SURVEY: Will political upheaval return to Thailand?

[Scott]

In your opinion will Suthep Thaugsuban's recent move toward political activism result in the return of a major political upheaval in Thailand?

Please feel free to post a comment, but be aware that bringing the monarchy into the discussion is prohibited and exercise care not to use inflammatory remarks or names in referring to members of the current or past government. The laws on these issues are still strictly enforced.

[MarkmBha]

More of the same....

[sscsamui]

Not as long as the Military is in Power... Thank goodness

[NongKhaiKid]

The potential is bad enough when two totally opposed camps go at it but here we have the situation of ' when thieves, sorry friends, fall out '.

How far will Suthep push his luck, and be allowed to, before his old pal has to respond and by then it could be very messy and only get worse.

Edited August 9, 2015 by NongKhaiKid

[Badbanker]

It all remains to be seen if the cyclical nature of Thai politics can be broken by the present regime. If it can then we will see the beginnings of real democracy.

Suthep always was the hand of the present regime and openly admitted he was in their at least debt!

[MaxLee]

is that even a question, among those face-hungry evils....????

[tbthailand]

Will political upheaval return to Thailand?

political upheaval never left Thailand.

Edited August 9, 2015 by tbthailand

[PatOngo]

I really can't envisage the factions wai-ing each other with a smile on their faces, saying never mind and living in harmony happily ever after.

[slipperylobster]

Military will crack down before trouble happens.

Martial Law is the only way to go...for now.

The problem is the economy, and individual debt. People will grow unhappier.

However, Prayuth will enforce harsh measures for disruptions.

status quo...for quite a while. Not so bad.

[worgeordie]

Its not Suthep,we need to worry about,its the other guy

in the desert or wherever he is,if he brings his red thugs

out again,they are the ones that resort to violence,with

bombs,bullets,and rocket launchers,and don't forget arson.

Peace will never occur in Thailand until the megalomaniac

no longer walks the earth.

regards Worgeordie

[magnacarta]

I can see this survey is going to run and run and run..........................out of steam.

[Crossy]

A number of posts have been deleted, please read the OP again. Carefully.

[aircut]

don't be fooled. its all well orchestrated show. itc will only give prayut an excuse to keep holding power and to delay elections

Edited August 10, 2015 by aircut

[aussieinthailand]

Its not Suthep,we need to worry about,its the other guy

in the desert or wherever he is,if he brings his red thugs

out again,they are the ones that resort to violence,with

bombs,bullets,and rocket launchers,and don't forget arson.

Peace will never occur in Thailand until the megalomaniac

no longer walks the earth.

regards Worgeordie

Seriously!!! When will you people wake up that crying the wolf in Dubai just isn't working any more...

Mark is a political cripple, but if he had some ball's [real policies for ALL Thailand not just BKK] he could stand a chance and win an election rather than having the job handed to him on a silver platter like last time and most things in his very very privileged silver spoon life...

Suthep and the current self imposed PM are a political nightmare, They are both megalomaniac's, full of self importance, ignorance, and completely unaware that their ivory towers will come crashing down sooner or latter.

You can only push people so far, then they will push back, history is a great teacher.

[BSJ]

Up here in the village a number of shots just rang out! Oh no, is it the start of trouble with the red shirts??? Everyone stay calm! Ah no, it's just the local policeman putting down a rabid dog.

[Dibbler]

As Ronald Reagan said: BOTH POLITICIANS AND DIAPERS NEED TO BE CHANGED OFTEN AND FOR THE SAME REASON! From my reckoning it's time to change those diapers as some of them have been around for too many years now.

[NongKhaiKid]

Its not Suthep,we need to worry about,its the other guy

in the desert or wherever he is,if he brings his red thugs

out again,they are the ones that resort to violence,with

bombs,bullets,and rocket launchers,and don't forget arson.

Peace will never occur in Thailand until the megalomaniac

no longer walks the earth.

regards Worgeordie

Seriously!!! When will you people wake up that crying the wolf in Dubai just isn't working any more...

Mark is a political cripple, but if he had some ball's [real policies for ALL Thailand not just BKK] he could stand a chance and win an election rather than having the job handed to him on a silver platter like last time and most things in his very very privileged silver spoon life...

Suthep and the current self imposed PM are a political nightmare, They are both megalomaniac's, full of self importance, ignorance, and completely unaware that their ivory towers will come crashing down sooner or latter.

You can only push people so far, then they will push back, history is a great teacher.

Yes history is a great teacher but it only works if the students are willing to learn.

However Thai politicians are so up themselves that they cannot / will not learn and it's the nation and the ordinary people who suffer.

It all gets sorted out, after a fashion, and then the cycle starts all over again.

[lildragon]

But of course. Now with Suthep ack on the scene we will get to breaking point more rapidly. I fear a repeat of Black May 1992.

[EnglishJohn]

Anyone who has watched the behaviour of the red-shirts will know that they will NEVER take to the streets on their own because of any unjust politics (like the people of Bangkok did after the amnesty bill).

It will only happen when somebody hires all the busses and arranges the venues for the parties so that people will get a free holiday and not have to spend anything themselves.

Then the paid thugs can mingle with the regular people and do what we have seen so often already.

So the only question is when the UDD leadership get the order and the funds to make it happen. And I don't see that happening while the junta are in charge because the entire plan depends on dirty police allowing it. I remember at the start of the last protests when the red-shirts were in a stadium near my condo. The police withdrew completely to allow them to carry out their murders and violence - and even guarded a bridge for a sniper.

I think a LOT of plans are being made for when the junta are gone - especially if the reds don't like who is in government.

[uli65]

this country is ungovernable. Kim Jong-un is the only solution for this broken society. the army is to weak. You have to rule this country with an iron fist.

[ezflip]

..

....history is a great teacher.

Unfortunately, history is the one subject Thai kids don't learn very well. Never mind world history, Thai history alone would solve some problems. They are bound to repeat the mistakes of their past and never truly evolve in any field.

[aussieinthailand]

Anyone who has watched the behaviour of the red-shirts will know that they will NEVER take to the streets on their own because of any unjust politics (like the people of Bangkok did after the amnesty bill).

It will only happen when somebody hires all the busses and arranges the venues for the parties so that people will get a free holiday and not have to spend anything themselves.

Then the paid thugs can mingle with the regular people and do what we have seen so often already.

So the only question is when the UDD leadership get the order and the funds to make it happen. And I don't see that happening while the junta are in charge because the entire plan depends on dirty police allowing it. I remember at the start of the last protests when the red-shirts were in a stadium near my condo. The police withdrew completely to allow them to carry out their murders and violence - and even guarded a bridge for a sniper.

I think a LOT of plans are being made for when the junta are gone - especially if the reds don't like who is in government.

What is the question???

"Will political upheaval return to Thailand?" Answer, Not if open fair elections are made and the umpires (the voters) decisions is respected.

follow the rules and vote out the offending government, simple, as for impeachment, you can not impeach a person that is not in office.

Now for your first totally wrong comment, Do ya remember farmers coming from north and north west on tractor's n trucks down too BKK to protest not being paid for their rice? ok now then popit, just who was threatening banks to not make loans to the government to pay the farmers? all the while crying OHH OHH the poor farmers, ya remember that little chest nut?

As for your comment police guarding a bridge for a sniper, care to clarify? Who was the sniper? who was the target? maybe a shred of evidence? ahhh but that's not you style....................

[SupermarineS6B]

Not to be too pessimistic, but if it doesn't i'll be shocked. I mean you've just got to count how many previous coups there's been to understand that we're currently waiting for the next contender to step up....... My only concern is that we don't produce another 1992 incident....... I love Thailand, and i've spent a large proportion of my life here, but it's about time the "Grown ups" grew up, and started to think more about their country than themselves.......

[Srikcir]

Before the resurrection of Suthep back into politics, the Junta was reeling from unexpected broad coup-appointed NRC and CDC members insisting on a referendum for the draft constitution. Furthermore, Prayut's almost manical suppression of increasing protests for freedom of expression were beginning to create more protest support rather than eliminating it.

To that end I believe that Suthep was brought in by the military to promote the NCPO draft constitution as an "outside independent group" that will have access to unlimited private and unaccountable funding. Furthermore, Supthep's group would be allowed public forums with which to bait the PTP leadership into public protests and possible violent reaction in violation of Article 44. That in turn would give the Junta an excuse to restore peace and order by arresting all the remaining PTP leadership, shutdown all pro-PTP media and intimidate Thai people in general from opposing the NCPO agenda.

[boomerangutang]

It depends on the time scale. If the q was asked ".....within the next 2 years" I'd have to say 'I don't think so'

If the q asked about political upheaval in Thailand... "....in the next 10 years" I'd have to say 'yes.'

Note, this may or may not have a bearing on political strife in Thailand, but Bkk has historically flooded badly every 5 years. Last time it flooded badly, there was the transition between Abhisit and Yingluck (T's proxy). Next time will be 13 months from now, 2016. Are you ready Bangkokians? You might want to get 5 million sandbags ready, and polish off the canoe. I've got a design for a floating bed made of recycled plastic bottles lashed together. Earlier, I made and used a boat made from same type of lashed-together plastic bottles, with frame of two lengths of bamboo. I floated 60 km down the Mae Kok river with it.

[jesimps]

Not as long as the Military is in Power... Thank goodness

They're his sponsor so I guess you're right.

[Credo]

The current military government wants to stay in power until any changes that could affect the major institutions of the country are secure. There is a lot of international pressure and I suspect a great deal of internal pressure that we do not know about, for a return to democracy. The most basic problem is that the stakes are now very, very high in this game. There is a lot of lose.

I am afraid that the military in the mix is not a good thing. I foresee big problems brewing.

[ikke]

Anyone who has watched the behaviour of the red-shirts will know that they will NEVER take to the streets on their own because of any unjust politics (like the people of Bangkok did after the amnesty bill).

It will only happen when somebody hires all the busses and arranges the venues for the parties so that people will get a free holiday and not have to spend anything themselves.

Then the paid thugs can mingle with the regular people and do what we have seen so often already.

So the only question is when the UDD leadership get the order and the funds to make it happen. And I don't see that happening while the junta are in charge because the entire plan depends on dirty police allowing it. I remember at the start of the last protests when the red-shirts were in a stadium near my condo. The police withdrew completely to allow them to carry out their murders and violence - and even guarded a bridge for a sniper.

I think a LOT of plans are being made for when the junta are gone - especially if the reds don't like who is in government.

"especially if the reds don't like who is in government."

They never came on the streets because they did't like who was in the government, They came always when there was an unelected bunch of idiots in power and when the Suthep terrorist group was out there .

[EnglishJohn]

Its not Suthep,we need to worry about,its the other guy

in the desert or wherever he is,if he brings his red thugs

out again,they are the ones that resort to violence,with

bombs,bullets,and rocket launchers,and don't forget arson.

Peace will never occur in Thailand until the megalomaniac

no longer walks the earth.

regards Worgeordie

Seriously!!! When will you people wake up that crying the wolf in Dubai just isn't working any more...

Mark is a political cripple, but if he had some ball's [real policies for ALL Thailand not just BKK] he could stand a chance and win an election rather than having the job handed to him on a silver platter like last time and most things in his very very privileged silver spoon life...

Suthep and the current self imposed PM are a political nightmare, They are both megalomaniac's, full of self importance, ignorance, and completely unaware that their ivory towers will come crashing down sooner or latter.

You can only push people so far, then they will push back, history is a great teacher.

Good grief man - stop with your red-shirt communist revolution claptrap and wake up. Thailand is a better place now than it was when Pheu-Thai were murdering protestors and stealing everything they could get their dirty hands on.

And do you actually believe that Mr T is not still pulling all the strings for Pheu-Thai and the red-shirts ?. Or are you just being a hypocrite ?. And hyena would be a better description than wolf.

[wandasloan]

Suthep is just the military is just Suthep. I thought Suthep made that clear before he was exiled and punished for saying it. Suthep means nothing. The presence of the army, if prolonged for "too long" will cause more upheaval. That has occurred EVERY time in the past, and this crowd has no quality that would prevent it. "Too long" will come in a few days or ... not more than a couple of years. Gen Sarit knows that. Once the retirement funds are locked up properly, he'll attempt to somehow back out.

But the army ALSO has little to do with it as several other events are completely intertwined.

Or, to paraphrase the OP just a tiny bit: Do you think England will win the Cricket World Cup? Discuss, but do not mention "Australia".