BANGKOK: More than 100K at 9pm. Many More Coming. JAMS 50km Long. ArbiSHIT SHITTING!

[kensington]

Re: BANGKOK: More than 100K at 9pm. Many More Coming. JAMS 50km Long. ArbiSHIT SHITTI

flashback...


Abhisit Vejjajiva, economic nationalist | 20.12.05

With a twist. The Democrat Party leader favors local businesses, as long as they are not connected to people in the government:

“ให้(ต่างชาติ) เลือกทำธุรกิจได้แทบทุกอย่างไม่เว้นแม้แต่ความมั่นคง ยกเว้นเรื่องเดียวที่รัฐบาลไม่เปิดโอกาสให้เข้ามาคือโทรคมนาคม”


“[The government] lets (foreigners) choose to do business in almost everything, not excepting even national security, [but] except the only one thing [industry] that the government doesn’t allow them to come in, that is telecommunication.”

Never mind that:

Norway’s Telenor ASA now owns 61% of UCOM and 48% of DTAC. The latter, as Thailand’s second largest mobile phone operator, competes directly and fiercely with Shin Corp’s AIS.

AIS, the industry leader, is 19% owned by Singapore’s Singtel.

The Thaksin government raised the ceiling on foreign telecom stakes from 25% to 49% back in 2002 and it was attacked for that, too (just as it had been when the limit was first promulgated — it’s all about enriching the Shinawatra family).

Telecommunication has always been one of the most protected industries in Thailand, just like, I believe, in many other countries.

Did someone say national security? Telecommunication has no security dimension, I suppose, not like real weapons and military hardware, which we have always imported.



The gall of this man. He must think his audience really stupid. Of course he’s right, but that doesn’t make it any less disgusting.


But, but, but Abhisit is the PM now, right ?

 

[kensington]

Re: BANGKOK: More than 100K at 9pm. Many More Coming. JAMS 50km Long. ArbiSHIT SHITTI

Abhisit, did I hear you right, that you got my vote???
We, the 'Red-shirts' say the current Thai government is illegitimate

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Abhisit said he is closing in on Thaksin and only a hundred thousand votes separated him from the Red shirts and he is making good progress in the north but he didn't say anything about why he couldn't go home and why he couldn't go to his office and why is he hiding in an army barrack.



meanwhile...


Al-Sultan Thaksin Al-Shinawatra is in Dubai enjoying the Arabian's sunset...
Listening to Scheherazade's soft whispers...
For yet another night...


And his able and trusted viceroy continues his fight at homefront, veteran politician Chaturon Chaisang last night echoed the call by protesting red shirts and fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra for Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to dissolve the House of Representatives to make way for fresh elections. Chaturon, former acting leader of the Thai Rak Thai Party, said that although the red shirts and their democracy-loving sympathisers had many demands for this government, all of them boil down to House dissolution, which he expected to bring about positive changes for the country.

He said the red shirts and their supporters wanted Abhisit to step down and his Democrat Party to be out of power. They wanted the constitution of 1997 to be reinstated and they wanted a democracy in which ordinary people, not the elite, have the final say. They wanted a justice system that has no double standards and they wanted the country to progress further and away from a outdated system ruled by the Democrat Party and the elite, he said.

"Prime Minister Abhisit said the red shirts do not represent the majority of the country. So the red shirts tell him to dissolve the House and we'll find out about it. This is a way out for the country," Chaturon said during his one-hour address given to the red shirts' rally on Rajdamnoen Avenue .

He added that the red shirts consist of not only grassroots people but also the middle class and academics who all are waiting to "give the Democrat Party some lesson" during the next general elections.

Deputy House Speaker Apiwan Wiriyachai, who is from the opposition Pheu Thai Party, also appeared on stage during the protest. He told the prime minister to remove soldiers out of the Parliament or he would join the red shirts' protest every day.

Security forces were dispatched to guard the Parliament compound ahead of House meetings today and tomorrow.

Dozens of other Pheu Thai MPs also appeared on stage during last night's protest, many of them for the first time since the red shirts began their latest rally last Friday. Most of the politicians just introduced themselves to the protesters without giving any speech.

Thaksin tweeted last night, saying he is still not well, has a sore throat and won't phone-in tonight. In his latest Twitter message, he denied he had left Dubai. Thaksin has not held a phone-in since Monday because of his throat.

Pheu Thai Party leader Yongyuth Wichaidit said yesterday he was about to arrange a series of meetings with coalition parties in order to push for the dissolution of Parliament.

"Under the prevailing circumstances, the government can no longer administer the country, hence the reason to return its mandate to the people," he said.

Yongyuth said his upcoming efforts should not be construed as aiming to lure junior coalition parties to defect from the Democrats and form a Pheu Thai-led coalition.

Led by their leader Weng Tojirakarn yesterday, the red shirts rode in a convoy of 1,000 motorcycles and cars to distribute more than half a million stickers around Bangkok calling for the dissolution of Parliament.

 

[Jah_rastafar_I]

Re: BANGKOK: More than 100K at 9pm. Many More Coming. JAMS 50km Long. ArbiSHIT SHITTI

kensington do u reside in thailand or do you plan to?


I assume you are not a khun thai.


Perhaps you could elaborate more on the 4 geographical regions of thailand and how the ppl from each region are called.

Like khun thai, khun tai, khun ngai, khun issan.

Btw there's a saying khun tai jai dum.

 

[middaydog]

Re: BANGKOK: More than 100K at 9pm. Many More Coming. JAMS 50km Long. ArbiSHIT SHITTI

Sorry, I should have used the colloquial term "kar-rant" instead of the academic term "thanthakhat," which is rarely used, anyway.

you are right

I thought you miss spell han ar khat :o

 

[kensington]

Re: BANGKOK: More than 100K at 9pm. Many More Coming. JAMS 50km Long. ArbiSHIT SHITTI

Thailand extended a tough security law Tuesday as it faced more anti-government rallies, in a decision made by the cabinet shortly before two small grenade blasts hit its meeting place.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva confirmed the week-long extension of the measures, which were due to expire on Tuesday, as part of a massive security response to rolling demonstrations launched on March 14.

"Protesters could seize or blockade any building in Bangkok and nearby areas, which could affect the wellbeing of the public," said a statement from the army-run Internal Security Operation Command.

The law, which allows authorities to set up checkpoints, impose curfews and limit movement, was originally enforced across eight provinces but was extended in Bangkok and parts of two neighbouring provinces.

After Abhisit left the cabinet meeting, held at a ministry complex on the outskirts of the capital guarded by thousands of military personnel, two small blasts caused minor damage to three cars but no injuries.

"It shows that our politics is getting more violent," said Public Health Minister Jurin Laksanawisit, describing the explosions which come after four similar grenade attacks this month as "shocking."

The red-shirted protesters, loyal to fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, are pushing for snap elections to replace a government they say is undemocratic and represents only the country's elites.

Their campaign, including dramatic stunts like splashing donated blood on Abhisit home and offices, has passed off relatively peacefully despite fears of a repeat of riots a year ago that left two dead.

However, the army said Monday that senior military personnel guarding key sites, including government buildings, would now be armed because the government was "very concerned" after the string of minor grenade attacks.

The "Red Shirts" have promised to "shut down" Bangkok this Saturday with a rally they hope will exceed a parade last weekend that drew 65,000 people in a noisy but peaceful procession through the capital.

They also plan to hold a candlelight vigil Wednesday to honour the revered monarch King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who has been in hospital since September.

"Tomorrow we will light candles at eight o'clock in the evening to bless His Majesty the King's good health and to show our loyalty to the monarchy," Reds leader Jatuporn Prompan said.

Thaksin, who lives in exile to avoid a jail term for corruption, has been accused by his critics of disloyalty to the 82-year-old monarch -- a grave offence in Thailand, where he is regarded by many as a demi-god.

The Reds have rejected Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's offers of talks with a junior minister, saying they will speak only with the premier and only to discuss the dissolution of the lower house.

Jatuporn played down comments from Thaksin's brother, who reportedly said he could act as a go-between to negotiate talks aimed at ending the street protests, which threaten to damage Thailand's image and economy.

A 50,000-strong security force has been in place across Bangkok




BANGKOK — Thailand's anti-government protesters said they will hold a candlelight vigil on Wednesday to honour the revered monarch, who has been in hospital since September.

The "Red Shirts" loyal to fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra have been demonstrating since March 14, pushing for snap elections to replace a government they criticise as elitist and undemocratic.

"Tomorrow we will light candles at eight o'clock in the evening to bless His Majesty the King's good health and to show our loyalty to the monarchy," Reds leader Jatuporn Prompan said Tuesday.

Thaksin, who lives in exile to avoid a jail term for corruption, has been accused by his critics of disloyalty to King Bhumibol Adulyadej -- a grave offence in Thailand, where the monarch is regarded by many as a demi-god.

The 82-year-old, who is the world's longest-reigning monarch, was admitted to hospital on September 19 with a lung infection and fever. He has appeared in public several times since then.

The protesters are also planning a rally on Saturday which they say will "shut down" Bangkok and exceed the parade they mounted in the capital last weekend which drew 65,000 people in a noisy but peaceful procession.

The Reds have rejected Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's offers of talks with a junior minister, saying they will only speak with the premier and only to discuss the dissolution of the lower house.

Jatuporn played down comments from Thaksin's brother, who reportedly said he could act as a go-between to negotiate talks aimed at ending the street protests, which threaten to damage Thailand's image and economy.

"Thaksin's brother gave his private comments, it does not relate to the Red Shirts and what we call for again today is the dissolution of the house," Jatuporn said.

The Reds say the government is illegitimate as it came to power with army backing via a parliamentary vote in December 2008 after a court decision ousted Thaksin's allies from power.

The ruling brought an end to a blockade of Bangkok's airports by rival, royalist "Yellow Shirts".

 

[middaydog]

Re: BANGKOK: More than 100K at 9pm. Many More Coming. JAMS 50km Long. ArbiSHIT SHITTI

Btw there's a saying khun tai jai dum.

don't get mix up with the Thais in general

the khun tai you mentioned supposed to be southerners

 

[Sang Nila Utama]

Re: BANGKOK: More than 100K at 9pm. Many More Coming. JAMS 50km Long. ArbiSHIT SHITTI

flashback...


Abhisit Vejjajiva, economic nationalist | 20.12.05

With a twist. The Democrat Party leader favors local businesses, as long as they are not connected to people in the government:

“ให้(ต่างชาติ) เลือกทำธุรกิจได้แทบทุกอย่างไม่เว้นแม้แต่ความมั่นคง ยกเว้นเรื่องเดียวที่รัฐบาลไม่เปิดโอกาสให้เข้ามาคือโทรคมนาคม”


“[The government] lets (foreigners) choose to do business in almost everything, not excepting even national security, [but] except the only one thing [industry] that the government doesn’t allow them to come in, that is telecommunication.”

Never mind that:

Norway’s Telenor ASA now owns 61% of UCOM and 48% of DTAC. The latter, as Thailand’s second largest mobile phone operator, competes directly and fiercely with Shin Corp’s AIS.

AIS, the industry leader, is 19% owned by Singapore’s Singtel.

The Thaksin government raised the ceiling on foreign telecom stakes from 25% to 49% back in 2002 and it was attacked for that, too (just as it had been when the limit was first promulgated — it’s all about enriching the Shinawatra family).

Telecommunication has always been one of the most protected industries in Thailand, just like, I believe, in many other countries.

Did someone say national security? Telecommunication has no security dimension, I suppose, not like real weapons and military hardware, which we have always imported.



The gall of this man. He must think his audience really stupid. Of course he’s right, but that doesn’t make it any less disgusting.


But, but, but Abhisit is the PM now, right ?

Whaddayamean telecommunication has no security dimension?

Telecommunication has everything to do with security intelligence.

 

[Jah_rastafar_I]

Re: BANGKOK: More than 100K at 9pm. Many More Coming. JAMS 50km Long. ArbiSHIT SHITTI

don't get mix up with the Thais in general

the khun tai you mentioned supposed to be southerners

OH for christ's sake of course i know that if not why would i spell it tai instead of thai?

Goddamnit.

 

[kensington]

Re: BANGKOK: More than 100K at 9pm. Many More Coming. JAMS 50km Long. ArbiSHIT SHITTI

Whaddayamean telecommunication has no security dimension?

Telecommunication has everything to do with security intelligence.

Sorry bro, that wasn't me. that was Abhisit's words before he became PM.

don't get mix up with the Thais in general

the khun tai you mentioned supposed to be southerners

This is a generalisation of the Thai society at large that the southerners are dodgy and cruel people, of course, those southerners will deny this and say the Malaysians are dodgy and cruel people and the Malysians will in turn say it is the Singaporeans and the Singaporean will point the fingers at the Indons...

kensington do u reside in thailand or do you plan to?


I assume you are not a khun thai.


Perhaps you could elaborate more on the 4 geographical regions of thailand and how the ppl from each region are called.

Like khun thai, khun tai, khun ngai, khun issan.

Btw there's a saying khun tai jai dum.

I used to live in Thailand and still have a place that I would love to go back to one day, if it is still intact.

Sorry that I could not elaborate in depth about the Thai's regional differences except to say that there are major dividing lines such as different dialects and cultures but Bangkok would like us to believe that all is honky dory.

There is so much differences amongst them that a Northern Thai in Chiang Mai (called Khon Muang ) will have much more in common with a Tai (傣) in China's Xishuangbanna Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province, than with their political masters in Bangkok.

A Tai (傣) meimei in Xishuangbanna, China.


傣 Festival in Jing Hong (Chiang Rung) in China

Lanna scripts that are still prevalent in Northern Thailand.

.


Likewise the Thais of Isan have more in common with their Laos' brethrens than with those in Bangkok. The Mekong River served as a false border between Thai and Laos. Isan is more Lao than Thai in general and the way those Central Thais liked to use those Isan people as the butts of their jokes certainly didn't endear them to those Isan people.


Isan language (Thai: ภาษาอีสาน,) is the collective name for the dialects of the Lao language as they are spoken in Thailand. It is spoken by approximately 20 million people, which is nearly one-third of the entire population of Thailand. predominantly in the Isan region of northeastern Thailand. There are also large numbers of speakers in Bangkok by migrant workers. It serves as the primary lingua franca of the Isan region, used as a communication medium amongst native speakers and second language speakers amongst various other minority groups, such as the Northern Khmer. There are more speakers of Lao (Isan) in Thailand than in Laos.


Thaification is the process by which regions at the fringe of the Kingdom of Thailand become more similar to the Central Thai heartland. To an extent this is a natural result of these regions being part of a modern country in which Central Thais occupy a dominant geographical, economic and cultural position.

However, this process has faded away since the last 30 years, since nowadays people throughout Thailand from different backgrounds, ancestries and origins can freely use their mother tongue and promote their own culture as the Constitution of Thailand states.

The main subjects of Thaification have been ethnic groups on the edges of the Kingdom of Thailand, geographically and culturally: the Lao of Isan (อีสาน), the hill tribes of the north and west, and the Muslim (มุสลิม) Malay minority of the south. There has also been a Thaification of the large immigrant Chinese and Indian populations. However, Thaification has been, to a considerable extent a byproduct of the nationalist policies consistently followed by the Thai state in the first half of the 20th century. The promotion of Thai nationalism in the country as a whole took the form of reinforcing the Thai identity in the heartlands, while also creating a Thai identity on the fringes.


Thaification by the government can be separated into four sets of policies:

In the first set of policies, the government has targeted specific policies and actions at the fringe groups. An example of this is the Accelerated Rural Development Programme of 1964, the Isan component of which included the strengthening of allegiances with Bangkok and the rest of the country as one of its objectives.

The second set of policies consists of policies applied nationally, but which disproportionately affect the fringe groups. One example of this is the prescribed use of the Thai language in schools. This had little effect on Central Thais who already used the language in everyday life, but had a major impact on speakers of Isan in the north-east, of Northern Thai or Kham Muang (คำเมือง) in the north and of Yawi (ยะวี Malay) in the south.

The third set of policies was designed to encourage Thai nationalism in all the country’s people: obvious examples are the promotion of the king as a national figurehead, saluting the flag in school and the twice daily broadcasts of the national anthem (Phleng Chart - เพลงชาติ) on radio and television at 8 AM and at 6 PM. Encouraging Thai nationalism had the obvious side-effect of discouraging other loyalties, such as that to Laos in Isan or that to Melayu (มลายู) in the south.

The fourth set of policies, consisted of those which were not overtly nationalistic could nevertheless have the effect of promoting nationalism. Increasing school attendance, for example, when coupled with the proscription of minority languages in schools, had the effect of discouraging the use of those languages in favour of Thai.

Thaification is also partly a natural result of participation in the society of the modern nation state. Central Thailand being economically and politically dominant, as well as geographically centrally located, its language became the language of the media and of business. Equally, its values became the national values. Central Thai culture’s being the culture of wealth and status made it hugely attractive to those on the edge economically and socially. -Wiki


The way that Thailand is unravelling could leads to breaking away of some of those provincial city-states which Bankok has forgotten to their detriments. Thailand as a whole was hold back together after the 1932 coup by the constitutional monarchy and after World War 2 by the present monarch and most Thai wouldn't know any other king except this one. The aura of a demi-god is slowly being chipped away by the dissemination of gossips and innuendos and taboo subjects through the internet has a very high rate of attrition towards the popularity of the king nowadays than say, even 5 years ago...

 

[postnew]

Re: BANGKOK: More than 100K at 9pm. Many More Coming. JAMS 50km Long. ArbiSHIT SHITTI

A 'red shirt' supporter of deposed Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra reads a newspaper inside her tent on a street in Bangkok on March 23, 2010.

Thai soldiers in riot gear rest beside a wall enclosing Bangkok's zoo as they man a road block along with riot police outside the parliament building in the Thai capital on March 24, 2010. Security forces cordoned off the roads leading to the parliament ahead of a parliamentary session which opposition Puea Thai MPs decided to boycott. Thailand extended a tough security law on March 23 as it faced more anti-government rallies. The red-shirted protesters, loyal to fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, are pushing for snap elections to replace a government they say is undemocratic and represents only the country's elites.

Abitshit: The protesters made me very headache...

Thailand's Prime Minister Abitshit Vejjajiva reacts during a meeting at Thai parliament in Bangkok on Wednesday March 24, 2010 as opposition Phuea Thai Party members boycott Wednesday's session of parliament.
​

 

[kensington]

Re: BANGKOK: More than 100K at 9pm. Many More Coming. JAMS 50km Long. ArbiSHIT SHITTI

Is Thai TV covering the red shirt protests?

Yesterday, Chang Noi in The Nation:

While this extraordinary event was unfolding in the city, the mainstream media made heroic efforts to ignore it. No vox pops. No atmospheric scene painting. Few pictures. Only when the blood campaign caught the eye of the foreign media (and had an implied element of violence) did the coverage get more enthusiastic.


Simon Montlake in the CSM:

But viewers of Thailand’s TV stations, the most popular source of news, were told that 25,000 attended. As usual, pictures of protesters were bracketed by statements from government officials. No airtime was given to ordinary protesters. And last week when protesters dumped blood at the prime minister's office and home, pro-government media hyped up the health risks and the ethics of wasting human blood, while antigovernment media focused on the symbolism of Thais willing to shed blood for the cause.

As the latest antigovernment protest enters a second week, Thailand’s mainstream media faces fresh questions over its neutrality, which has already been tested by four years of political turmoil and polarization. Critics say bias is acute on free-to-air TV channels, which are all under government or military control.

Partly as a result, more Thais are turning to partisan sources of news such as cable TV, community radio, and the Internet.
...
Accusations of media bias have caused friction in Thailand before. In 1992, when troops fired on demonstrators in Bangkok, government-run channels reported that communists had been fomenting unrest. A fake antiroyal photo in a newspaper in 1976 sparked an Army-organized massacre of students.

In recent years, rival activists have pressured TV channels over their coverage and harassed reporters who underplay the size of their demonstrations. As a result, some leave out crowd estimates in their coverage. “We don’t want to have trouble. We avoid the figures,” says a news editor at a TV station.

Further polarizing the issues, each protest group operates its own media outlet.

But the spread of new media is providing a check on the government’s control of the message, says Supinya Klangnarong, a free-media campaigner. She says mainstream TV channels no longer have the power to distort the facts as blatantly as they did in 1992 as they must compete with other sources of information, including images and texts spread via mobile phone and the Internet.

“I think [the government] realizes that if they push too much control or manipulation, people will not believe it anymore,” says Ms. Klangnarong.
...
This divergence leaves many viewers in the dark, argues the TV news editor, who declines to be named for fear of reprisals. He says government meddling in news coverage, which was also a hallmark of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s five-year rule, remains pervasive.

“It’s worse now,” he says.


Matichon recently published a report from Media Monitor, a media watch group. From their monitoring of the free-to-air TV channels from March 12-14. BP has summarized the article below:

Mainly focused on news events, but when it came to opinions and views this was mainly to whether the government, military and police were well-prepared (ขณะที่หากเป็นการสอบถามความคิดเห็นก็จะเน้น ประเด็นเรื่องมาตรการการตั้งรับสถานการณ์จากเจ้าหน้าที่ตำรวจ ทหาร และความเห็นทางการเมืองของฝ่ายรัฐบาล). The news images which were presented was focused on images that may convey violence (ภาพข่าวที่สื่อนำเสนอ อาจมุ่งเน้นไปที่การสื่อความหมายในเชิงความรุนแรง).

Channel 3: Most emphasis was on whether the authorities were prepared, but there was little emphasis on the views of anyone else or the protesters (แต่ไม่ให้ความสำคัญกับ ข้อเรียกร้องหรือความคิดเห็นอื่นๆ จากผู้ชุมนุมมากนัก).

Channel 5: The news coverage of the protests was very limited compared with other channels (พื้นที่ข่าวมีสัดส่วนค่อน ข้างน้อยกว่าช่องอื่นอย่างเห็นได้ชัด).

Channel 7: Was very limited (พื้นที่ข่าวค่อนข้างน้อย), but in the one special news report there was no inflammatory rhetoric used by the presenters.

Channel 9: A lot of news, but mainly focused on the red shirts travelling to Bangkok and what was happening at the various checkpoints. There were different reports from the North, Northeast on travelling to Bangkok.

Channel 11/NBT: Reasonable amount of news coverage. Vox pop was limited to people who didn't support the protests (มี Vox Pop ของประชาชนที่ไม่สนับสนุนการชุมนุม). News coverage was very negative towards the protesters (แต่การรายงานค่อนข้างใช้คำที่ให้ภาพลบกับฝั่ง ผู้ชุมนุม) .

ThaiPBS: Reports from various places throughout the country. No interviews with the red shirt leaders, but there was a replay of a previous interview [BP: Likely the interview on March 11 where they interviewed red shirt leader Jaran and Govt spokesman Panitan]. For the government, there was a focus on whether the PM was going. There was some vox pox/"man on the street" interviews with the protesters. Presenters asked challenging questions of news sources (มีการตั้งคำถามในเชิงรุกต่อแหล่งข่าวและผู้สื่อข่าว).



The MSMs are trying to shit up on the protesters by the biasness in their reporting and so far, they are doing a good job, on the fucking biasness, of course !!!



From Bangkok Pundit :

As someone who normally watches a significant amount of Thai TV news and particularly on March 12-14, BP would generally concur with what Media Monitor reports. The coverage on ThaiPBS was far superior to the other channels. For example, on the Sunday late news, they actually spoke to some red shirt protesters on their views of the mainstream media (couldn't be trusted was one common theme) and then there was another segment looking at one set of twins where one is a hardcore red and the other a hardcore yellow (both had photos of their attending protests) and how this affects their family life at home.This was interesting and well it did implicility counter the image that the red shirts are mindless drones who only turn up because Thaksin pays them too. Now, it would be nice if we really started to get into the meat of some of the arguments, but at least this is better than simply reporting what Government Ministers state and leave it that.

Honestly, Channel 11 was so bad it was bordering on satire, but Channel 11 has always been simply the propaganda arm of the government.

Channel 3's news coverage was reasonable, but it is simply news coverage which doesn't look at what is happening in any greater detail (the Sahm Mitti program often has one longer news segment, but haven't seen one an informative one on the red shirts).

One of the reasons that those who can afford it are turning to online sources is that there are a number of issues related to sensitive subjects which cannot be discussed openly in the media, but are discussed online. Articles by The Economist are quickly translated and discussed. Related news is analyzed.

Is the Thai TV media incapable of getting us an aerial/video image of the protests?


What are your views on the Thai media's coverage so far?

 

[kensington]

Re: BANGKOK: More than 100K at 9pm. Many More Coming. JAMS 50km Long. ArbiSHIT SHITTI

An astute analysis from blogger Khee Khwai :

With some notable exceptions, it seems, the people of Thailand are no longer willing to prostrate themselves to the level of dogs.




Last month I had the honor of being invited by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand to participate in a panel discussion with former cabinet minister Suranand Vejjajiva and acting government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn. The subject was “Tanks, Thaksin and $2 Billion.” On the day of the event, I was informed by the organizers that Dr. Panitan had requested (and had, of course, obtained) to appear solo for the first 45 minutes, at the end of which he would leave and allow the event to continue in his absence. It has been reported already that Panitan spent much of his time insisting on the themes of “democracy” and “the rule of law” — the irony of which I subsequently had the opportunity to point out. In retrospect, however, a more dramatic and revealing moment came when Panitan allowed flashes of sincerity to percolate through an otherwise largely dissembling presentation on Thailand’s ongoing political crisis.




“What happened to us?” — he wondered aloud, an expression of stunned disbelief on his face — “what happened to our patience, to our tolerance, to mai bpen rai?”

Cont...

 

[kensington]

Re: BANGKOK: More than 100K at 9pm. Many More Coming. JAMS 50km Long. ArbiSHIT SHITTI

ConT...

Of course, anyone with a cursory knowledge of the country’s history already knows that Thailand’s ruling class has never been famous for taking anything like a “mai bpen rai” approach in dealing with challenges to its authority. So it was hard to escape the conclusion that Panitan could not have been lamenting the change he observed in the posture of generals, noblemen, privy councillors, politicians, and crony capitalists of all colors and stripes. His dismay could only have been directed at the vast majority of the Thai public, at those who have long been expected to turn the other cheek to violence, injustice, and exploitation. It is only their refusal to accept the latest usurpation of their power, their failure to take it lying down, that could now lead the noted sakdina intellectual to profess his bewilderment. Certainly, Panitan’s astonishment and anguish are shared rather broadly these days within Thailand’s increasingly besieged political establishment.

Not five decades ago, political scientist David Wilson described Thai society in terms that might perhaps provide a window into the source of Panitan’s bemusement. Wilson observed “a clear distinction between those who are involved in politics and those who are not” and noted, ever matter-of-factly, that “the overwhelming majority of the adult population is not.” He went on to say:

The peasantry as the basic productive force constitutes more than 80 percent of the population and is the foundation of the social structure. But its inarticulate acquiescence to the central government and indifference to national politics are fundamental to the political system. A tolerable economic situation which provides a stable subsistence without encouraging any great hope for quick improvement is no doubt the background of this political inaction.

As it turns out, David Wilson was correct to identify in the “acquiescence” and “indifference” of the vast majority of the public the fundamental basis of “Thai-Style Democracy” — a system of government that, notwithstanding the shallow deference paid to some of the most meaningless trappings of democracy, largely preserved the right of men of high birth, status, and wealth to run the country. Indeed, it was in the interest of building this system of government that Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat insisted that peasants continue to live off the land. It was in the interest of preserving this system of government that the Thai people have more recently been urged to walk “backwards into a klong” and renounce progress in favor of a simpler existence. And it was in the interest of reiterating what this system of government once expected of them that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva recently promised that everything will be fine, so long as the Thai people accept their station in life and, as he put it, continue to ”do their jobs lawfully.”

“Thai-style democracy” was not destroyed in one day. Despite increasingly desperate pleas to be content with what they have, over time the people of Thailand have had enough of “stable subsistence” and have flocked to Bangkok to fulfill dreams their leaders said they should not dare harbor. Economic growth and modernization gave rise to hopes that a “quick” and decisive “improvement” in their material condition was now within their grasp. Confronted with the refusal by the country’s ruling class to grant them a fair share of the country’s newfound prosperity — reliably built on the backs of the people — they shed their “indifference” and began to vote, en masse, for those who at least bothered to pay some lip service to their empowerment. And when their will was overturned, not once but three times over the last four years, for many among them “acquiescence” was quite simply no longer an option. “Mai bpen rai” has turned into “mai yorm rap.”

For a variety of reasons — not the least of which is the cretinous arrogance of its guardians — “Thai-style democracy” has been in failing health for almost two decades. It finally died last week, overpowered by the tens of thousands of people who marched on Bangkok to demand equality, justice, and “real” democracy. Last Saturday, its corpse was paraded through the city in a festive, 50-kilometer-long procession — an unmistakably Thai rendition of a New Orleans jazz funeral.

The red shirts could never hope to bring a million people to Bangkok, given the monumental logistical challenges that would have presented under the best of circumstances. At the end of the day, their numbers were depressed further by the fact that these were not the best of circumstances. Thanks, in part, to the complicity of their own, most dimwitted leaders, in advance of the march the reds were successfully portrayed as barbarian, “rural hordes” — most of them paid, some of them brainwashed, many among them not really Thai — determined to lay waste to the capital city in a last-ditch effort to rescue the dwindling fortunes of one man. Just in case the widely anticipated prospects of violence and chaos (periodically revitalized by staged police raids and mysterious bomb attacks) had failed to scare enough people into staying home, hundreds of tripwires were laid down in the form of checkpoints extending deep into the Isan countryside. Then, just at the opportune time, the government pressed the panic button when it imposed the Internal Security Act and began speaking openly about the possibility of an emergency decree — what would amount, in practice, to an autogolpe.

And yet they came — not in large enough numbers to inaugurate a new system of government, to be sure, but in numbers certainly large enough to trample the old one to death. Some have argued, with merit, that their goals remain unclear, their motives diverse, their demands inarticulate, their strategy underdeveloped, and their leadership coarse, homophobic, and hopelessly divided against itself. Still, the death of the old system requires no clear vision, no unanimity of motive, no strategic acumen, and no enlightened leader; indeed, it does not even require the physical removal of the current puppet regime. What definitively snuffed the life out of “Thai-style democracy” is that its foundation of indifference and sheepish acquiescence has been thoroughly dismantled.

The red shirts may well be confused about what they want to build, but they now have a good idea of what they are against. Perhaps the most revealing development in this regard is the resurrection and endless repetition of the word “phrai,” a word that strips its complement — “amartaya” — of all its remaining ambiguity. Phrai does not mean “slave,” “proletarian,” or “pauper.” It means commoner. And though attempts to spin and muddle the meaning of this phrasing are legion, everyone knows what a “commoner” is not.

Whatever the Prime Minister might say, this is not a “class war” in the sense that it pits poor against rich. This fight is about restoring the aristocracy to the ceremonial role it formally accepted, at the barrel of a gun, on June 24, 1932. Most importantly, this fight is about subjecting the amartaya — the mandarins and praetorian guards, most themselves phrai by birth, who have long exploited the pretense of defending the monarchy to hoard power and riches for themselves — to the will of the people. And while the reds have yet to achieve either of those goals, “Thai-style democracy” could no longer endure once its founding ideology was exposed as an especially ignoble adaptation of Plato’s “Noble Lie.” It is merely by standing up to say “enough” that hundreds of thousands of people, many belonging to social classes whose right to participate in the country’s governance has never before been acknowledged, accomplished what previous democratic movements could not — put the old system to death. While no one knows exactly what kind of new social contract will take shape in the years to come, the only chance of stability is offered by one that recognizes the people’s right to govern their own country.

“Thai-style democracy,” the spawn of Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat, is survived by its adoptive father and its loving caretaker(Prem) of three decades. There can be little doubt that the latter, now aged 89, will spend the rest of his days clinging to the vestiges of the old system like a grief-stricken gorilla sometimes spends weeks carrying around the carcass of her dead pup. One can only hope that those around him will have the presence of mind not to embark on a collective suicide mission, throwing themselves in the path of a stampede in the deluded hope that they might somehow bring back to life what has now been definitively consigned to the history books. With some notable exceptions, it seems, the people of Thailand are no longer willing to prostrate themselves to the level of dogs.


http://khikwai.com/blog/2010/03/23/thai-style-democracy-1958-2010/

 

[kensington]

Re: BANGKOK: More than 100K at 9pm. Many More Coming. JAMS 50km Long. ArbiSHIT SHITTI

Will a king's death kill Thailand's democracy?

The revered Bhumibol has kept political turmoil at bay. But he's 82 and ailing.


Sixty years ago this week, King Bhumibol Adulyadej arrived back in Thailand. The 22-year-old had lived abroad most of his life. Named king four years earlier on his brother's death, he was coming home for his coronation. The royal navy was drawn up for review. A jet squadron soared overhead. Half a million people lined the streets in celebration. As one biographer writes, "To astrologers, the heavens proved the great event: three days before Bhumibol arrived, hail fell on Bangkok for the first time since 1933."

The Massachusetts-born, Swiss-educated, jazz-playing Bhumibol might have seemed an unlikely fit for the Thai throne. But over the decades, the king has earned Thais' reverence -- even worship -- for his generosity, humility and devotion to his people.

Paradoxically, however, the world's longest-serving monarch may be a victim of his own success -- or, more accurately, his legacy may be tarnished by the lack of a smooth succession. Now 82, Bhumibol is ailing, and no one knows what will come next, which is raising tensions and rattling investors in Bangkok and beyond, especially as the nation is embroiled in political turmoil.

The king has long been a symbol of unity in Thailand's increasingly fractious political and social arena; a trusted referee whenever conflict threatens to spiral out of control. Now, the question on many people's minds is: Can Thailand's unstable democracy outlive its beloved king?

Since 2006, when the military toppled the popularly elected prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, a fierce power struggle has divided Thai politics. Thousands of protesters, the "red shirts" -- mostly rural and poor and whom the ruling elite believe telecommunications billionaire Thaksin is financing and fomenting from abroad -- continue to pressure Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's government for new elections.

The "yellow shirts" -- monarchists, the military and urban middle class -- rightly criticize the Thaksin administration's abuses in office, but their preferred alternative amounts to continued domination by Bangkok's privileged, in a country where the population's richest fifth is roughly 13 times better off than the poorest.

The Thai Supreme Court's decision in February to confiscate $1.4 billion of Thaksin's assets, stemming from charges of corruption, has prompted fears of violent confrontation between the camps. The red shirt protesters have been demonstrating in the tens of thousands this month.

In December, a frail Bhumibol emerged from the hospital, urging Thais to put "the common interest before their own interest." But some fear that his death, whenever it occurs, will spark chaos in this country of 65 million.

The 1924 Palace Law of Succession establishes primogeniture of male heirs, suggesting Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn will try to fill his father's shoes. Unfortunately, the crown prince lacks his father's discipline and standing; one longtime Bangkok businessman told me that doubts about Vajiralongkorn's fitness for the job were "beyond any return."

Thailand's 1974 constitution declared that in the absence of a prince, parliament could pick a king's daughter to assume the throne. Many Thais feel the king's daughter, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, would be an excellent candidate. Yet Thailand experts tell me that as long as the crown prince is alive, "the dreams of Sirindhorn succeeding are just that." They predict the crown will pass to Vajiralongkorn and that the monarchy will "be weakened and changed forever."

This will mean the transformation of politics as well. For although it is one thing to clamp down on democracy while claiming to defend a revered king -- as the aristocratic yellow shirts did in 2008 -- it will be much harder for monarchists to maintain their grip on authority if the monarch in question lacks mass devotion.

What about the military, responsible for 18 coups since 1935? One prominent Thai entrepreneur told me his worst-case scenario is the emergence of a young, charismatic leader at the helm of a rising red shirt movement, calling for an end to "the double standards in Thai society." This might provoke the army to feel it has the mandate to use force to preserve the status quo. Thailand-based columnist Chang Noi suspects the military may block another general election, speculating that it would likely want to overthrow the winners anyway.

The most hopeful scenario is one in which the king's passing sparks a democratic maturation -- across institutions, civil society and political classes.

The first step, however, must be a national conversation about the future. And that can't happen as long as strict lèse-majesté laws render the topic of succession taboo. Bhumibol Adulyadej's name means "strength of the land, incomparable power."

Perhaps the greatest gift he can give his country now is permission to start planning for life without him.


By Stanley A. Weiss, who has spent part of the year in Thailand for more than 20 years, is founding chairman of Business Executives for National Security, a nonpartisan organization based in Washington.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-weiss21-2010mar21,0,7559774.story


Not so fast....The Crown Prince is a buddy of Thaksin and the YELLOW may well be plotting to kill him from ascending the throne and pardoning Thaksin thus allowing Thaksin to come back and rule again. A new game commencing, with some Amatayas hanging by their balls. OUCH !!!

It is in the interest of the CP to work hand in hand with Thaksin since he lacked the charisma of his father's and by getting into bed with Thaksin will immediately boost his popularity several notches. The Crown Prince hates the YELLOW PAD, anyway...

 

[postnew]

Re: BANGKOK: More than 100K at 9pm. Many More Coming. JAMS 50km Long. ArbiSHIT SHITTI

Red-shirted supporters of deposed Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra hold candles during a rally in Bangkok on March 24, 2010. Some 10,000 Thai anti-government protesters held a candlelight vigil to honour the nation's revered king, forming a sea of flickering light in the city's old quarter.

Prime Minister is a tough job.
​

 

[postnew]

Re: BANGKOK: More than 100K at 9pm. Many More Coming. JAMS 50km Long. ArbiSHIT SHITTI

Red-shirted supporters of deposed Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra rest during a rally in Bangkok on March 25, 2010.

A red-shirted supporter of deposed Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra cooks food in the back of his pick-up truck during a rally in Bangkok on March 25, 2010.

Red-shirted supporters of deposed Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra queue for food during an anti-government protest in Bangkok on March 25, 2010.

Riot police officers secure an area near red-shirted supporters of deposed Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra during an anti-government protest in Bangkok on March 25, 2010.​

 

[postnew]

Re: BANGKOK: More than 100K at 9pm. Many More Coming. JAMS 50km Long. ArbiSHIT SHITTI

Supporters of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra shave their heads during a rally in Bangkok March 25, 2010.​

 

[longbow]

Re: BANGKOK: More than 100K at 9pm. Many More Coming. JAMS 50km Long. ArbiSHIT SHITTI

1) Thaksin could not mobilise the hundreds of thousands in protestors and now everything is fizzling out. This is in a country of 70 million people and the Gov had not use violence.

2) He is now advocating civil disobedience. What a joker! This is going to mean injuries, destruction of property. If he could mobilize 1 to 2 million on a peaceful march in Bangkok officials would have to listen but he could not.

3) I suspect the idiot is getting desperate and playing into current Gov's hand. If there is violence it pretty much reduces the number of 3rd world countries that can shield him. $$ must be getting low.

4) Lets see, wide spread violence and clashes between Red Shirts and police. Many injuries and destruction of property. Sick King hauls in protest leaders to his hospital for a public tongue lashing about incitement of violence, death and destruction and main player behind violence (Thaksin). Tells everyone to go home.




Thaksin threatens civil disobedience to force House dissolution

Published on March 26, 2010

Fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra last night called on his red-shirt supporters to come out in full force for a "historic march" in Bangkok tomorrow.

He said civil disobedience might be necessary in a bid to force the government to dissolve the House of Representatives and "return power to the people". His video-link speech was broadcast to the red shirts' protest site on Rajdamnoen Avenue.


After three days of absence due to what he said to be a sore throat, Thaksin made a speech lasting less than 20 minutes, compared to about one hour in his previous nightly speeches.


"This Saturday is another important day. I would like to urge all Thais to come out and call for House dissolution," Thaksin said. "I beg you all. Please come out in full force."


If our peaceful fight doesn't work, we'll resort to civil disobedience," Thaksin said. "If it's necessary, we will surely resort to civil disobedience," he later repeated.


"We will fight for the future of our children and grandchildren," he told his supporters.


Leaders of the protesting red shirts had announced tomorrow's march along the city's roads would be the "largest ever" in the political history.


Earlier yesterday, red shirt leader Nattawut Saikua said the rally would be different from that of last Saturday and would include more local supporters.


He said the red shirts would campaign today for more Bangkok people to join in the Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship's march starting at Phan Fa Bridge on Rajdamnoen Avenue.


A small caravan - including 10 motorcycles, 50 Students' Federation of Thailand members and a group from Santi Withi (Peaceful Path) - will take part in today's recruiting effort.


"This Saturday will see a historic rally, demonstrating the power of the people who want to oust the government," Nattawut said.

 

[boundThunter]

Re: BANGKOK: More than 100K at 9pm. Many More Coming. JAMS 50km Long. ArbiSHIT SHITTI

1) Thaksin.

This is no longer about Thaksin.
This is bigger than Thaksin.
This is even bigger than the ailing king. He can't even speak now, how to admonish ?

This is about the masses' newfound voice of solidarity against tyranny. The feudalistic system has to go.
This is about what they failed to achieve after the 1932 coup, total emancipation as a voting and electing citizenry.
This is about what the majority of Thais wanted but were repeatedly denied, a working democracy that could uplift them from the so delibrately conspired poverty.

Wait and see....More to come.
So many contenders, very hard to give odds. the Army is the Ruler now.


On the Red corner, 85% of the population, the Phrai(commoners), the "I Got Nothing To Lose But I'm More Informed Now" kind.
On the Blue corner 5% of the titled and hereditary noble bloodsuckers.The non-elected king's balls carriers.
On the yellow corner 10% of the social climbing leeches that could as easily change side as changing a branded handbag.


In Buddhism, Anicca is impermanence. Most Thais will understand this precept.
Chakri Dynasty was prophetically founded and will wane after nine generations in the same prophecy. The current king is Rama 9. Will there be a Rama 10 ?

 

[postnew]

Re: BANGKOK: More than 100K at 9pm. Many More Coming. JAMS 50km Long. ArbiSHIT SHITTI

Thai soldiers stand guard at the Government House during a rally by supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, in Bangkok March 27, 2010. Thai "red shirt" protesters raised tensions on Saturday with threats to expel thousands of troops guarding Bangkok's old city during a rally to oust Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.