Thai Politics

[STEVE G]

Thai fury forces Old Etonian into hiding.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 28037.html

[Name Taken]

I dont think we ex pats will be targetted for anything other than the usual smiles and scams.

Ive been to and worked in countries that that sort of thing is a constant undercurrent at times of elections and I just dont get that feeling here. When it comes it is palpable.... you can feel the anger and aggression mounting. You can see the stares, hear the mutters and sense the fact its time to button down or leave. I was in India when one of the foaming at the mouth parties decided to kick of a hate the west campaign - not nice. If you want a taste of how it feels try Zimbabwe or Gambia.

At the end of the day the Reds (and yellows) are just scruffy dumb renta-mob shills stirred up and paid for by two cowardly greedy immoral little shits who have got too big for their own good. They represent the distinct minority here...most Thais are as sick of them as we are. Now it seems the "greys" are waking up to the fact their country is being screwed by these pathetic loons and have had enough.

Hopefully the whole shebang will start to wind down after the end of Feb when (hopefully) the judges finally make a sodding decision about Takky Skinwash's get rich scheme funds and have the lot away. Combine that with arresting the tinpot coward general with the grenade launcher crew and all their stinking cowardly murdering mates, enforcing the "no politics" provisions of all the UDD leaders bail agreements and throwing them in jail where they belong, and throwing treason and insurrection charges at the lot of em. Throw the yellow leaders in jail for the airport takeover including the bullet dodger.

Personally I think the government are playing this one smart - wait and be gentle...let the mob start the kickoff (which lets face it we all know they will). Its gonna be a riot at the end of Feb, and I dont mean the new year celebrations either.

Cut off the head of the snake - the velvet glove didnt work so give em a taste of the iron fist it should contain.

I wouldnt worry too much about your builder - probably just had his latest tessabahn tea money demand in or hadnt had his blow job for brekky that day. My reaction - never use him again and next time use only locals to do the work.

[Lung Per]

What else is there to say?

[sargeant]

Bangkok post today
quote
The Democrats expect reciprocal benefits from the appointment of Gen Prayuth. The army, with the full support of the 3Ps, can help them in the next political battle with Puea Thai at least because they can order all soldiers to vote for the party when the troops go to cast their ballots.

[STEVE G]

Sarge, that's all they can do, order the troops to vote democrat, but they can't force them to do it.
I was in Nong Ki for the last election and quite a number of troops came home to vote and it wasn't for the democrats!
The ranks of the Thai forces are full of lads from the poorer areas of Thailand as the richer ones get out of National Service by being cadets at college or whatever.
That is also why sending troops against rural demonstrators is a thing the generals are a bit wary of.

[sargeant]

Steve yes those that go home i agree
but a lot are not able to go home and have to vote absentee ballots at polling booths inside the barracks
but after 22 years in the british army i know what any officer from 2nd leutenant to field marshall would have been told if they had tried that crap on us
plus the word isnt they hope its they expect
I can just hear the squaddies saying what no hundred bucks

sod off

edited for humour

[PeteC]

This may come as a surprise to some as not much has been in the news about it. As it looks now, the Democrat Party will go the same way as Thai Rak Thai. Pete

News » Local News
Democrats under fire after ruling
EC seeks court order to disband 'oldest' party

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/3 ... ter-ruling

* Published: 13/04/2010 at 12:00 AM
* Newspaper section: News Bangkok Post

The Election Commission plans to seek a Constitution Court order on the disbandment of the ruling Democrat Party for accepting a secret, 258 million baht donation from TPI Polene and the mishandling of a 29 million baht fund from the commission in 2005.

The EC will forward the cases to the court soon through the Office of the Attorney-General .

The OAG will look at evidence from the EC and can consult election commissioners if it is in any doubt.

It will have 30 days to decide whether to forward the cases to the court to start the time-consuming process of at least two months to more than a year to make a ruling on the fate of the country's oldest political party.

If the court rules in line with the EC's position to dissolve the party, all executive members including party leader and Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will be barred from politics for five years.

The resolution was taken yesterday in an urgent meeting of the five commissioners just after they received an opinion on the two funding cases from a subcommittee led by EC chairman and political party registrar Apichart Sukhagganond.

The resolution came as a surprise although a source inside the commission said a witness had yet to be questioned.

The EC had earlier announced it would make its decision by April 20.

Yesterday was the first working day after the fatal clashes between government forces and red shirt protesters on Saturday night.

The EC yesterday voted 4:1 for the dissolution of the party on the case involving money from TPI Polene. An EC source said the only dissenting vote came from Mr Apichart.

The vote concerned a 258 million baht contribution from the cement firm in 2005 which was allegedly channelled through an advertising agency, Messiah Business and Creation Co.

TPI Polene claimed the money was to pay for its advertising in the South. However, the money was allegedly transferred from the agency to people connected to the Democrat Party. The party under leader Banyat Bantadtan and secretary-general Pradit Phataraprasit was campaigning in the April 2, 2005, general election.

EC deputy secretary-general Thanit Sriprathet said the agency found the Democrats violated the Political Party Act by failing to report the funding.

On the other case, the EC found the ruling party mishandled 29 million baht in funds which it had given the party.

The party reported to the EC that the money was spent on hiring the same advertising agency to produce political campaign boards. However, it was reported the sum was not spent on that purpose and was transferred to senior figures in the party.

The EC voted unanimously for the Democrat dissolution in this case as it considered the mishandling of funds violated the Political Party Act.

Red shirt protesters claimed the EC decision as a victory stemming from their rally to put pressure on the agency to speed up the issue at its headquarters on April 5.

United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship co-leader Jatuporn Prompan said the report gave protesters pushing for the ouster of the Democrats-led government encouragement but stressed that the rally would go on.

Democrats spokesman Buranat Samutharak said the EC resolution yesterday was only the beginning of the whole process as the OAG and the court had yet to consider the cases.

Khomsant Phokong, a law lecturer at Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, said the EC had just "passed the hot potato" to the OAG and the court given the present political circumstances.

Prapas Pintoktaeng, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University, said the prime minister could be forced to dissolve the House in the next few months to avoid the court ruling.

If the Democrat Party is disbanded there will be questions as to whether a caretaker government can dissolve the House, he said.

[STEVE G]

Yes, I think after the debacle at the weekend this government has to go one way or another.
I see that the head of the Army is calling for Prime minister to resign as well.

[buksida]

When that happens the whole cycle will re-start, military intervention, puppet/caretaker governments, and yellow shirts back on the streets ...



Thailand can't handle 'democracy' in a Western sense, it should just declare itself a dictatorship and be done with it ... it works for Burma and North Korea!

[PeteC]

Now's the time for them to look back and reflect on the institutions and programs which worked well when they were a colony, and re-institute some of them. Whoops, they don't have the benefit of that now do they. Pete

PS: Look at Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India and pre-junta Burma and tell me they didn't benefit to some degree from their colonial past in terms of structuring their society when independence arrived.

[PeteC]

[PeteC]

Here's another one. We're a year past both of these interviews now and not much has changed. His statements about calm and non-violence are and have been a bad joke. Pete

[charlesh]

First visited LOS 30+ years ago IMO on an equal footing with Malaysia then with S'pore ahead of both (economically, socially). Now S'pore a clear leader in anyone's stakes and Malaysia even with their own inherent prob's 2 lengths ahead of LOS.
The parochial attitudes of LOS inhabitants and an inability to grasp opportunity IMO has resulted in the slipping in the stakes.
PS my recent visit to Kampuchea makes me think they will be on a par with LOS in 20 years as evidenced by their willingness to learn !!!!!
All of them have had interesting bleeps in their parliamentary processes. Why the LOS almost in a state of suspended animation - culture??

[hhfarang]

Why the LOS almost in a state of suspended animation - culture??

Because many Thais like it that way and lament the loss of tradition and moving into modern times... who's to say that's wrong. In many ways I think the U.S. was a better place to live in the 50's than today at least from my recollections as a child growing up there.

[sargeant]

agreed HHF but it also very much depends in which strata of society you have grown up in.

the ultra rich elite do not want change at any price they are perfectly happy and will fight dirty to keep it as it is

the upper middle upwardly mobile class just want the upward march to keep going same old same old they have the ambition to be in the above group

the lower middle class just want to hang on to what they have got

as for anything below those stratas i think we are seeing that now they just dont want to stay as slaves peons donkeys or forgotten peasants anymore
they want their kids to have a chance/place at the trough of wealth as well