Thread: Riots in Bangkok

As many of you know I am an Australian who lives in Thailand. I have come to love this country and it is heart breaking to watch Thailand tear itself apart. For about the past two months the Red Shirts have been illegally occupying the main business center of Bangkok.

At the moment there are a number of terrorist Red Shirts who are fighting against government forces, trying to overthrow the current government. Through their actions it can be seen that the Red Shirts are not interested in democracy at all, but want a dictatorship with the criminal Thaksin as the dictator.

The current government, which came to power in a legitimate parliamentary vote (the same process that has seen the current English government come to power) had offered to hold elections ahead of schedule. But they stopped short of offering amnesty to the Red Shirt leaders who have engaged in terrorist acts. The Red Shirt leaders have called for the destruction of public and private property. All of the deaths so far can be attributed to the Red Shirts failure to obey the law.

Since the Red Shirts have refused to accept a road map for peace, which would have seen elections happen over a year and a half ahead of schedule, it has become obvious that the militant Red Shirts are really fighting for dictatorship. They say they want elections to be held now, not in a number of months time. However they will not allow the current government to campaign in peace. They say they want democracy but will not allow democratic elections to take place.

The Red Shirts have given the government no option but to use force to disperse the Red Shirts. They have failed to heed months of warnings and now they are paying for that failure with their lives.

The most sad thing about this situation is that the people who are being shot are not the rich greedy morally corrupt leaders of the Red Shirts, but poor and unintelligent people who are stupid enough to believe the propaganda of the Red Shirts.

So for the time being both my wife and I are staying inside watching the news to keep up with developments. For the time being we are both safe in this part of the city. If the situation were to deteriorate to the extent of civil war I would not think about leaving without my wife.

The situation in Thailand has been in the headlines here too. I'm sorry that the country so nice is doing damage to itself.
Take care of yourself and your family. I hope that the situation goes back to normal soon.

Be safe dude, carefull of the crazies...

One good thing about all this unrest. I was due to go back to work tomorrow but I just got a phone call from my boss that I have another week of holidays.

Thanks for the "real" analysis of the situation from an up-close resident.I was concerned for you when I heard of the unrest.(couldn't remember your member name)Glad you and yours are O.K.. Keep your head down and take care.Hope it's over soon.

Keep safe. I am sorry that it has come to such violence and I hope that it ends soon with the best party for the country in power.

-Rob

With all due respect, I must say I don't agree with you at all ndw76. I think your views are unusually partial and not based on truth but on your biased and personal opinion..


This is a more correct history of how Abhisit came to power (from Wikipedia).

On 19 September 2006, only weeks before the scheduled elections, the military seized power in the 2006 Thailand coup. Abhisit voiced his disapproval of the coup just hours before all political activities were banned:
“ We cannot and do not support any kind of extra-constitutional change, but it is done. The country has to move forward and the best way forward is for the coup leaders to quickly return power to the people and carry out the reforms they promised. They have to prove themselves. I urge them to lift all restrictions as soon as possible. There is no need to write a brand new constitution. They could make changes to the 1997 constitution and if that's the case, there is no reason to take a year. Six months is a good time. ”
Abhisit promised the junta-appointed Premier, Surayud Chulanont, his full support. Abhisit also supported the military junta's 2007 draft constitution on the grounds that it was the "lesser of two evils". Abhisit said the Democrat Party considered the new constitution similar to the 1997 Constitution, but with improvements as well as faults. "If we wanted to please the Council for National Security we would reject the draft so it could pick a charter of its own choosing. If we reject the draft, it will be like handing out power to the Council. We have come up with this stand because we care about national interest and want democracy to be restored soon," he said. Acknowledging the flaws of the new Constitution, Abhisit has also proposed, along with asking for cooperation from other political parties, to amend the Constitution once he is in power.

The Democrat Party was left in the opposition after the December 2007 parliamentary election, as Samak Sundaravej of the People's Power Party was able to form a six-party coalition. In a parliamentary vote on 28 January 2008, Abhisit was defeated by Samak for the post of Prime Minister, receiving 163 votes against 310 votes for Samak.

Following the Constitutional Court of Thailand's removal of prime minister Samak Sundaravej in 2008 for vested interests by taking a salary from a cooking show while in the seat of PM, Abhisit lost the National Assembly vote for Prime Minister by 163 votes to 298 for Somchai Wongsawat, ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra's brother in law. On 2 December 2008, the Constitutional Court banned the three government parties for election fraud, including the PPP, thus dissolved the governing coalition and paving the way for a Democrat-led government. The Court also banned Somchai from politics for five years for his involvement in the scandal as one of PPP's executive board member and removed him from office; he was succeeded by a deputy.
After Somchai was removed and the PPP dissolved, many MPs defected to the Democrat side thus forging a new alliance. Defectors included MPs from the For Thais Party (Puea Thai, the successor of the PPP), the former Chart Thai Party under Sanan Krachonprasat, the Thais United National Development Party, and the Neutral Democratic Party, and the "Friends of Newin" faction of the former Peoples Power Party. The enlarged Democrat-led coalition was able to endorse Abhisit as Prime Minister. Abhisit became Prime Minister after winning a special vote in parliament on 15 December 2008.

During the 2005-2006 Thai political crisis, Abhisit called for King Bhumibol Adulyadej to appoint a replacement to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. In a rare public speech, Bhumibol responded, "Asking for a Royally-appointed prime minister is undemocratic. It is, pardon me, a mess. It is irrational". Under Abhisit's leadership, senior Democrat Party members accused Thaksin of what they called the Finland Plot, a supposed plan to overthrow the monarchy and establish a republic. Abhisit boycotted the 2006 elections. Abhisit voiced displeasure at the 2006 coup that overthrew Thaksin, but otherwise did not protest it or the military junta that ruled Thailand for over a year. An Attorney-General's Office fact-finding panel found that the Democrat Party bribed other parties to boycott the 2006 elections to force a constitutional crisis, and recommended dissolving the Democrats. The new Constitutional Court acquitted Abhisit and the Democrats of the vote bribery charges, while banning Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party for the same charges. Abhisit supported the junta's 2007 Constitution, calling it an improvement on the 1997 Constitution. The Democrat Party lost the junta-administered 2007 election to the People's Power Party.
In the crisis that followed, some Democrat Party members became leaders of the People's Alliance for Democracy, which seized Government House, and Don Muang Airport and Suvarnabhumi Airports, while violently clashing with the police and anti-PAD protesters. Abhisit voiced displeasure at sieges, but did not stop his deputies from their leadership of the PAD. The sieges ended after the Constitutional Court banned the People's Power Party. Army commander and co-leader of the 2006 coup, General Anupong Paochinda, allegedly coerced several PPP MPs, including those from the Friends of Newin Group, to defect to the Democrat Party allowing Abhisit to be elected Prime Minister.

Not exactly the right way to become a PM. He used every dirty trick in the book to get his way..

Thaksin even if he was corrupt, as is the current government, is not only the country's first to serve a full term. (after a landslide election victory in 2001, when he became prime minister) But his rule is generally agreed to have been one of the most distinctive in the country's modern history. He initiated many eye-catching policies that distinguished him from his predecessors. They affected the economy, public health, education, energy, social order, drug suppression and international relations. He gained two re-election victories. Thaksin's most effective policies were reducing rural poverty and the introduction of universal healthcare, allowing him to galvanise the vast and largely untapped support base of the rural poor, especially in the populous northeast. Thaksin introduced a range of partly effective policies to alleviate rural poverty; highly popular, they helped reduce poverty by half in four years. He launched the country's first universal healthcare program, the 30-baht scheme, as well as a controversial but highly popular drug suppression campaign.His re-election in 2005 had the highest voter turnout in Thai history.

Thaksin's economic policies, helped accelerate Thailand's economic recovery from the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis and substantially reduce poverty. GDP grew from 4.9 trillion baht at the end of 2001 to 7.1 trillion baht at the end of 2006. Thailand repaid its debts to the International Monetary Fund two years ahead of schedule. Income in the Northeast, the poorest part of the country, had been stagnant from 1995 to 2000 but rose dramatically by 46% from 2001 to 2006. Nationwide poverty fell by half, from 21.3% to 11.3%, during the Thaksin years. Thailand's Gini coefficient, a measure of income inequality, fell from .525 in 2000 to .499 in 2004 (it had risen from 1996 to 2000). The Stock Exchange of Thailand outperformed other markets in the region. After facing fiscal deficits in 2001 and 2002, Thaksin balanced the national budget, producing comfortable fiscal surpluses for 2003 to 2005. Despite a massive program of infrastructure investments, a balanced budget was projected for 2007. Public sector debt fell from 57 per cent of GDP in January 2001 to 41 per cent in September 2006. Foreign exchange reserves doubled from US$30 billion in 2001 to US$64 billion in 2006.

Thaksin helped bring part of Thailand's massive underground lottery system into the legal fold by operating a successful numbers game run by the Government Lottery Office. Lottery sales of approx. 70 billion THB (2 billion USD) were used for social projects, including the "One District, One Scholarship" program.

Thaksin allowed the estimated 2.3 million migrant workers in Thailand to register and seek health coverage under the Thai national healthcare system. They were also eligible for work permits at the end of the registration period, entitling them to full labor protection.

I don't really support any of the groups. All Thai politicians are corrupt and power mad, and not really interested in the average Thai.. But at least Thaksin gave a lot back to the poor and improved the standard of living of the poor. The statistics speak for themselves. Now the "dictator" Abhisit is doing everything and anything he can to stay in power. Including extreme media censorship and violent attacks on the demonstrators. (The yellow shirts were allowed to occupy the airports without any such violent crackdown..)

Pre-coup, the Thaksin government blocked 2,475 websites, while as of January 2007, the government blocked 13,435 websites - an increase of a shade under 443%.

In the wake of the 2006 Thailand coup d'état, the right to free speech has been seriously eroded. The military has implemented a ban on political meetings and does not allow for any criticism of them in the media. Political activities of all types were also banned. The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) noted that Thailand's media environment -- prior to the coup considered one of the freest and most vibrant in Asia -- had quickly deteriorated following the military ousting of Thaksin Shinawatra. It noted the closure of around 300 community radio stations in Thai provinces, the intermittent blocking of cable news channels (particularly whenever news on Thaksin and criticism of the coup came up), and the suspension of some Thai websites devoted to discussing the implications of military intervention to Thai democracy. SEAPA also noted that while there seemed to be no crackdown on journalists, and while foreign and local reporters seemed free to roam, interview, and report on the coup as they saw fit, self-censorship was a certain issue in Thai newsrooms.

I don't mind you having an opinion on the situation, but I don't think it's right of you to post your opinions as facts. It is a hopeless situation Bangkok is in now, and it is difficult to see how this can end peacefully, but political unrest is not something new in Thailand. Since 1932 there has been many coups..

1932: King Prajadhipok is overthrown in a coup d'etat. A military junta led by three educated radicals, Pridi Phanomyang, Major Phibun Sangkhram and Colonel Phahon Phonphaywhasena, takes control. Phrayo Manopakorn is appointed Prime Minister.

1933: Manopakorn dissolves the National Assembly and rules by decree, until he is removed in another coup. Phahon, one of the three involved in the 1932 coup, becomes Prime Minister.

1947: Military coup by General Phin Choonhavan deposes the government. Luang Aphai-Wongse is appointed Prime Minister, but is replaced by Phibun the following year.

1951: Phibun leads another military coup and restores the 1932 version of the constitution.

1957: Following a coup led by General Sarit Thanarat, politician Pote Sarasin is appointed leader of an interim government.

1976: An attempted military coup is defeated in February, but a successful coup in October overthrows Prime Minister Seni Pramoj. Admiral Sa-ngad Chaloryoo, previously minister of defence, is installed as chairman of a National Administrative Reform Council.

Oct 20, 1977: The government of Thanom Kravichien, appointed in 1976, is overthrown by a military coup, again led by Sa-ngad. A military Revolutionary Council takes power.

April 1, 1981: An attempted coup, led by General Sant Chipatima, deputy commander-in-chief of the Army, is suppressed by forces loyal to the government.

Sept 9, 1985: A coup is attempted by Colonel Manoon Roopkachorn; a number of senior officers are later arrested.

Feb 23, 1991: The government of General Chatichai is ousted in a bloodless military coup. Power is assumed by a National Peacekeeping Council, led by General Sunthorn Kongsompong.

Sept 19, 2006: The armed forces take power and dismiss Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's caretaker government while Thaksin and several other ministers are overseas. The military revoke the constitution and promise a swift return to democracy after political reforms.

I fear there will be many more.. I have over 12 years of experince in Thailand and I speak, read and write Thai. Most of my friends in Norway are Thai. And I must say, I have never seen Thailand in such a state that it is in now. And I think there is a reason for it. The demonstrators are not out there risking their lives for fun or excitement. They want change, they want fair elections. Abhisit wants to postpone the elections as long as possible because he is pretty sure he will not win in a fair election. If the King dies, there will be 999 days of mourning where elections can not take place. That is in my opinion why the red shirts want elections as soon as possible, and Abhisit wants to postpone them as long as possible. Whoever is in power when the King passes away will be in power for at least the 3 following years.

My humble opinion.

Forgive me Mr A but could you start another thread on this subject instead of in this thread. I prodded NDW76 to start this thread so that others would know that he is okay. I was concerned for him and I thought others would be too and would want to know whats going on. So, lets not politicize this thread any further and lets just be thankful that one of our members is safe.

Oh.. Sorry, I just saw the link to the post on the front page. I am too happy he is ok. I don't know him, but have seen from some of his posts that he is located in bangkok. I didn't intend my post to be an attack on anyone though. Sorry if it seemed like that. I am sure we all just want this to end in the most positive way for the country and it's people and visitors.

Man, that sucks. My brother is in Thailand right now. He's due to come home in another month. I hope problems will have been solved (for the most part) by then...because otherwise him flying home might become a problem.