SJ,Super Joe wrote:Firstly, I've said countless times I'm not on either side and don't condone the violence/bombs thrown at PAD people either.
Don't agree with the change to constitution but don't agree either with the other sides aim to dispand democracy with 70% non-democratically elected MP's.
Don't know how to go about it, but I wouldn't go out with 6 mates and buy the longest machette I can find and drag someone off a motorbike and beat him within an inch of his life.
Problem is when you give into violence, its like dealing with terrorists, they know it works. So lets say the government resign and a.n.other lot get in, guess what the blokes in the red shirts will do, pop down the airport ........................
SJ
I think your view is too black and white, and also too influenced by the personal inconvenience you and your family are facing, which is surprising for someone who has lived in Thailand for a while. If attempts had not been made to deal with the IRA and their counterparts in Northern Ireland we would still have senseless murders and bomb attacks going on now in the UK. This whole 'not negotiating with terrorists' angle has been overstated in political rhetoric, and while in some cases it holds true, in many it does not. The political bravery shown by those who did start the NI peace process is paying off in spades now for the people there, so this stance of not talking to people who have resorted to violence is insane to me. I think it probably stems from when Chamberlain negotiated with Hitler but i could be wrong. From where I am sitting it has always looked to me as if someone should have been trying to negotiate with both PAD and Thaksin, probably in secret; maybe it actually happened, who knows? But the threat should always have been there to make the negotiations and any rejections or shady moves public, to coerce both sides into a deal, hopefully one where neither lost face.I suspect that the time was ripe for that when Somchai had to step down but it seems nobody took up the baton. The government should have been responsible enough and intelligent to realise that something needed to be done to avoid further problems. While PAD are wrong in the final actions they have taken, it is clear that it was the only way they could see to bring this to a head.
For what it is worth I think this was never planned to go beyond the weekend, and certainly not to even come close to a very important date in the Thai calendar, December 5th, and I think this will be the face saving option that both sides can use.
