Actions against Thaksin show junta firmly in control

[GoodThaiGirl]

Interesting to know whey as of late, there's a lot of noises about Thaksin this and that,

his passports issues together with his sister issues trusted to the headlines..

there must be some kind of unrest going on and the PM is trying looking to flex muscles

here for all to see, otherwise, it all could be kept quiet and all dealing with Thaksin could

have been done quietly, we we're witnessing otherwise here... why?

I have been told, on two separate occasions, by well informed Thais, that the Amart have a problem with the coup leader. It seems that they had decided to use the same tactics as in 2006 to take power, but this time ‘the genie refused to go back into the bottle’. The coup leader has decided to keep the power and now ‘those who own Thailand’ are struggling to find a way to move things on. I suspect we may be very close to the type of conflict that the coup leader repeatedly said he staged to coup to prevent occurring. The current attacks on the Shin family are merely a side show, a smoke screen.

just more unfounded idle gossip on your part again with no back up ..ie trolling..

[Tatsujin]

"The Prayut government could have stripped Thaksin of his rank and revoked his passports earlier if it wanted to because Thaksin has several arrest warrants against him - over Krungthai Bank's loan to the Krisada Mahanakorn group; the Export Import Bank case; the case over the conversion of telecom concession fees into excise; the Ratchadaphisek land deal; the two-three-digit lottery case; and a case of terrorism."

​And this is the savior and hero of Thailand? The guy that so many of you here love so much and want back to run the country?

I think you're all either insane or have your heads so far up your own (or your wife's) < deleted > that you only see red ... those arrest warrants are merely the tip of the iceberg ... and all well-deserved.

[Srikcir]

Thaksin should be hunted down and eliminated or returned to Thailand for jail time. The PM could engage the services of a bounty hunter to do the job.

General Prayut is good friends with North Korea and they have a lot of experience with executions. Maybe there's a purpose for his paternity with North Korea.

[sprq]

What Thaksin said is undoubtedly true. Evidently, it's the truth that must not be spake.

[trogers]

"I do not stop any one from liking or loving anyone. But anyone cannot criticise the way I have come into power as I will hit back,'' Prayut warned."

Says it all.

He is learning fast from Lee Kuan Yew.

[Srikcir]

"But anyone cannot criticise the way I have come into power as I will hit back,'' Prayut warned."

General Prayut has learned the value of using terrorism against the Thais peoples to keep his power. It worked in 2010 to protect the pro-coup regime of Abhisit by hitting back against protesters with extreme preludice. No reason to change now with the military regime in power.

[Yunla]

The current regime inherited a very failed situation, things were clearly breaking down under the democratic model, there was a lot of factional killing, and normal working people lived in fear of what would happen tomorrow. I applaud the current regime for restoring stability and peace. I also am encouraged by their first steps on tackling corruption and trying to get the nation back on track, after decades of carnage. Much of the corruption and chaos was being orchestrated by Thaksin, and so it is only right that he is one of many targets in the clean-up drive.

I do not envy their task one bit, the problems they faced when they took power were both acute and immense. I think they've done a lot of good things, especially on restoring stability and peace in normal working people's lives.

How's that peace and stability working out for the good people of Yala?

So much the corruption was down to Thaksin, by Golly, who would have thought that? And not a single Dem would do such a thing?

On the Dems thing. I'm not partisan. I'm only a believer in strict regulation-based capitalist democracy. I support law and order, security and safe working environments. I'm not loyal to any particular parties or persons in the world. I just don't like seeing brother killing brother over politics, when the whole basis of democratic politics is debate on national issues. The reds had the TV and Radio stations which they were able to speak about their policy issues, but the policies did not really cover important infrastructure or regulatory work, they kept returning to smash-the-elites talk. Capitalist democracy embraces the elites as a natural aspect of the functioning system. Communism is the system that talks about smash-the-elites all the time.

On the Yala thing. I was talking about politically-fueled conflict surrounding the elections. It is a different subject.

[ramrod711]

The National Anti-Corruption Commission is also planning to take legal action against Yingluck and Surapong for returning Thaksin's passports.

None of which would have ever happened under Yingluck, Tarit and Chalerm. Does anyone miss Chalerm and his idiotic "I will fix it in 90 days" pronouncements? Is anyone sorry that the country hasn't been divided in two by thugs and terrorists? How about people cheering the news that children have been killed? Thaksin was a bankrupt cop that managed to win the favour of one of the most corrupt police men ever, which led to his corrupt success. I wonder which of you critics would welcome the governance of your own country by a convicted, on the run, crook. My hope is that the charges against him will be current until he returns, no matter how long he hides.

[NeverSure]

It may suggest the junta is nervous and insecure and that's dangerous.

Coming out and showing the world who is in control is NOT a sign of being nervous and insecure.

Strange thinking some posters have here on TV.

Feeling like you have to come out and show the world who is in control is the sign of weakness. Doing it shows how you feel.

When one is self confident he doesn't need to prove it.

[SheungWan]

The current regime inherited a very failed situation, things were clearly breaking down under the democratic model, there was a lot of factional killing, and normal working people lived in fear of what would happen tomorrow. I applaud the current regime for restoring stability and peace. I also am encouraged by their first steps on tackling corruption and trying to get the nation back on track, after decades of carnage. Much of the corruption and chaos was being orchestrated by Thaksin, and so it is only right that he is one of many targets in the clean-up drive.

I do not envy their task one bit, the problems they faced when they took power were both acute and immense. I think they've done a lot of good things, especially on restoring stability and peace in normal working people's lives.

The failed situation as you describe it appears to have been engineered by a rather bitter group who had been plotting to overthrow the democratically elected government of Thailand ever since Yingluck was elected PM. I appreciate that there are many who will disagree. However, the aforementioned comment is my understanding of the prevailing opinion of the countries who had condemned the suspension of democracy in Thailand. Now that the Nation has quoted Thaksin's comment, this perception is finally out in the open. It is the view that colours outside opinions.

How has the current administration restored stability and peace? Are you aware that there is an uptick in violence in the south? Are you aware that many parts of the northeast are still subject to draconian freedom of movement restrictions such as curfews? Would you like to be restricted to your home after 9 pm? My friend's village is subject to such a rule. Remember the big explosions on koh Samui and all the allegations made and how we were promised big names would be named quickly? What happened? What first steps on tackling corruption? NOTHING has really been done. The easiest mess to have cleaned up would have been Phuket and the diabolical jetskis. NOTHING has been done. In fact it can be argued that the situation is worse than before. All those promises of a clean up of the taxi/tuk tuk mafia, and an end to forest and beach encroachment, and still NOTHING.

You talk of decades of corruption. In what era? The short period of Thaksin's time in office saw the most robust economic growth in the past 25 years. It was accompanied by the largest gains in foreign investment, and improvement in social benefit indices. You blame Thaksin for all of Thailand's corruption. Well, considering that the most corrupt region in Thailand is the Surat Thani-Phuket- Nahkon Si Thammarat region, which is also the most anti Thaksin region, and also known as Suthep's playground, who do you think is responsible for corruption in that region then? What's your position on the new multi billion baht palm oil fund intended to support palm oil extraction factories? If you are against corruption and in favour of transparency, how can you support the "fund".

When you refer to "normal "working people, do you even know any? I mean really know them? As most of the population is outside of Bangkok and is found in places like the deep south and Issan, where the instability and fears are unchanged, your generalization is off the mark. People in Pattani still live in fear of being blown up, and people in Ubon still live in fear of being detained without charge or access to legal counsel or a fair trial.

These types of contributions come from the very same people who were whitewashing the red violence on the streets in 2010 and also subsequently turned a blind eye when the Yingluck 'clone' government, instead of governing, openly took orders from the criminal in exile to devote their duties to getting him back while simultaneously showing the green light to massive corruption on the rice scheme. Well all of that ended in a shambles, yet another one from the so-called 'master' who has been virtually 10 years out of power now and no political strategy other than his own interests. One positive side is the entertaining read from our resident 'democrats' who appear to still be living out their left-wing fantasies with Thailand as the playground.

Edited May 31, 2015 by SheungWan

[SheungWan]

"I do not stop any one from liking or loving anyone. But anyone cannot criticise the way I have come into power as I will hit back,'' Prayut warned."

Says it all.

He is learning fast from Lee Kuan Yew.

It is a pity that Thaksin did not learn anything from Lee Kuan Yew.

[animatic]

In the classic Thai style they let sleeping dogs lie as long as the lie quietly.

Doing more propaganda abroad is by no means lying quietly.

Historically if ANY deposed ex PM gets up and starts stirring the ashes, they hit back.

Plenty of historical precedent, that's what they care about; continuity.

Thaksin threw down a gauntlet and he gets a likely response, a scraping off of more of his face.

He stopped playing by the 'classic rules' and so they no longer need to. That has been the problem

since 2006, Thaksin doesn't fight fair by thai cultural mores and they have never dealt with it properly,

because this is rather rare. The current gov. clearly realizes the last few gov.s he didn't control had dropped the ball.

They seem un-inclined to do so now, and could care less what we think about it.

Edited May 31, 2015 by animatic

[Nickymaster]

It may suggest the junta is nervous and insecure and that's dangerous.

Coming out and showing the world who is in control is NOT a sign of being nervous and insecure.

Strange thinking some posters have here on TV.

How much control have they got over the South?

Strange thinking some posters have here on TV

What does the south have to do with: Actions against Thaksin show junta firmly in control.

Wait..... Are trying to imply that Thaksin is connected with the terrorists in the South?

About as relevant as you using the words " showing the world" .. really, the world? You think the people outside of Thailand really know or care about the internal politics that are STILL causing huges issues here?

You made a broad statement, about showing control, when that same control being exterted over Thaksin, is nowhere near the same level being shown down in the South.

Why is that Nicky? becuse the South doesn't fit into your equation/agenda ? It's always the same with you Kool aid drinkers, you only see Bangkok as Thailand, despite the killings going on weekly down in the South, you don't feel they're any of your concern because you can't vent your anti red hatred to that directions, your ilk harp on about about peace and stability in the country, but theres anything BUT PEACE and STABILITY down in the South, which last time I looked was still very much part of Thailand, which means peace and stability over the country has still to be reached.

Thaksin will always be in the shadows, you seem to forget that Prayuth himself advised the country and the press to stop focusing on Thaksin, when the whole time, it's been his main focus, no love was lost between the two, this goes all the way back to 2006, and these two fannies are playing one upmanship with a country that belongs to neither of them, and well they could do with remembering!!

The country would be better of without Prayuth or Thaksin, but we know that's never going to be the case, this is all part of a bigger picture.

You just don't get it. This is my last time I will respond to your posts because we always end op going off topic. You clearly just moved to Thailand (maybe a few years ago) got settled here and know everything about this country and its political history and the strategies from the players involved.

It is extremely important for the world to see that there is stability in Thailand. The one who has a red "army" and isn't afraid of starting a civil war for his personal benefits IS Thaksin. Shutting him down now IS key to stability. Yes the world IS watching. They don't care about Prayuth or Thaksin. They just don't want another round of violence. Thaksin started campaigning, when he was in S. Korea, for the next Thai elections by saying: the junta doesn't understand the people and some other things (which I don't need to repeat). Comments that could be the beginning of another round of violence. And that's the reason Prayuth had to step in and shut him down (publicly) to take away any confusion/hope/doubt... Yes, if Thaksin would not have opened his mouth in S. Korea he would still have his passports. A straightforward situation Fat Haggis. Dragging the South into the topic was really unnecessary (a bit of a trump card isn't it..) but since you did..

The South... I read somewhere that the killings decreased since last year. There are some articles on the net but they mainly come from the current government and therefore you might not believe them. You can look them up if you are really interested.

Edited May 31, 2015 by Nickymaster

[PREM-R]

Interesting to know whey as of late, there's a lot of noises about Thaksin this and that,

his passports issues together with his sister issues trusted to the headlines..

there must be some kind of unrest going on and the PM is trying looking to flex muscles

here for all to see, otherwise, it all could be kept quiet and all dealing with Thaksin could

have been done quietly, we we're witnessing otherwise here... why?

I have been told, on two separate occasions, by well informed Thais, that the Amart have a problem with the coup leader. It seems that they had decided to use the same tactics as in 2006 to take power, but this time ‘the genie refused to go back into the bottle’. The coup leader has decided to keep the power and now ‘those who own Thailand’ are struggling to find a way to move things on. I suspect we may be very close to the type of conflict that the coup leader repeatedly said he staged to coup to prevent occurring. The current attacks on the Shin family are merely a side show, a smoke screen.

just more unfounded idle gossip on your part again with no back up ..ie trolling..

I am merely stating what I have been told, on separate occasions, firstly by a person who was, a few years ago, a Thai government minster, and no, before you start to scream, he was not a member of a Shin party, and, on the second occasion, by a recently retired former senior vice president of one of Thailands major banks. If you think that such people are trolls and know nothing about the situation currently facing Thailand, that is your prerogative,

Edited May 31, 2015 by PREM-R

[namatjira]

The name for the television series is " hunting the Red Devil"

Standard type script, Prayut arriving in Dubai by parachute, goodies and baddies,

Big shoot out in the end, never know, might even knock mad max fury road out of the best sellers list

[billd766]

The current regime inherited a very failed situation, things were clearly breaking down under the democratic model, there was a lot of factional killing, and normal working people lived in fear of what would happen tomorrow. I applaud the current regime for restoring stability and peace. I also am encouraged by their first steps on tackling corruption and trying to get the nation back on track, after decades of carnage. Much of the corruption and chaos was being orchestrated by Thaksin, and so it is only right that he is one of many targets in the clean-up drive.

I do not envy their task one bit, the problems they faced when they took power were both acute and immense. I think they've done a lot of good things, especially on restoring stability and peace in normal working people's lives.

The failed situation as you describe it appears to have been engineered by a rather bitter group who had been plotting to overthrow the democratically elected government of Thailand ever since Yingluck was elected PM. I appreciate that there are many who will disagree. However, the aforementioned comment is my understanding of the prevailing opinion of the countries who had condemned the suspension of democracy in Thailand. Now that the Nation has quoted Thaksin's comment, this perception is finally out in the open. It is the view that colours outside opinions.

How has the current administration restored stability and peace? Are you aware that there is an uptick in violence in the south? Are you aware that many parts of the northeast are still subject to draconian freedom of movement restrictions such as curfews? Would you like to be restricted to your home after 9 pm? My friend's village is subject to such a rule. Remember the big explosions on koh Samui and all the allegations made and how we were promised big names would be named quickly? What happened? What first steps on tackling corruption? NOTHING has really been done. The easiest mess to have cleaned up would have been Phuket and the diabolical jetskis. NOTHING has been done. In fact it can be argued that the situation is worse than before. All those promises of a clean up of the taxi/tuk tuk mafia, and an end to forest and beach encroachment, and still NOTHING.

You talk of decades of corruption. In what era? The short period of Thaksin's time in office saw the most robust economic growth in the past 25 years. It was accompanied by the largest gains in foreign investment, and improvement in social benefit indices. You blame Thaksin for all of Thailand's corruption. Well, considering that the most corrupt region in Thailand is the Surat Thani-Phuket- Nahkon Si Thammarat region, which is also the most anti Thaksin region, and also known as Suthep's playground, who do you think is responsible for corruption in that region then? What's your position on the new multi billion baht palm oil fund intended to support palm oil extraction factories? If you are against corruption and in favour of transparency, how can you support the "fund".

When you refer to "normal "working people, do you even know any? I mean really know them? As most of the population is outside of Bangkok and is found in places like the deep south and Issan, where the instability and fears are unchanged, your generalization is off the mark. People in Pattani still live in fear of being blown up, and people in Ubon still live in fear of being detained without charge or access to legal counsel or a fair trial.

I know very many "normal" working people as I live in Khampaeng Phet province near the Mae Wong national park. It is about as rural as it gets in Thailand.

There is no sign of any curfew out here, people are NOT living in fear of their lives or being bothered by the government, nobody I have heard of have been detained by the government or the Army and most people around here don't really care what is going on in the rest of Thailand. They DO care about their jobs, their family and family debts, they do care about when there will be enough rain for the crops and how much, if anything they will get for the crops. They DO care, wonder and worry if their children are on drugs.

As for politics they DON'T care as they know whichever party is in power they will get screwed. This province used to be a PTP province but not anymore.

[dageurreotype]

Interesting to know whey as of late, there's a lot of noises about Thaksin this and that,

his passports issues together with his sister issues trusted to the headlines..

there must be some kind of unrest going on and the PM is trying looking to flex muscles

here for all to see, otherwise, it all could be kept quiet and all dealing with Thaksin could

have been done quietly, we we're witnessing otherwise here... why?

I have been told, on two separate occasions, by well informed Thais, that the Amart have a problem with the coup leader. It seems that they had decided to use the same tactics as in 2006 to take power, but this time ‘the genie refused to go back into the bottle’. The coup leader has decided to keep the power and now ‘those who own Thailand’ are struggling to find a way to move things on. I suspect we may be very close to the type of conflict that the coup leader repeatedly said he staged to coup to prevent occurring. The current attacks on the Shin family are merely a side show, a smoke screen.

Sounds plausible. But surely there are other Hired Guns up for sale?

[Fat Haggis]

It's also important that the world sees a return to democracy Nicky and the country back to the people.

I'll ignore your comments about not being here long and don't understand, as I think the people who have been here longer have had their heads buried in the sand for so long, that can't see what others see, and that there's a much bigger game being played out within the country, and the stake couldn't higher.

Don't for one minute think that because you've been here for so long that you can simply dismiss what's going on behind the scenes, TV keeps it pretty tight, in that some things are taboo, but lets just say us "Noobs" have a mind that's more opened than say someone who has seen this merry go round continue, with coup after coup, and always "but this one is different" .. no it isn't, and neither will the next one be any different.

If you think for one minute that's me siding with the PTP and Thaksin, you're mistaken, it's a common belief amongst "old sweats" , that if you're not with us, you're against us.. Thailand doesn't need Thaksin, and it doesn't need coup after coup after coup becuase the Military don't like how things are run!!

[Nickymaster]

The current regime inherited a very failed situation, things were clearly breaking down under the democratic model, there was a lot of factional killing, and normal working people lived in fear of what would happen tomorrow. I applaud the current regime for restoring stability and peace. I also am encouraged by their first steps on tackling corruption and trying to get the nation back on track, after decades of carnage. Much of the corruption and chaos was being orchestrated by Thaksin, and so it is only right that he is one of many targets in the clean-up drive.

I do not envy their task one bit, the problems they faced when they took power were both acute and immense. I think they've done a lot of good things, especially on restoring stability and peace in normal working people's lives.

The failed situation as you describe it appears to have been engineered by a rather bitter group who had been plotting to overthrow the democratically elected government of Thailand ever since Yingluck was elected PM. I appreciate that there are many who will disagree. However, the aforementioned comment is my understanding of the prevailing opinion of the countries who had condemned the suspension of democracy in Thailand. Now that the Nation has quoted Thaksin's comment, this perception is finally out in the open. It is the view that colours outside opinions.

How has the current administration restored stability and peace? Are you aware that there is an uptick in violence in the south? Are you aware that many parts of the northeast are still subject to draconian freedom of movement restrictions such as curfews? Would you like to be restricted to your home after 9 pm? My friend's village is subject to such a rule. Remember the big explosions on koh Samui and all the allegations made and how we were promised big names would be named quickly? What happened? What first steps on tackling corruption? NOTHING has really been done. The easiest mess to have cleaned up would have been Phuket and the diabolical jetskis. NOTHING has been done. In fact it can be argued that the situation is worse than before. All those promises of a clean up of the taxi/tuk tuk mafia, and an end to forest and beach encroachment, and still NOTHING.

You talk of decades of corruption. In what era? The short period of Thaksin's time in office saw the most robust economic growth in the past 25 years. It was accompanied by the largest gains in foreign investment, and improvement in social benefit indices. You blame Thaksin for all of Thailand's corruption. Well, considering that the most corrupt region in Thailand is the Surat Thani-Phuket- Nahkon Si Thammarat region, which is also the most anti Thaksin region, and also known as Suthep's playground, who do you think is responsible for corruption in that region then? What's your position on the new multi billion baht palm oil fund intended to support palm oil extraction factories? If you are against corruption and in favour of transparency, how can you support the "fund".

When you refer to "normal "working people, do you even know any? I mean really know them? As most of the population is outside of Bangkok and is found in places like the deep south and Issan, where the instability and fears are unchanged, your generalization is off the mark. People in Pattani still live in fear of being blown up, and people in Ubon still live in fear of being detained without charge or access to legal counsel or a fair trial.

stop spreading fear and hatred through lies. Thailand is fairly peaceful. Let's keep it that way.

[Rimmer]

A troll post and the replies to it have been removed

[scooterandjobe]

"I do not stop any one from liking or loving anyone. But anyone cannot criticise the way I have come into power as I will hit back,'' Prayut warned."

Says it all.

He is learning fast from Lee Kuan Yew.

I don't think LKY's model or Singapore's development strategy can be applied to Thailand. But, maybe Gen Park Chung-hee's and South Korea's model can:

'Jail the corrupt rich and force them to use their wealth to rebuild the country'!

Edited May 31, 2015 by scooterandjobe

[billd766]

It's also important that the world sees a return to democracy Nicky and the country back to the people.

I'll ignore your comments about not being here long and don't understand, as I think the people who have been here longer have had their heads buried in the sand for so long, that can't see what others see, and that there's a much bigger game being played out within the country, and the stake couldn't higher.

Don't for one minute think that because you've been here for so long that you can simply dismiss what's going on behind the scenes, TV keeps it pretty tight, in that some things are taboo, but lets just say us "Noobs" have a mind that's more opened than say someone who has seen this merry go round continue, with coup after coup, and always "but this one is different" .. no it isn't, and neither will the next one be any different.

If you think for one minute that's me siding with the PTP and Thaksin, you're mistaken, it's a common belief amongst "old sweats" , that if you're not with us, you're against us.. Thailand doesn't need Thaksin, and it doesn't need coup after coup after coup becuase the Military don't like how things are run!!

quote "It's also important that the world sees a return to democracy Nicky and the country back to the people."

Can I ask what to me is a fairly simple question?

Do you truly believe that then entire world is concerned about democracy in Thailand?

About half the worls is concerned about getting enough food to eat, millions of people are fleeing their countries for a better life, I suspect that more people in the UK,USA and the EU are worried about Russia and the Ukraine. Around the Arab Gulf most of the people are far more worried about the IS than Thailand.

I would venture to say that the majority of the people in the world don't care about Thailand and democracy and perhaps billions of them don't even HAVE democracy in their own country.

That doesn't leave many people who do care.

So far I haven't found much common concensus as to what democracy really is and is there a standard one size fits all democracy that covers every country in the world or does each country have its own version?

If each country has their own version then strictly speaking no other country should be interfering with they way it is done.

If each country has the right to choose what they think is best for themselves and their country why are so many politicians trying to push their version on other countries.

Personally I think it is just politicans "making believe" that they care when in reality they don't give a rats rrrrrse so long as they keep their snouts in their own budgets.

Edited May 31, 2015 by billd766

[ExPratt]

"I do not stop any one from liking or loving anyone. But anyone cannot criticise the way I have come into power as I will hit back,'' Prayut warned.

Not verbally or a political argument over any issue. "You see that Passport that you don't need or use ,? well consider it cancelled and sent back your police issue truncheon and shoes. I'm telling you Bitch don't vex me I'm WELL HARD"

[Fat Haggis]

The current regime inherited a very failed situation, things were clearly breaking down under the democratic model, there was a lot of factional killing, and normal working people lived in fear of what would happen tomorrow. I applaud the current regime for restoring stability and peace. I also am encouraged by their first steps on tackling corruption and trying to get the nation back on track, after decades of carnage. Much of the corruption and chaos was being orchestrated by Thaksin, and so it is only right that he is one of many targets in the clean-up drive.

I do not envy their task one bit, the problems they faced when they took power were both acute and immense. I think they've done a lot of good things, especially on restoring stability and peace in normal working people's lives.

The failed situation as you describe it appears to have been engineered by a rather bitter group who had been plotting to overthrow the democratically elected government of Thailand ever since Yingluck was elected PM. I appreciate that there are many who will disagree. However, the aforementioned comment is my understanding of the prevailing opinion of the countries who had condemned the suspension of democracy in Thailand. Now that the Nation has quoted Thaksin's comment, this perception is finally out in the open. It is the view that colours outside opinions.

How has the current administration restored stability and peace? Are you aware that there is an uptick in violence in the south? Are you aware that many parts of the northeast are still subject to draconian freedom of movement restrictions such as curfews? Would you like to be restricted to your home after 9 pm? My friend's village is subject to such a rule. Remember the big explosions on koh Samui and all the allegations made and how we were promised big names would be named quickly? What happened? What first steps on tackling corruption? NOTHING has really been done. The easiest mess to have cleaned up would have been Phuket and the diabolical jetskis. NOTHING has been done. In fact it can be argued that the situation is worse than before. All those promises of a clean up of the taxi/tuk tuk mafia, and an end to forest and beach encroachment, and still NOTHING.

You talk of decades of corruption. In what era? The short period of Thaksin's time in office saw the most robust economic growth in the past 25 years. It was accompanied by the largest gains in foreign investment, and improvement in social benefit indices. You blame Thaksin for all of Thailand's corruption. Well, considering that the most corrupt region in Thailand is the Surat Thani-Phuket- Nahkon Si Thammarat region, which is also the most anti Thaksin region, and also known as Suthep's playground, who do you think is responsible for corruption in that region then? What's your position on the new multi billion baht palm oil fund intended to support palm oil extraction factories? If you are against corruption and in favour of transparency, how can you support the "fund".

When you refer to "normal "working people, do you even know any? I mean really know them? As most of the population is outside of Bangkok and is found in places like the deep south and Issan, where the instability and fears are unchanged, your generalization is off the mark. People in Pattani still live in fear of being blown up, and people in Ubon still live in fear of being detained without charge or access to legal counsel or a fair trial.

I know very many "normal" working people as I live in Khampaeng Phet province near the Mae Wong national park. It is about as rural as it gets in Thailand.

There is no sign of any curfew out here, people are NOT living in fear of their lives or being bothered by the government, nobody I have heard of have been detained by the government or the Army and most people around here don't really care what is going on in the rest of Thailand. They DO care about their jobs, their family and family debts, they do care about when there will be enough rain for the crops and how much, if anything they will get for the crops. They DO care, wonder and worry if their children are on drugs.

As for politics they DON'T care as they know whichever party is in power they will get screwed. This province used to be a PTP province but not anymore.

Pretty much what the whole of the country was saying during late 2013-early 2014.

But how do you know that it's no longer a PTP province? I mean, did they all come up to you individually and tell you they no longer see the PTP as the party of their choice?

It really is a broad statement to make, without having the proof, which is basically the ballot box as anecdotal evidence that it's not a PTP province anymore. Can you 110% guarantee that those who took the vote buying money wouldn't do so again? You can't can you, nobody can, so how can you categorically state it's no longer a PTP province?

The whole of Issan is in the same boat, they all might be telling you what you want to hear, and why would they discuss their voting preferences with you anyway?

For those that keep making the absurd claims about farangs who live in red areas need to stop listening to what their wives /GF are telling them need to get a life, personally my wife has never told me much, apart from Thaksin is no good, and he steal from Buhdda, and what she knows about politics, you could write on the back of a stamp!! Not all wives and GF's from issan are like yours, filling your heads full of what you want to hear too

If I want to know something about Thai, LAST person I would ask is my wife, or any of her family, for one, they wouldn't know (never seen a Thaksin picture in any of the villagers homes up here either) and another reason is, unless it's about the latest Thai soaps, they don't care either., and thirdly, the internet is far better to get information from, you can chose what to read, and what not to read. Issan wife for Political Information? Not from this member, and I suspect many others too.

I'll stick to getting my information from the Political academics who frequent here, you cant learn unless you read both good and bad, and at the end of the form your own opinions, never mind a wife that cares more about shoes than who's PM!!!

[khunken]

It's also important that the world sees a return to democracy Nicky and the country back to the people.

I'll ignore your comments about not being here long and don't understand, as I think the people who have been here longer have had their heads buried in the sand for so long, that can't see what others see, and that there's a much bigger game being played out within the country, and the stake couldn't higher.

Don't for one minute think that because you've been here for so long that you can simply dismiss what's going on behind the scenes, TV keeps it pretty tight, in that some things are taboo, but lets just say us "Noobs" have a mind that's more opened than say someone who has seen this merry go round continue, with coup after coup, and always "but this one is different" .. no it isn't, and neither will the next one be any different.

If you think for one minute that's me siding with the PTP and Thaksin, you're mistaken, it's a common belief amongst "old sweats" , that if you're not with us, you're against us.. Thailand doesn't need Thaksin, and it doesn't need coup after coup after coup becuase the Military don't like how things are run!!

First FH I normally view your posts as fair although often wrong, IMO of course.

The above doesn't fall into the 'fair' category. You pretend to sit on the fence over Thaksin & Prayuth but don't say, apart from the 'democracy' mantra, who or what is needed to bring Thailand up to some sort of democratic scratch. You should know that elections do not equate to democracy and when it takes street protests to reign in a government who think they are above the law, that is a failure of the local form of democracy.

As for your puerile comments about those expats who have been here for a lot longer than you, the ones who have their head buried in the sand are the geriatrics who trot out complete nonsense about how brilliant Thaksin was and even defend his self-serving crimes by distorted 'logic'.

Maybe this coup won't be 'different' and maybe it will - wait until it's finished before pontificating is good advice - but it is and was needed to stop out of control violence by Thaksin-supported militias (who seemed to have the CAPO & police support too). So far they have had mixed success in dealing with many problems, all of which are long-standing & I agree with some of the 'fixes' and not others.

[Alwyn]

On the contrary, the junta's comments on Thaksin and any repressive moves they make show they are totally "out" of control. This Thai writer Bootsripoom has it totally backwards.

Unlike you even a broken clock is right twice a day.

No reaction to a deliberately provocative interview would show weakness, they have to respond.

You are correct and the correct response would have been no response to show they are not concerned by the words of a fugitive, especially when the words were not really daming nor offensive. All the Junta has done now is to show to the World that they are stiil scared of Thaksin and anybody slightly related to him through politics. If they had just smiled and said "that's his opinion and he's entitled to it" it would have been more gracious, professional and not looked like they're going to piss their pants every time somebody says something they don't like!

[billd766]

The current regime inherited a very failed situation, things were clearly breaking down under the democratic model, there was a lot of factional killing, and normal working people lived in fear of what would happen tomorrow. I applaud the current regime for restoring stability and peace. I also am encouraged by their first steps on tackling corruption and trying to get the nation back on track, after decades of carnage. Much of the corruption and chaos was being orchestrated by Thaksin, and so it is only right that he is one of many targets in the clean-up drive.

I do not envy their task one bit, the problems they faced when they took power were both acute and immense. I think they've done a lot of good things, especially on restoring stability and peace in normal working people's lives.

The failed situation as you describe it appears to have been engineered by a rather bitter group who had been plotting to overthrow the democratically elected government of Thailand ever since Yingluck was elected PM. I appreciate that there are many who will disagree. However, the aforementioned comment is my understanding of the prevailing opinion of the countries who had condemned the suspension of democracy in Thailand. Now that the Nation has quoted Thaksin's comment, this perception is finally out in the open. It is the view that colours outside opinions.

How has the current administration restored stability and peace? Are you aware that there is an uptick in violence in the south? Are you aware that many parts of the northeast are still subject to draconian freedom of movement restrictions such as curfews? Would you like to be restricted to your home after 9 pm? My friend's village is subject to such a rule. Remember the big explosions on koh Samui and all the allegations made and how we were promised big names would be named quickly? What happened? What first steps on tackling corruption? NOTHING has really been done. The easiest mess to have cleaned up would have been Phuket and the diabolical jetskis. NOTHING has been done. In fact it can be argued that the situation is worse than before. All those promises of a clean up of the taxi/tuk tuk mafia, and an end to forest and beach encroachment, and still NOTHING.

You talk of decades of corruption. In what era? The short period of Thaksin's time in office saw the most robust economic growth in the past 25 years. It was accompanied by the largest gains in foreign investment, and improvement in social benefit indices. You blame Thaksin for all of Thailand's corruption. Well, considering that the most corrupt region in Thailand is the Surat Thani-Phuket- Nahkon Si Thammarat region, which is also the most anti Thaksin region, and also known as Suthep's playground, who do you think is responsible for corruption in that region then? What's your position on the new multi billion baht palm oil fund intended to support palm oil extraction factories? If you are against corruption and in favour of transparency, how can you support the "fund".

When you refer to "normal "working people, do you even know any? I mean really know them? As most of the population is outside of Bangkok and is found in places like the deep south and Issan, where the instability and fears are unchanged, your generalization is off the mark. People in Pattani still live in fear of being blown up, and people in Ubon still live in fear of being detained without charge or access to legal counsel or a fair trial.

I know very many "normal" working people as I live in Khampaeng Phet province near the Mae Wong national park. It is about as rural as it gets in Thailand.

There is no sign of any curfew out here, people are NOT living in fear of their lives or being bothered by the government, nobody I have heard of have been detained by the government or the Army and most people around here don't really care what is going on in the rest of Thailand. They DO care about their jobs, their family and family debts, they do care about when there will be enough rain for the crops and how much, if anything they will get for the crops. They DO care, wonder and worry if their children are on drugs.

As for politics they DON'T care as they know whichever party is in power they will get screwed. This province used to be a PTP province but not anymore.

Pretty much what the whole of the country was saying during late 2013-early 2014.

But how do you know that it's no longer a PTP province? I mean, did they all come up to you individually and tell you they no longer see the PTP as the party of their choice?

It really is a broad statement to make, without having the proof, which is basically the ballot box as anecdotal evidence that it's not a PTP province anymore. Can you 110% guarantee that those who took the vote buying money wouldn't do so again? You can't can you, nobody can, so how can you categorically state it's no longer a PTP province?

The whole of Issan is in the same boat, they all might be telling you what you want to hear, and why would they discuss their voting preferences with you anyway?

For those that keep making the absurd claims about farangs who live in red areas need to stop listening to what their wives /GF are telling them need to get a life, personally my wife has never told me much, apart from Thaksin is no good, and he steal from Buhdda, and what she knows about politics, you could write on the back of a stamp!! Not all wives and GF's from issan are like yours, filling your heads full of what you want to hear too

If I want to know something about Thai, LAST person I would ask is my wife, or any of her family, for one, they wouldn't know (never seen a Thaksin picture in any of the villagers homes up here either) and another reason is, unless it's about the latest Thai soaps, they don't care either., and thirdly, the internet is far better to get information from, you can chose what to read, and what not to read. Issan wife for Political Information? Not from this member, and I suspect many others too.

I'll stick to getting my information from the Political academics who frequent here, you cant learn unless you read both good and bad, and at the end of the form your own opinions, never mind a wife that cares more about shoes than who's PM!!!

quote "But how do you know that it's no longer a PTP province? I mean, did they all come up to you individually and tell you they no longer see the PTP as the party of their choice?"

No they didn't but that applies to ALL the people who are predicting a victory for one side or the other.

It really is a broad statement to make, without having the proof, which is what so many people are claiming about Issan and yet another Thaksin clone party.

The election back in 2011 was the last time I asked my wife what she voted and no, she won't talk politics with me at all as she claims it is boring (it is).

No I don't live in Issan but on the other side of the country and nowhere near the (wannabe) kingdom of Lanna

[Fat Haggis]

You're correct Khunken, I don't say what's needed to bring Thailand into the democratic fold, it's not my place to make these suggestions, so I sit on the fence, IF I had a vote, I wouldn't vote for the PTP.

I don't have a vote, just opinions, and opinions are like r-souls, we all have them.

I have already given some... incase you missed it, here it is again... Keep the Military away from Politics, they are there to serve the people, not the other way around.

Having had a Military background pretty much all my life, unless you're in a Spec Ops unit, there's no such thing as a democracy, it's an autocracy, not up for negotaion, you do what you're told end of.

The Junta are NOT the ideal people to preach democracy or anything about it, when they do NOT ALLOW their orders to be questioned, it's their way or the High way... hardly democratic.

What we all tend to forget, is that everything that's going on was brough on by Thais themselves, no western influences caused this situation that's been around since the 1930's, so Thais themselves will have to sort it all out.

I dislike the Junta as much as I dislike the PTP and the UDD, they are just as bad as each other, but one team owns the ball, and when they don't like it, they call the game off and go home in a huff... that has to stop, the Army should NEVER be so powerful, it's not healthy, it breeds its own problems.

[ggold]

So I guess Thaksin doesn't get moved to an inactive post like so many others! Come to think of it Inactive posts must out number the active posts by now. Wonder if that has anything to do with Thailands problems?

[khunken]

You're correct Khunken, I don't say what's needed to bring Thailand into the democratic fold, it's not my place to make these suggestions, so I sit on the fence, IF I had a vote, I wouldn't vote for the PTP.

I don't have a vote, just opinions, and opinions are like r-souls, we all have them.

I have already given some... incase you missed it, here it is again... Keep the Military away from Politics, they are there to serve the people, not the other way around.

Having had a Military background pretty much all my life, unless you're in a Spec Ops unit, there's no such thing as a democracy, it's an autocracy, not up for negotaion, you do what you're told end of.

The Junta are NOT the ideal people to preach democracy or anything about it, when they do NOT ALLOW their orders to be questioned, it's their way or the High way... hardly democratic.

What we all tend to forget, is that everything that's going on was brough on by Thais themselves, no western influences caused this situation that's been around since the 1930's, so Thais themselves will have to sort it all out.

I dislike the Junta as much as I dislike the PTP and the UDD, they are just as bad as each other, but one team owns the ball, and when they don't like it, they call the game off and go home in a huff... that has to stop, the Army should NEVER be so powerful, it's not healthy, it breeds its own problems.

Well if you can and do criticise all and sundry, there's nothing to stop you making suggestions for the betterment of this country.

It might surprise you that I don't like military governments either and agree that they are certainly not democratic. But when a system is broken (more like never fully in place) it is better to try and fix it rather than let it continue festering, I think that the military is the only body left here with the clout that can attempt a fix. They do not, despite some rhetoric, claim to be democratic but are trying to put in place some sort of rules that they hope will bring about a future leadership that is not self-serving and above the law.

I do admit to having a very sceptical view of democracy but that's another topic for another thread.

Given the dire state of the RTP and Thaksin & his puppet's (unfortunately) successful attempt to make them one-sided to add to their corruption it is only the military that can balance that out, which they have done.

So the lesser of two evils is the reason that I support the coup and all legal means to prevent yet more of Thaksin's attempts to continue interfering in Thailand despite all his previous lies about non-politicking.