Police successfully reclaim Interior Ministry rally site

[Mango Bob]

What ever the numbers are doesn't matter, what matter is they made Suthep thugs run like scare little girls. Next is the monk. He will be high tailing it soon.

[Bakseeda]

Leader of the headmen from Chiang Mai, Mr Kamoldit Rotananipat, alias Kamnan Daeng, president of Kamnan and Phuyaibaan Association of Chiang Mai, said 11,000 kamnan and village headmen from Chiang Mai would join the rally with headmen from across the country to rally at the Interior Ministry.

He said about 80,000 headmen would travel to Bangkok to demand protesters return the ministry back to officials to work.

They set off their travel in 26 buses Saturday with first stop over in Lamphun province to join village headmen there to head for Bangkok.

I hope their bus fares will be reimbursed and they will be compensated for the time they wasted.

And did they have 3 fishes and 5 loaves and a guy called John the Baptist to feed them all..... 80,000 on 26 buses, haha, thats about 3000 on each and every bus.... more crap from the redshirt propaganda machine.... Don't ya just love it..!

[Bakseeda]

What ever the numbers are doesn't matter, what matter is they made Suthep thugs run like scare little girls. Next is the monk. He will be high tailing it soon. .

. Again Bob... before you were on about 6yr old boys, now you are telling us how scared little girls run away... you should definately seek help...

[Lite Beer]

Protesters move out of Interior Ministry to Lumpini park

BANGKOK: -- The People’s Democratic Reform Committee has decided to lift the siege of the Ministry of Interior to avert a possible confrontation with kamnan and village heads who have threatened to retake the ministry today.

PDRC secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban took to the protest stage at Lumpini park to announce the end of the siege by hard-core protesters at the Interior Ministry led by Somsak Kosaisook at about 8 pm. He later led a group of PDRC core members to bring the protesters from the Interior Ministry back to Lumpini park.

Earlier, Pol Gen Adul Saengsingkaew, the national police chief, tried unsuccessfully to persuade the protesters to move out of the Interior Ministry which was occupied by PDRC protesters for over three months. He said that about 50,000 kamnan and village heads planned to descend in Bangkok today and to rally at the Interior Ministry tomorrow.

Also on tomorrow, the PDRC plans to rally at Sanam Luang to express their well wishes and to make a vow of allegiance to His Majesty the King on the occasion of Coronation Day.

Since Sanam Luang is not far away from the Interior Ministry and if the PDRC and the local headmen are to rally on the same day at the two venues, a possible confrontation may not be avoidable.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/protesters-move-interior-ministry-lumpini-park/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=protesters-move-interior-ministry-lumpini-park

-- Thai PBS 2014-05-04

[BlueNoseCodger]

What ever the numbers are doesn't matter, what matter is they made Suthep thugs run like scare little girls. Next is the monk. He will be high tailing it soon.

Well presumably there aren't many of them left. The Bang Kapi Mall protest was only 45 metres deep, about 1300 from this guys count (I didn't do the numbers on this photo, someone on Pantip did), add some for the walkway bridge that he missed <1500:

Lumpini is almost empty during these visits to shopping malls, this mob includes the people from Lumpini, which in total is less than 1500.

So their paramilitary guards will be spread out very thinly trying to hold quite a few locations. Better to leave ahead of time, than let a couple of hundred of your guards be caught, interviewed, and all their background/recruitment/command structure be revealed.

[Morch]

there were over 40k administrative workers. The bangkok post today morning was expecting some 80k.

now they should march to lumpini and tell suthep to go home. No more shutdowns

I don't think that there were 40k present, obviously more than the 200 touted by posters who support the PDRC.

The 80k "expected" is an almost traditional inflated figure - both sides do that before any major demonstration.

If the 80k figure refers strictly to Puyai Baan and Kamnan it does seem out of touch with reality. This would mean most of Thailand's provinces would be represented. Same goes, I think, for the 11k figure coming from Chiang Mai. Either inflated or includes other officials/officers.

Wonder who's paying for the ride and how long they plan on staying.

[Lite Beer]

Village headmen arrive in Bangkok to reclaim ministry

BANGKOK: -- Sub-district chiefs and village headmen from many provinces on Sunday morning converged on the Ministry of Interior to reclaim the ministry from anti-government protesters used to occupy.
But protesters have abandoned the ministry since last night.

Only representatives of the headmen and sub-district chiefs were allowed to enter the vacated ministry.

They arrived at the ministry early in the morning to reclaim it from the protesters of the State Enterprises Workers’ Relations Confederation and the People’s Democratic Reform Committee who had occupied the ministry for five months.

Although the protesters had left since Saturday night, security officers stationed there strictly prohibited the sub-district chiefs and village headmen as well as any other groups to enter the ministry.

Director-general of the Department of Provincial Administration Siripong Hantrakul asked the sub-district chiefs and village headmen to back away from the barriers of police and military officers in front of the ministry and later allowed 80 representatives of them to enter the premises.

Meanwhile, Interior Ministry Charupong Ruangsuwan assured the sub-district chiefs and village headmen that the protesters had already left the ministry since 9 p.m. on Saturday and that police and military officers would remain to safeguard the place.

-- Thai PBS 2014-05-04

[Morch]

They should have done this months ago.

It's time Suthep and his hired goons hear what the Thai people have to say.

I was under the impression that Suthep and the PDRC were also Thai. So are the people who support them.

Perhaps both sides should listen to each other?

[Familyonthemove]

I watched the Police 'reclaim' the Asoke rally site. The protesters moved out over night then the street cleaners arrived to hose down and sweep the streets. Only then did the Police dare to turn up and strut about for two hours before getting out of the road and letting the traffic through.

Sent from my C6902 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Morch]

What ever the numbers are doesn't matter, what matter is they made Suthep thugs run like scare little girls. Next is the monk. He will be high tailing it soon.

And if they would have stayed, you'd probably see it as trying to create a violent incident.

Well, they're going to be marching in the area, I think, so clashes could still occur.

[antimedia]

there were over 40k administrative workers. The bangkok post today morning was expecting some 80k.

now they should march to lumpini and tell suthep to go home. No more shutdowns

I don't think that there were 40k present, obviously more than the 200 touted by posters who support the PDRC.

The 80k "expected" is an almost traditional inflated figure - both sides do that before any major demonstration.

If the 80k figure refers strictly to Puyai Baan and Kamnan it does seem out of touch with reality. This would mean most of Thailand's provinces would be represented. Same goes, I think, for the 11k figure coming from Chiang Mai. Either inflated or includes other officials/officers.

Wonder who's paying for the ride and how long they plan on staying.

First reform for the new government, bring in 4 yearly elections for these society leeches.

[BlueNoseCodger]

They should have done this months ago.

It's time Suthep and his hired goons hear what the Thai people have to say.

I was under the impression that Suthep and the PDRC were also Thai. So are the people who support them.

Perhaps both sides should listen to each other?

So pick your representatives, have an election, you'll have seats and voices, those MPs voices are the ones your side chooses to speak for them, in parliament.

[issanaus]

The good news is the lack of injuries and death – congratulations to who every made decisions that played a part in that outcome.

The real victory for the PTP was that it put the headmen (however many there were there and regardless if there was borrowed uniforms) very publicly on view on the PTP side. I suspect that the long term losers from that will be the headmen and those villages (like my wife’s) who have good leaders.

From the anti-government side I don’t think that the loss of the site was of any significance in the Mr S. wanted all of the protest groups to move to the Park with him a long time ago. This group had declined to do that and now the divisions within the “reform movement” are less visible. I have not understood for a while what the value of the remaining value of the protest sites has been except that the ongoing attacks on them have been useful in highlighting the tactics of groups that apparently support the PTP.

Even in his movement to self-absorption Mr S has realised that he needed to go to the wider community and try and gather support rather than just ear bash his supporters at the park. Now the group that was isolated in the Ministry can move back into the community and engage in face to face interactions that might gather more support.

My concerns in the current environment are that the use of the headmen will be used by the anti-government side to ramp up the rhetoric against the “reds” and be used by the PTP to ramp up the threat of the same.

[Thailand]

The kamnams that wished to protest wanted to do so - not in order to facilitate Pheu Thai and their idea of the strengthening of democracy - but to ensure that a reform that would challenge their own jobs would never be considered. Kamnans enjoy unfettered and unchallenged access to all sorts of spoils - generally monetary. The reform provision was to subject them to an election, rendering the institution accountable. That would be a prime item for irony for the UDD to digest, not that they're too big on irony. For those who say that the February 2 election went smoothly are awfully easy to please. An election where 64 % either didn't vote or voted " no " , where eight provinces were completely missing, where most of Bangkok's polling stations were shut down, and where a potential 387 MPs were selected out of a possible 500. Yes, that was some smooth election alright.

Why was it that people were unable/ afraid to vote in certain areas, remind me?

[Morch]

They should have done this months ago.

It's time Suthep and his hired goons hear what the Thai people have to say.

I was under the impression that Suthep and the PDRC were also Thai. So are the people who support them.

Perhaps both sides should listen to each other?

So pick your representatives, have an election, you'll have seats and voices, those MPs voices are the ones your side chooses to speak for them, in parliament.

Thankfully I have no voting rights in Thailand, and so spared from choosing between those two dubious camps. Hence, I do not have a representative, seat, voice or side as such.

I do recall that some of the reasons which led to the current situation were to do with the disregard of the government to the parliamentary rights of the opposition and for legal due process. Not just a matter of winning elections but also of proper conduct.

When you have a situation where a large enough segment of the electorate feels marginalized, maybe it's a good time to review how things work. Applies to both sides, just to make it clear. Democracies do not work well with winner-takes-all attitude.

[Basil B]

Wonder what the next protest will be...

Village headmen call for YL's blood after not being paid?

[mikemac]

That didn't take long did it...... ..................

Thanks transam, I needed a little dose of sarcasm.

[mikemac]

What ever the numbers are doesn't matter, what matter is they made Suthep thugs run like scare little girls. Next is the monk. He will be high tailing it soon. .

. Again Bob... before you were on about 6yr old boys, now you are telling us how scared little girls run away... you should definately seek help...

I bet Bobby squeals when he runs !

[Robby nz]

As I posted on another topic there was a mention in a report in the other paper that Yongyos Kaewkhiew, president of the Association of Village and Tambon Chiefs had said that the blockade of the interior ministry had hampered his plans to help kamnans and village heads in Surat Thani and Chumphon who had been dismissed by provincial governors because they had openly supported the anti-Government protestors.

That's right, he is saying that there have been village chiefs dismissed by governors for supporting the opposition.

How's that for PT freedom of expression, freedom of speech and democracy.

With that sort of goings on is there any chance of a free and fair election ?

And what a great reason to have provincial governors elected by the people rather than appointed by the Govt.

[BillyBobThai]

BlueNoseCodger, you really do seem to have a hard on with your counting today.

[jcb2001]

songhua, the mob was leaving the ministry, because they were told, that tens of thousands are comming the clear the area.

there were only 80 representatives allowed to enter the ministry compound, the rest stayed in the distance, where they were gathering from the morning.

Nice spin, but I find it hard to believe. Maybe the rest of the 79000 + got lost or delayed in traffic. Just guessing.

[IamNoone88]

Leader of the headmen from Chiang Mai, Mr Kamoldit Rotananipat, alias Kamnan Daeng, president of Kamnan and Phuyaibaan Association of Chiang Mai, said 11,000 kamnan and village headmen from Chiang Mai would join the rally with headmen from across the country to rally at the Interior Ministry.

He said about 80,000 headmen would travel to Bangkok to demand protesters return the ministry back to officials to work.

They set off their travel in 26 buses Saturday with first stop over in Lamphun province to join village headmen there to head for Bangkok.

I hope their bus fares will be reimbursed and they will be compensated for the time they wasted.

[IamNoone88]

80,000 people leaving on 26 buses? Either that is 3,076 people per bus or just another display of inadequate numeracy capability or just more verbal rubbush. You be the judge.

[Local Drunk]

It's all rather irrelevant to the fate of the P.M. don't ya think? Wasn't CAPO (read as Charlem) not too long ago warning government employees to say out of this political arena? Well, where is his condemnation now?

Edited May 4, 2014 by Local Drunk

[Muhendis]

I wasn't so long ago that the ampur headmen wanted to secure their jobs permanently any further elections. How big is their trough I wonder?

[xminator]

So bunch of homeless southern people relocate from interior ministry to tent camp in lumpini. Let it rain.

[Strangebrew]

Would I be outline if I said they were headhunters? Or hunting for head? I don't mind getting head.

[Strangebrew]

Maybe they were triple deck buses or pygmies

[gangrel]

This shot, I make about 29*16*3 = 1392 people

A very minuscule percentage of the 80,000 claimed were coming.

[Nickymaster]

Those village heads and district chiefs know that in a democracy where they have to be elected they are going to be out of job.

These are all appointed PT cowards.