Political un-rest and rally

[hhfarang]

As I've been told by American embassies before, "The embassy is here to further trade and relations with the host country, not to help expatriates or travelers in trouble".

[miked]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8641644.stm

just got the above on BBC. looks like the government are making a stand. ( at last ) will make my wife very happy.
miked

[Big Boy]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8641644.stm

just got the above on BBC. looks like the government are making a stand. ( at last ) will make my wife very happy.
miked

I don't think that's making a stand, it's simply maintaining the status quo.

[STEVE G]

If the Democrats are prepared to the polls by the end of the year and the UDD want a month, then perhaps a compromise of four or five months as the No shirts are suggesting is the sensible way ahead.

[miked]

Because they use violence and intimidation I cannot accept this," said Mr Abhisit.

i think that is making a stand.
miked

[Nereus]

Lets just hope that he makes a stand with his arrogant Army General. The report says that he has told the General to clear out the trash, and the alleged reply was words to the effect that "maybe, when I think the time is right".
Abhisit has taken the softly softly approach for far too long, and its about time that he exercised his authority.

[Big Boy]

Because they use violence and intimidation I cannot accept this," said Mr Abhisit.

i think that is making a stand.
miked

Exactly - but that's what's been happening for many months now. Yes, he's making a stand, but there's nothing new about it. That's why I said he's maintaining the status quo.

[lomuamart]

Don't ever forget that this government was never voted in.
That's the problem as Thaksin's party got the vote about three times and were heaved out, rightly or wrongly.
There you go.
There are some understandably upset people, ie most of the Thai electorate.
That's my take on it.

[Big Boy]

That aside, Abhisit is doing what he has to do. If he capitulates, the mob has won again. IMHO Thailand needs somebody to stand strong. Otherwise everytime somebody has a gripe it's going to continue happening again and again.

I don't have any preference for any side in Thailand - it just makes perfect sense to me that somebody's got to stand up to the mob. Although Abhisit could be doing better, at least he's trying.

[caller]

I don't think its a case of taking sides. Its more about allowing the electorate to decide. As Lomu says, they keep doing that, but its not what the powers that be want. Hence the current situation. So, whenever he is allowed to call an election could be an irrelevance if the same result happens again and the same reaction by the establishment, happens again!

Maybe one day they will wake up and smell the roses, or else just do away with the whole thing and impose a dictatorship, its halfway there in any case.

Forget the bung money, you can't do that for the whole country and certainly not the educated 'Bangkokians', or maybe you can? Which would explain why the vast majority voted for Toxin when he was re-elected.

[PeteC]

This is an interesting take on things. Note the bold area. I've never heard or read anything on that. Anyone? Pete


RESPECT THAILAND’S DIVERSITY

* Published: 25/04/2010 at 04:23 AM
* Online news: Opinion Bangkok Post

While interesting, Voranai's column last week failed to address that most of the current issues are a legacy of Thailand's ethnic history and colonial expansion and incorporation of subjugated peoples. The myth referenced in the column about ``dialects'' spoken outside of Bangkok is an example of this. Anthropologists concur that the Lao spoken in Isan is a mix of dialects from Laos itself, and its predominance in that region is a result of Thailand's incorporation of Lao territory in the last few hundred years. Until the French arrived Laos was a colony of the Thai Kingdom and the Korat plateau was Laotian territory prior to that. Most anthropologists agree it would be more correct to describe Thai as a dialect of Lao. Of course this is offensive to the "dominant'' ethnic Thais _ one of the root causes of the ills of the country _ and the basis of the "Thaiification'' government programmes of the 1930s.

It follows that as the people of the Korat plateau and the other side of the Mekong were forcibly incorporated into the Kingdom between 200 and 100 years ago they were considered "subjects'' of the Thai. My wife, who is from the Khon Kaen area, can trace her ancestry to the Vientiane region over 100 years ago and her ``dialect'' is termed the ``Vientiane dialect'' by anthropologists. All the customs, traditions, food, society and general culture of the Korat plateau derive from Laos, not Thailand, the Thai language or people.

My wife holds a bachelor of science degree from one of the top Bangkok universities. This did not prevent her and her friends from being humiliated by Thai students for their appearance (dark), their accent when speaking Thai or from being insulted as a ``Lao'' _ something my wife is now very proud of. This has naturally led to her voting for TRT in the past and her support for the UDD. So much for the ``uneducated rabble'' as the Thai elite like to describe the opposition.

From my discussions with people in other regions there are similar views held in other regions by the Lanna in the North (where Thaksin is from), the Malays in the South and the Suai and Khmer in the southeast.

Until the ethnic Thais recognise that the country is a diverse ethnic mix and develop some respect for the significant ``minorities'' (Lao make up around 40% of the population) instead of carrying forward their mythical superiority of language and culture, the divisions will remain and blood with continue to be spilt. Democracy flourishes when such cultural respect is adopted and enshrined in enforceable laws.

[margaretcarnes]

As I've been told by American embassies before, "The embassy is here to further trade and relations with the host country, not to help expatriates or travelers in trouble".

Earlier this week one Brit embassy in Europe (not sure now but maybe Lisbon or Madrid) put on a few coaches each day to collect stranded Brits from the airport and take them - free of charge - to an alternative departure point. Unfortunately it wasn't too well publicised and there were tales of travellers paying private coach companies up to £500 each for the same trip....

I agree that isn't what I would normally expect from an Embassy and was probably outside of their remit. As for Bangkok Brit Embassy staff - I do know that a lot of the Consular staff time is taken up dealing with their citizens who fall foul of the law there. Even when Brits are imprisoned in Thailand it's by no means the end of the story, as Embassy contact continues throughout the period of a sentence.

[sargeant]

There is one thing in all this politicing and back and forth that has been increasingly puzzling me.

The coalition partners

Unless i am wrong if they removed themselves from the coalition the parliament would have to be dissolved
or scenario two they could change to Pua Thai
number two seems highly unlikely/impossible

But it seems to me they hold the balance of power and yet seem to be doing nothing

the question is why maybe it explains Abhisits absolute and total determination to present the budget before a dissolution

could it be the Pua Thai defectors got bungs and the coalition partners got theirs and have to stay on the payroll

whatever it is i dont see the coalition partners doing anything to bring this to an end and that is baffling if they did use their power they could gain a lot at the next election

[Nereus]

Police???? I think the spelling is wrong:

Bangkok Post
Published: 25/04/2010 at 09:50 AM
Online news: Local News
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/1 ... tering-bkk

Groups of red-shirt protesters in the upper northeastern provinces on Sunday morning converged on Mitraphap road in Udon Thani province to stop 178 policemen from joining the security forces in Bangkok, reports said.

The 178 policemen from six police stations in Udon Thani were assigned to help the police in dealing with the mass anti-government rally of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) in Ratchaprasong intersection - one of Bangkok's main shopping and business areas. The rally started on April 3.

Earlier, high-ranking police officials told the red-shirts that the 178 officers would be working in shifts with the police in the capital but the demonstrators refused to let them pass through.

The protesters also slashed tires of all police cars and criticised the actions of police and soldiers who were involved in the violent clashes on April 10.

The clashes between the red-shirts and authorities resulted in 25 deaths and more than 800 injured.

[Takiap]

During the past week I've made a point of discussing this whole issue with quite a few Thais from different walks of life, and to be honest, it's proven to be quite interesting, bearing in mind that I don't support any group. For example, it's been explained to me that not all red shirts are rural farmers, and neither are they all living below the poverty line. When I then asked about the yellows I was told that they are the Bangkok elite. Now, if not all red are rural farmers, how is it that all yellows are elite? A friend of more than 20 years who is also living in Thailand, and who is also married to a Thai, recently came to visit. His wife's opinion of the reds is one of absolute disgust, and while she does live in Bangkok, she's by no means one of the Bangkok elite, or at least not my eyes or her eyes. Instead, she has spent 30 years of her life working at a chemical manufacturing plant. Does she support the yellows? No, she's pretty much disgusted with them as well. She believes the current government should be given a chance, and that this is possible because they are having to deal with all the trouble happening.

Another case........ A teacher from one of the local HH universities also shared his thoughts with me recently. Now, this chap and his wife are from down south, although not from the deep south. They too believe that the yellows and the reds are damaging to the country, but when I asked which of the two side they would support if push comes to shove, they said they would more than likely go yellow. Why I asked, considering the yellows have made comments which even make my goat look highly intelligent. The answer, was because the reds are not in favor of having (can't talk about this). Whether this is true or not is beyond me, and to be honest, I find it hard to believe. Either way, this is what many Thai's believe.

Most of the others I spoke to either never wanted to share their true feelings, or else they've never been told that Bangkok is actually a part of Thailand.

My opinion................people keep saying that Mr A wasn't elected, but from what I can recall, he was, thanks to the formation of a coalition government. Yes, the TRT and the PPP were thrown out, but they only have themselves to blame. If their members played by the rules, they would still have been in power. Maybe this new lot will also be thrown out, and if they've done something to deserve it, then so be it. Personally I'm glad the army kicked Mr T's arse out of the hot seat, and not because of corruption either, but in my mind he should still face trial for crimes against humanity.....war on drugs, southern killings, etc, etc. Even now, look at how much trouble he has caused. For the life of me, I can't believe he's been allowed to continue, even though he's not in the country.

Oh well, only time will tell, but in my opinion, things look pretty bleak at the moment.