claim all the attacks on demonstrators were faked by their own side, that does not make it true, at least not until you can provide any proof for this other then your speculations. By your logic, the Prime Minister is not accountable for anything bad that happens in this country, as long as it is possible to pin it on someone else.

Going on about how the courts and independent agencies are all against the government is all very fine. But it is not as if the government did not contribute to this situation. If the government does not abide by the rules, it is expected that this would be used against it. The Prime Minister did ask her opponents to lay off a bit with the legal issues, only to fire one back at them right away. Don't break the law, not so hard for most people.

Winning an election, even with a landslide majority, does not allow the government to break laws, and ignore the minority. They may opt to change the laws, within certain parameters, and it is the opposition's (and the courts, and the independent agencies) role to be on guard against abuses of this advantage. It isn't a winner-takes-all game.

Being anti-government, is not necessarily, "by extension" or otherwise, anti-democratic.

Side note on quoting speeches without proper links: Please stop doing that, this isn't a storytelling forum.

[JimHuaHin]

As I have posted before ... many university-educated professional Thais I know are very worried about where Thailand is heading, and some are seeking to emigrate to other countries as they fear for the future of Thailand. The words 'civil war' has come up in many conversations. If these people do form a significant minority, or even to use Richard Milhouse Nixon's phrase, 'The Silent Majority', it is ashame they do not form appropriate political groups to bring about change.

But then again, I cannot forget The Who's 'We wont get fooled again' ... 'meet the new boss, same as the old boss'.

[northernjohn]

The OP scribbles another hand-wringing, the world is going to hell in a handbasket rant that, when made in Thailand and in the Nation, means throwing the government into the gloom and doom mix.

I wasted my time here today.

You are write the time you spend writing your drivel is well wasted.

[Publicus]

The OP scribbles another hand-wringing, the world is going to hell in a handbasket rant that, when made in Thailand and in the Nation, means throwing the government into the gloom and doom mix.

I wasted my time here today.

You are write the time you spend writing your drivel is well wasted.

[northernjohn]

"As usual, we have not had a single word of concern from Yingluck to indicate that she or her government feels the slightest sense of accountability for attacks that have slain innocent bystanders and unarmed protesters. It is official - "accountability" does not exist in the vocabulary of our current governing body."

Nice yellow statement , non of the bombs that where "thrown" towards (un-armed ???) protesters exploded so the I assume the whole trowing grenades with pin still in , taped pin etc.. is the job of this yellow thug.

Every day you still see Suthep in a AH style yelling to the protesters, although there is a arrest warrant on him since 3 months, why they still not take him and get him to court ,

The word accountability is sure not in in the vocabulary of Suthep and his followers, he is fully accountable for the financial damage the protest caused and he is the only responsible for tearing the country down to the edge of a moral, political precipice !

why do you all keep blaming Suthep for not being arrested

Is this not the governments job to do

so you now all accept the Government can not do their jobs

Yes 100% right , I do not understand why the Government and Police not do their job on arresting this fascist Suthep and his illegal armed forces (so called guards)

I do not understand why this corrupt government does not do there job and govern Thailand in a manner which would be beneficial to it.

I do not understand why people defend the corruption.

Unless they are receiving money from it and have low morals.

[northernjohn]

Again, permit me to respond to this blatant anti-Govt. POV, and by extension, anti-democratic....When reading this attempt to provide an intellectual underpinning to what the Amart, and especially the Suthep and Co. coup-mongers are attempting, some quotes just leap out of the narrative, when one is equally exposed to the other side.

>"Thailand is swerving towards the edge of a moral, political precipice..."

Anti-Democrats need to promote an armageddon, crisis sense to Thai politics, if they hope to get any traction at all. This quote reflects it....Nowhere in this piece is there any reference to Thailand's political strength, currently being wedded to Electoral and Parliamentary democracy. But that is exactly the 'strength' they want to take away, and bury their intentions in seemingly lofty intellectualization. I see little 'moral' relationship to the coup-mongering of Suthep and his handlers.

>.."to indicate that she or her government feels the slightest sense of accountability for attacks.."

Because they are not accountable for coup-monger mayhem, generating explosions falsely characterized as "attacks".... The coup-mongers need to have 'attacks' in order to feed a sense of crisis and disorder. Visiting the sins of the coup-mongers onto the elected govt. doesn't resonate with the majority voters, whose electoral choices they want to nullify.

>"One day they insist that everybody must respect the law, bar none. The next day, after the court rules against them, they say the judiciary and the laws should not be used as an instrument to promote divisiveness"

This again attributes normality to the abnormal reality of these so-called independent organizations working in unison, to destroy this elected Govt.. Jatuporn encapsulated the views of the electoral majority, pro-democracy crowd in his speech yesterday, indicating "the ammart wield influence over independent organisations under the 2007 constitution and has close ties to the military."

>"Our government believes that winning an election has given it the absolute mandate to act in any way it sees fit..."

Back to the old saw of trying to characterize an electoral mandate as being akin to a parliamentary dictatorship. Yup, winning an election proffers certain prerogatives....But to follow the Opposition spin of Govt. unaccountability, loses sight of re-election concerns. If the Govt. acted as the Opposition charges, what would their chance of re-election be?....But then I suppose, this kind of thinking doesn't resonate with anti-Democrats.

>"Gone is our moral compass.....It is not only that we are politically bankrupt, we are morally ruined"

Back to my first point of their need to create a sense of a hopeless political morass.....The only hopeless morass I see by those who espouse this thinking, is their own electoral futility....But in their arrogance, they don't see that....They seem to be unaware of the possibility of a winning electoral strategy....They cannot perceive that what they are doing, may not be akin to lofty political inspiration....Until they get off this kick, it will indeed be politically hopeless for them. Pointing fingers at others for their own difficulties and systemic governing deficiencies will not fly. If they are so self-righteously interested in Reform, get back to Parliament and actualize it, and figure out how to be more effective electorally.

Red shirt leaders past and present often engage doomsday speech mode - that is not an anti-government-only trait, more to do with the norms of Thai political rhetoric.

You may claim all the attacks on demonstrators were faked by their own side, that does not make it true, at least not until you can provide any proof for this other then your speculations. By your logic, the Prime Minister is not accountable for anything bad that happens in this country, as long as it is possible to pin it on someone else.

Going on about how the courts and independent agencies are all against the government is all very fine. But it is not as if the government did not contribute to this situation. If the government does not abide by the rules, it is expected that this would be used against it. The Prime Minister did ask her opponents to lay off a bit with the legal issues, only to fire one back at them right away. Don't break the law, not so hard for most people.

Winning an election, even with a landslide majority, does not allow the government to break laws, and ignore the minority. They may opt to change the laws, within certain parameters, and it is the opposition's (and the courts, and the independent agencies) role to be on guard against abuses of this advantage. It isn't a winner-takes-all game.

Being anti-government, is not necessarily, "by extension" or otherwise, anti-democratic.

Side note on quoting speeches without proper links: Please stop doing that, this isn't a storytelling forum.

You are wasting your time. Any one lost in Jatuporn land such as he is are very close to unredeemable.

The idea. He say's

"I see little 'moral' relationship to the coup-mongering of Suthep and his handlers."

When has Suthep ever called for a coup? They ask the government to step down and urge their followers to not commit violence. Can the PTP and their red shirt followers make that claim.

Not only are the red shirts a bunch of loose canon's but their followers are also. Take away the threat of armed violence and Yingluck would have resigned long ago. She depends on them for a source of power. She is unable to figure out how to do things the legal way and depend on the courts to back her up.

She tries to make out that the courts are against her. She hasn't even got the brains to figure out that if she did things legally they would back her up.

Thailand has a brainless senseless Prime Minister backed up by her brothers money and corrupt way's and supported by a bunch of red shirted loose canon's.