It’s amazing. There are fightings in several locations in Bangkok… But those are not skirmishes… It’s enough to read what a blogger hidding in the basement of the Dusit Thani hotel is writing in real time on his twitter page…
Shootings… light…. heavy… different calibers… single shots…. bursts… grenades… the guy is a military… And it’s going on for 4 hours !
Pictures, videos, eyes witnesses, Internet… Real time. It changes everything.
The Red Shirts are going to be destroyed… you can count on the good will and on the skills of the fanatics and happy triggers AKA the thai soldiers… But it’s already a deal done : the thai authorities shot themselves, and not in the foot, but in the head.
Can you imagine Abhisit, still parading as “Prime Minister” ? Going to international meetings ? Speaking to the foreign press (he used to love it… CNN made his day) ? Even obscenity has some limits.
Of course not. Abhisit might be a political puppet, but he’s taking responsability, therefore he’s an accomplice at best, a murderer, a butcher at worst. Live and direct on TV. Need some makeup ? Where is the teleprompter ?
In both case, it’s not really good for reputation, for a young, talented, thai politician educated at Oxford.
Can you imagine Joe the Plumber who wanted to spend some holidays on the thai beaches, spending the money he doesn’t earn because he lost his job in the US, and his house ? Burma style instead… You bet he’s changing his plans leo leo…
Abhisit and the military apparatus are winning the battle (the massacre)… But they’re surely losing the… future.
The fiction of the Land Of Smile has imploded. The keywords that those orwellian clowns love to repeat over and over (“rule of law”, “democracy” etc.) like broken robots have deflated.
Thailand is now on the same map as Burma, Iran and North Korea… Those lovely “democratic” countries, champions of the “rule of law”… From time to time, the authorities shoot their own fellow citizens like dogs. It’s their trademark. Their “signe de reconnaissance”. Welcome to the club khun Abhisit. Don’t forget to pay your annual fee.
I repeat : Thailand = Burma, Iran, North Korea.
The fog of war is not anymore.
It’s Alice through the looking glass.
And it’s sickening.
Thailand Crisis 
I agree with you 100% on this TC.
I think this massacre is the final nail in the coffin of Thailand´s reputation as the land of smiles, where everyone is content and happy with their status in society.
It is amazing how long Thailand has ridden this wave of good will from the international community.
Most nations always turn the blind eye on Thailand´s violation of human rights. (Did Thailand not just got accepted few day´s ago in the Human Right council? If so, what a shame for that institution!)
This co-dependency from the international community is doing Thailand no good in reality, it only makes the problem/cancer more spread and the suffering of the majority worse.
In reality Thailand is another Burma, it´s has a prettier face and more attractive mask but it´s even more evil and damaging because of this.
Kasit, Abishit and other ministers in this government should be arrested when they travel abroad and brought to trial but I´m afraid that will not happen.
If business had morals it would stay away from Thailand and not invest there because it only makes the current elite and Monarchy job of oppressing it´s people easier.
I´m afraid that is not going to happen either.
I hope Thai´s all over Thailand stand up and fight against this oppression in their own county and take up arms if needed…and I´m afraid they need to.
Of course not. Abhisit might be a political puppet.
Love this word.
Who is the puppet master?
112
Thailand is ruled by retired and serving military with 700 generals heavily involved in legal and illegal business. Their power is secured by the fiction of protection of the monarchy and massive wealth and influence links with all the important economic structures in Thailand.
For examples, the Thai military own Banks, TV, radio and are represented
and control the airlines, construction, manufacturing, agriculture.
The military are active in managing the politics of Thailand and work in
many capacities in all regions of Thailand. The military controls legal
and illegal labour flows across the borders and the insurgency in the
south and are immune from legal and government oversight. The government
exists only to provide stories and excuses for their actions.
Full franchise democratic elections are a direct threat to the military
because they take the power of choice of MPs from them and worse,
elected governments can claim the authority of the people and introduce
controls on the military.
After he was elected Thaksin was foolish and brave enough to introduce
some controls, there were calls that he was “interfering with the
military promotions and reshuffle” (which a democratic government has a
duty to do) and “threatening the monarchy” which he wasnt, but the
military always falls back on this to secure their power.
It is the challenge for every government to try to bring the military
under control. Abhisit cannnot because he cannot claim the mandate of
the people.
The redshirts want free and fair elections so their government can claim
the authority to rule Thailand and at least try to control the military.
Come on look at the pictures from you tube etc. The pictures I see are not red group fighting but common street thugs. Some drunk and using md bottles for gas bombs. I see motor cycle boys and persons in black with guns. This is not the red shirt group it is persons using this as a excuse to rob stores and cause problems. So yes the goverment needs to control this crazieness. The problem was the reds letting the thuggs hide behind them for there own Yaba fueled street riots. Come on look tell me you see red group being shot!!!! or fighting You are just as bad as the goverment you do not like.
CLOSED EYES
From the Nation:
Live broadcast from Channel 3 at 5:50 pm Monday showed protesters trying to blow up an oil tanker outside a petrol station near the Bon Kai community close to Soi Ngam Duplee on Rama IV Road.
The TV live broadcast using 3G connection showed that certain bullets hit the oil tank of oil truck but no explosion occurred yet.
Rubber tyres were burning near the oil tanker.
The station said a protester drove the truck out of the petrol station and left it in front of the station.
There does seem to be a very strong desire to hold government for a certain period of time at any cost, presumably the orders have been passed down, orders that cannot be ignored. Seems the reds are well aware of this as well and their masters are happy also to see blood to thwart this outcome.
Always the puppet masters sacrificing the pawns for their on ends…sad. Consider Cambodia and what they did, what Burma still does, why imagine the Thais from a similar cultural background would be any different when push comes to shove?
Will the elite keep selling peasant pussy to the foreigners, of course and will still be in the chain making money from it. What they will kill off is the broader tourist market. But never mind there are more important issues to protect at any cost.
USUALLY I READ YOU WITH BIG INTEREST AND SATISFACTION
but in this circumstance i cannot completely agree wit you,sorry
from your words i understand that you are marrying 100% the attitude of the reds
they have no intention at all to cooperate in a solution without blood
sorry
i will continue to read you, in any case
Not at all. I’m not a supporter of the Reds.
I just oppose the (current) government.
Like I did when it was :
-Thaksin
-the Junta
-Samak
-somchai
-Abhisit (unofficial Junta)
etc.
Governments, all of them, are the enemies. Always. And for that matter must be “contained”.
At the source of tyrany you find government. Always.
After it’s a matter of scale of course. The current thai government shooting at other thai people in the streets, this is tyrany. The french or US government looking to trace your investments, your income, this is still tyrany. Albeit at lower level.
Governments are necessary, I’m not a lunatic. But governments have to fear their people, not the other way around.
I think nothing is better than the principles laid out by the Founding Fathers.
well done Dave.
General Prem Titsulanonda is the link between the Royal Family and the Army.
While Queen Sirikit is now the head of the ruling class represented by no more than two dozens families most of them with chinese origins.
The only way to get rid of this brutal system is by getting rich and powerful enough to “buy” influences.
A dove will be shot before try to fly.
Thaksin was doing that. He was not pursuing a real democracy, but a system similar to the one of Malaysia and Singapore with a liberal system with a almost dictatorial one party rule.
MUCH BETTER THAN THE CURRENT SYSTEM anyway.
IMAO, it’s a different mindset between West vs East.
The West (that include Europeans) see the use of soldiers to quell riot as tyranny. Their international standard is using riot police, value opposing ideas through individualism.
The East are used to seeing soldiers crackdown riot, especially China, Burma, and Thailand. So their international standard are acceptable, suppress opposing ideas through collectivism.
BTW, did not see the Thai soldiers using water gun to disperse the crowd or put out the burning tires. Guess the whole 1-to-7 steps are just theoretical.
Land Of The Smiling Snipers
“Governments have to serve their people who elect them”
and not the opposite.
There is nothing in Thailand which resembles a democracy.
Nor any institution is minimally done to serve their ordinary people. Not even in their most remote dreams.
There is no way to pursue a change with peace and love in Thailand.
Just try to say “Peace and love, Abhisit, step down now…”
and the answer will be an AK-47 shooting at you.
If you want to understand the Red Shirts, do something: try for 1 month to survive with 3500 baht ,go to work 15 hours a day in the rice fields …forget about the Gatorade and Red Bull.
If you survive , just imagine this people have to do this all their lifes and there is no way they will have a chance to progress rather than a fat wealthy farang comes and falls in love with your beautiful golden-skin daughter.
I betcha you will understand them.
It is a shame and unacepptable such a rich country contains millions of miserable people. Thailand is filthy rich, it is not Cambodia nor Burkina Faso.This is the real shame.
SICKED…..I am thoroughly shocked not by what the forum commented BUT on what that was not discussed…..
Didn’t it came across anyone’s mind on the true intention of the military in regards to the crackdown on the protestors? So many times I have came across reports and photos which displayed gunshot wounds to the head of the protestor apparantly by military snipers…..
The snipers are trained to shut off the enemy commanders with a single shot in a TRUE WAR. However, deploying them for civil unrest is still justifiable BUT they objective and intention must be one that is “to cripple” instead of “to kill”!!!!
For that, i can still understand on the assasination of Sae Daeng since he is a prominant commander in some way or another…but the same done on those ordinary protestors is really unacceptable.
I can also discount off if those gunshot wounds were inflicted by panicky soldiers being fired upon by the protestors (assuming that this report is true), But not if they were hit by snipers positioned in those high rise buildings. These snipers have all the time in the world to take their aim without any exposure to risk of returning fire from the protestors…why can’t they just take down their legs instead???? letz not forget that the true objective is to cripple the enemy’s advancement. Going for their legs is good enough to achieve that objectives unless they have a different agenda all together
Dear Thaicrisis (i don t know your name) please publish this link to condemn the Thai government to the UN:
http://www.petitiononline.com/10310/petition.html
It is a very small thing you can do for these poor people dying in front of these monsters trying to build a better future for their country.
The problem is that in Thailand, people have still to learn that if an election produces a result they don’t like, they don’t have the right to a) block airports b) block business and hotel districts c) throw hand grenades d) detonate bombs at public transport stations etc.
NOWHERE IN THE WORLD WOULD (or should!) A GOVERNMENT ACCEPT ANYTHING LIKE THAT. As a matter of fact, if anything happened in a civilized country like it happened in Bangkok, they would already have been removed (violently or not!) during the first or second day of their ‘peaceful’ (har har) demonstration blockade.
Now many of you guys will rant ‘but they bribed their way into the government!’ or ‘there were deals behind the scenes!` etc… yes, get rid of it in your political system, Thailand, but then people don’t accept ‘travel money’, ‘family support money’ slipped in your pockets, especially at the next poll, as well. Live up to it. Grow up.