Thailand 01 (May 08 - Apr 10)

Re: Thailand 1 (May 08 - Apr 10)

Postby iam802 » Mon Apr 12, 2010 9:13 pm

Getting more serious now...

---

Democrat Party faces dissolution (<< this is the party of the current Thai PM)

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/politic ... issolution

The Election Commission on Monday decided by a vote of 4-1 to recommend the dissolution of the ruling Democrat Party for receiving an illegal 258 million baht donation case and the alleged misuse of a 29 million baht political development fund provided by the EC.

The decision was made at a special meeting of the EC chaired by Apichart Sukhagganond.

Mr Apichart, who is ex officio political party registrar, presented his recommendation to the commission for consideration.

Commissioner Sodsri Sattayatham revealed earlier the crucial meeting would be held today.

In December last year, the EC resolved that Mr Apichart, as the political party registrar, should decide whether to propose the dissolution of the Democrat Party to the Constitution Court.

Today's decision dealt a severe blow on the Democrat Party, whose leader and Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is under relenting pressure from the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) to immediately dissolve the House of Representatives and call a general election.

The red-shirts at the Ratchaprasong intersection roared with joy on hearing the news from leader Veera Musikhapong, who said he hoped the case would proceed quickly.

Thousands of UDD's red shirts on April 5 converged on the EC headquarters on Chaeng Wattana road and accused the commission of the dragging out a decision in the case against the Democrat Party.

Bowing to the UDD's demand, the EC said it would come up with a decision by April 20.

The EC will forward its decision to the Office of the Attorney-General. The OAG then has 30 days to review the case.

If the OAG's decision contradicts the EC's ruling, a joint committee would be set up to consider the case. If the OAG agrees with the EC, it will refer the case to the Constitution Court for a final decision.

The Democrat Party, Thailand's oldest political party, was accused of receiving more than 258 million baht in illegal donations from TPI Polene for use in the 2005 general election and not declaring it. The party was also accused of misusing the Politics Development Fund worth 29 million baht.

The current and previous constitutions limit individual donations to 10 million baht a year.

TPI Polene, a cement firm, was alleged to have made donations totalling 258 million baht to the Democrats through Messiah Business and Creation Co, an advertising company.

The Democrat Party faces possible dissolution and its executives could be banned from politics for five years if the Constution Court upholds the Election Commission's finding.

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Re: Thailand 1 (May 08 - Apr 10)

Postby LenaHuat » Mon Apr 12, 2010 9:21 pm

iam802 wrote:
winston wrote:
kennynah wrote:so....is the airticket to bangkok $1 now?? if so, i sure go... just make sure, i dont wear red...not even red underwear 8-)


Or Yellow ;)


Wear a T-shirt with the King's picture on it.


This is an act of lese majeste :o . It's OK if the T-shirt is PINK. PINK is the King's color.

The Democrat Party cannot campaign north of BKK because its major leaders have been marked. Traditionally, BKK and southern Thailand are its strongholds. It will lose anyway in any new election. It's to its advantage to be dissolved so that it can split into many factions and take on new names and logos.

The REDS will win the next elections hands down.
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Re: Thailand 1 (May 08 - Apr 10)

Postby mojo_ » Mon Apr 12, 2010 10:54 pm

power comes from the barrel of a gun... (Chairman Mao?)

* The Wall Street Journal
* APRIL 11, 2010

Tensions Simmer in Bangkok

By JAMES HOOKWAY

BANGKOK—Antigovernment protesters re-established control over parts of Thailand's capital a day after 21 people were killed in the bloodiest political violence here in nearly 20 years, leaving authorities with a dilemma: Whether to crack down and risk more bloodshed, or give in to the protesters' demands for immediate elections.

Complicating the impasse is a deeper debate over the role of Thailand's politically powerful military, which appears unwilling to allow another taste of power to the supporters of populist leader Thaksin Shinawatra, the man the army ousted in 2006.

Both "Red Shirt" antigovernment protesters and government officials spent much of Sunday trying to calm tensions after Saturday's violence. At least 21 people were killed—17 civilians, including a Japanese cameraman for the Reuters news agency, and four soldiers—and more than 800 injured as demonstrators fought pitched battles with riot police and soldiers across the city. It wasn't clear who started some of Saturday's incidents, though most of the worst fighting occurred after authorities positioned large numbers of troops near protest encampments in downtown Bangkok, raising tensions.

* Protesters Vow to Stay the Course

Government officials and army leaders said much of the damage was caused by non-military-issue weapons, and said soldiers fired live rounds into the air. A government spokesman said authorities would investigate how the conflicts Saturday got out of control, and promised to maintain order.

The U.S. State Department urged both sides to show restraint. The violence spilled into the famous Khao San area of backpacker hostels and bars, and several governments issued travel advisories warning their citizens away from Bangkok.

Rally leaders vowed to stay in Bangkok until Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva calls new elections. Protesters urged Thailand's ailing 82-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej to intervene as the havoc threatened to cast a further shadow over the badly damaged tourism sector.

"There's no more negotiation. Red Shirts will never negotiate with murderers," one of the rally leaders, Jatuporn Prompan, told protesters on Sunday.

Analysts say the army—the country's strongest power broker—is being thrust against its will to the forefront of the conflict in Thailand, one of Southeast Asia's linchpin economies and an important part of the global supply chain.

After the military ousted Mr. Thaksin in a coup d'état four years ago, the army-appointed government pushed through a new constitution guaranteeing the army more powers. After that, in December 2008, the military brokered a deal for Thailand's Parliament to elect a new, army-friendly government. Military budgets climbed, while army leaders said they were washing their hands of politics for good. Mr. Thaksin, now 60 years old, fled Thailand to avoid imprisonment following his conviction on a corruption charge in 2008.

Paul Chambers, a Thailand expert at Heidelberg University in Germany, says the military is free to operate outside the control of civilian leaders while pretending it is still under the command of a democratic government. In reality, he says, the military has more power now than at any time in recent memory. As the threat of more violence looms, Mr. Chambers says, "the army's strategy will be to preserve the security of the monarchy and the armed forces' own post-2006 enhanced position of power."

The Red Shirts—including Mr. Thaksin's supporters—are pushing back. Well-organized and angered by the way they say Thailand's army and bureaucratic elites have disenfranchised them, tens of thousands have traveled from rural provinces in recent weeks and have taken over parts of Bangkok.

Their rallies have closed shopping malls and choked traffic as they press their demand for new elections and test the army's resolve to hold on to its elevated status.

Army chief Gen. Anupong Paochinda is scheduled to retire Sept. 30 in a planned annual shuffle of the army's top brass. He has indicated he wants his conservative deputy, Gen. Prayuth Chan-ucha, to take over.

Neither Gen. Anupong nor Gen. Prayuth could be reached for comment.

Both men were key players in the 2006 coup that ousted Mr. Thaksin, and analysts say Gen. Prayuth's promotion to the top job would solidify the control of a traditionalist generation of military leaders who place their loyalty with King Bhumibol and his advisers rather than elected governments. It would also ensure that the anti-Thaksin faction in the army remains in control until at least 2014, when Gen. Prayuth is scheduled to retire.

However, a civilian government needs to sign off on Gen. Prayuth's promotion, and the Red Shirts are pushing for immediate elections. Many analysts agree that a vote now would bring another pro-Thaksin government to power. A Red government might not allow the generals behind the 2006 coup to retain their power. Political analysts here say that it is this behind-the-scenes battle for control of the armed forces that underpinned Saturday's savage street fighting.


Something similar happened in 2006, the year of the coup. Mr. Thaksin, a popular telecommunications magnate, had built what analysts regarded as an unshakable support base in Thailand's impoverished but vote-rich rural areas by offering easy credit, debt moratoriums and cheap health care.

The year before, Mr. Thaksin became the only Thai prime minister ever to have been re-elected and the army's top leaders feared he was attempting to expand his influence to the military by fast-tracking his supporters up the chain of command. Their response: Stop Mr. Thaksin in his tracks by staging a coup and eradicating any trace of his fast-growing regime.

Soldiers put a soft spin on the takeover, marketing it as Thailand's "Orchid Revolution" and emphasizing that the change of power took place without a shot being fired—unlike many of the 18 coups the army has staged since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932.

Saturday's shootings leave Gen. Anupong and other top commanders with a dilemma: Whether to let Mr. Abhisit's government sink and take their chances with a new pro-Thaksin government, or to support Mr. Abhisit in an economically damaging and potentially bloodier stand-off until the military shuffle is completed.

So far, it appears the army's top command is continuing to back Mr. Abhisit, who now spends much of his time at an army camp in northern Bangkok.


Paul Quaglia, director of Bangkok-based security consultancy PSA Asia, says calling elections now would undermine everything the army has gained since the 2006 coup and that the army's allies in the palace remain opposed to an early vote that could bring an aggressively pro-Thaksin government to power. Nonetheless, "if the army cannot clear the streets without serious loss of life, toughing things out until September will no longer look like a good strategy to staying in power," says Michael Montesano, a visiting research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.
Not what but when.
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Re: Thailand 1 (May 08 - Apr 10)

Postby winston » Tue Apr 13, 2010 9:09 am

All the expert Analysts on CNBC are now talking about selling Thailand. Where were they just last Tuesday ? Were they sleeping ? Didn't they see the demonstrations ?

Didnt they know that when ten of thousands of people are staring at each other, you dont need much to start an explosion ?

How low can it go ? During the AFC, the equities market crashed and the baht crashed. So in USD terms, they were probably down 80% to 90% ...

Too early to buy but it has slowly crept up on my watch-list ...
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Re: Thailand 1 (May 08 - Apr 10)

Postby winston » Tue Apr 13, 2010 10:23 am

There's an "expert" now on CNBC, who is over-weight Thailand. Obviously, he did not manage to get out in time. His justification is that you need to take a 5 year view :lol: :lol: :roll: :roll:

In addition, he mentioned that Thailand has military coups and many PMs in the past and this time is not that different.

I recall a quote from Peter Lynch, "If you want to panic, do it early". It's still only down 6% from the range high...

And Jim Rogers: "Wait till the money is in the corner and all you have to do is just go there to pick it up".
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Re: Thailand 1 (May 08 - Apr 10)

Postby winston » Tue Apr 13, 2010 6:25 pm

Stocks normally gap after a holiday break. But will it gap upwards or downwards ? No straddle to buy :(

Thai protesters vow more rallies unless PM resigns

Thai protesters vow more street rallies if prime minister doesn't step down immediately

KINAN SUCHAOVANICH
AP News

Apr 13, 2010 06:11 EDT

Anti-government protesters threatened Tuesday to unleash another street "offensive" aimed at deposing the prime minister and described an unexpected ruling that his party be disbanded as just a ploy to buy time in Thailand's political crisis.

On Monday, the Election Commission ordered the dissolution of the Democrat Party for allegedly concealing campaign donations, while the powerful army chief threw his weight behind calls for new elections.

The moves were initially expected to blunt demonstrations by thousands of red-shirted protesters whose monthlong campaign exploded into brutal clashes with security forces Saturday, killing 21 people and wounding hundreds in the country's worst political violence in nearly two decades.

Protest leaders accuse troops of gunning down demonstrators while the government says still unidentified "terrorists" were behind the killings. Reporters saw assault rifles and other weapons in the hands of some of the "Red Shirt" protesters. The government says officers only shot their weapons over the heads of charging protesters.

Though the commission's decision lends weight to the protesters' cause, it must still be approved by the Attorney General's office and the Constitutional Court — a potentially lengthy process. Weng Tojirakarn, a key protest leader, told The Associated Press that the group was therefore sticking to its demand that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva immediately dissolve Parliament and hold elections.

"This is a long legal process. It can be a ploy for Abhisit to buy time," Weng said. "If Abhisit dissolves Parliament at noon today, we'll have all gone home by three in the afternoon. Just say the word and this whole protest will end."

At loggerheads in the yearslong struggle for power in Thailand are the rural supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra — whose ouster in a 2006 coup exposed the country's deep political divisions — and the traditional ruling elite represented by Abhisit and his allies. Abhisit's supporters include business leaders, the military brass, the judiciary and bureaucrats — supported by the urban middle class.

Abhisit's removal may not provide a permanent solution, for it may fuel another round of counter-demonstrations by his supporters.

The Red Shirts vowed to march Wednesday on a military barrack where the prime minister has been living during the crisis if the army didn't "immediately stop sheltering a murderer like Abhisit," according to protest leader, Nattawut Saikua.

Calling for an "offensive mobilization," Nattawut said that even if Abhisit stepped down, he would face murder charges. Earlier, the Red Shirts called for him to leave the country.

Despite threats of further confrontations, tensions have subsided in the Thai capital since Saturday. On Tuesday a festive air took hold as residents, foreign tourists and many protesters began celebrating the three-day Thai New Year, or Songkran, an annual orgy of water fights, dancing and heavy drinking.

The Red Shirts wielded water pistols and super-sized guns in several quarters of the city. Others doused passers-by with water out of big barrels on the back of pickup trucks.

"After I saw that our brothers and sisters died like this, I would not have fun celebrating Songkran if I had gone home. I feel better if I stay here and fight for democracy," said Denchai Thanuson, a protester from an outlying province. As he spoke his children clambered atop military armored cars crippled in the clashes and shot off their waterguns.

In Washington, Thailand's Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya lashed out at Thaksin, accusing the fugitive of personally instigating the recent deadly clashes and calling him a "bloody terrorist."

Speaking Monday on the sidelines of a global nuclear summit in Washington, Kasit compared Thaksin to dictators like Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin and al-Qaida, and faulted foreign governments for allowing him entry despite his being a fugitive from justice at home. He was convicted in absentia on corruption charges.

Thailand has seen three governments in the four years since the 2006 coup, and Kasit acknowledged that his country has "not found the right formula. We have not found the compromise."

In Bangkok, Thanis Sriprathes, deputy secretary-general of the Election Commission, told reporters that Abhisit's party was found guilty of failing to disclose — as required by law — that it received 258 million baht ($8 million) from TPI Polene, a cement producer.

The commission was scheduled to unveil its ruling on April 20, but announced it more than a week early without explanation. The Constitutional Court has not yet said when it will hear the case.

Abhisit suffered another blow when army chief Gen. Anupong Paochinda told reporters that dissolving Parliament and calling new elections might resolve the country's political crisis.

The army chief was until now seen as a staunch backer of the prime minister. The apparent about-face puts Abhisit under renewed pressure given that the army is an influential force in the country's politics — and has not hesitated to stage coups during previous bouts of political instability.

The root of the current unrest goes back to 2006 when the coup drove Thaksin from power amid accusations of corruption. Each of the three governments since then has been dogged by street protests by rival groups.

___

Associated Press writers Grant Peck, Denis D. Gray, Thanyarat Doksone, Vijay Joshi and Jocelyn Gecker, and Foster Klug in Washington, contributed to this report.

Source: AP News
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Re: Thailand 1 (May 08 - Apr 10)

Postby LenaHuat » Fri Apr 23, 2010 5:47 pm

Both the BTS Skytrain and the subway will cease operations at 6pm today.
Something terrible seems imminent. Those red-shirt protestors have parked LPG-fueled trucks below the Skytrain. :evil:
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Re: Thailand 1 (May 08 - Apr 10)

Postby iam802 » Fri Apr 23, 2010 6:20 pm

Can't remember where I read it.

I think it was also reported that the hotels (InterCon, Grand Hyatt etc) have told their guests to leave.
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Re: Thailand 1 (May 08 - Apr 10)

Postby kennynah » Fri Apr 23, 2010 6:23 pm

so wat's happening over there now?

no sound, no picture for a week...
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Re: Thailand 1 (May 08 - Apr 10)

Postby winston » Sun Apr 25, 2010 1:07 pm

Thai PM says he underestimated protesters

Thai PM says he underestimated protest movement, offers no ideas to end crisis

Thailand's embattled prime minister acknowledged he initially underestimated the protesters who have occupied central Bangkok for weeks, but he offered no initiatives Sunday to end the country's prolonged, sometimes bloody political crisis.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva spoke in a nationally televised interview a day after the breakdown of talks with the protesters — who are demanding new elections — dashed hopes that a peaceful way could be found to end the stalemate.

Clashes have killed at least 26 people and wounded nearly 1,000 others since the "Red Shirt" protesters began occupying Bangkok's commercial center more than a month ago, closing down five-star hotels and upscale shopping malls and costing merchants millions of dollars per day.

"The solution process is ongoing but may not please everyone. The government, and not only the military, is preparing to be ready for what would lead to the next level," Abhisit said in a short statement to the interviewer. He did not elaborate during follow-up questions.

The program went off the air briefly, with the prime minister later blaming the disruption on "ill-intentioned people." Thailand's police force, army and other agencies are believed to be infiltrated by Red Shirt supporters, but it was unclear whether the opposition somehow disrupted the television signal.

Appearing with Abhisit, Thai army chief Gen. Anupong Paochinda said the crisis must be solved by legal means and denied there were any significant rifts within the military.

"We won't use violence but as I've said earlier, the situation has escalated toward violence so the military will have to adjust its measures," the army chief said. "As the PM said, if there is anything needed to bring back peace, we'll do it."

While stopping short of accusing the Red Shirts, Abhisit said that rocket-propelled grenades fired in Thursday's violence in the heart of the city's financial district were launched from inside a protest site by "terrorists." At least one person was killed Thursday, and 25 others died April 10 during clashes as soldiers unsuccessfully tried to clear the protesters from one of their camps.

Abhisit said that he initially underestimated the protest movement.

"I admit, I didn't expect to see such a force ready to go this far," he said.

The conflict has been characterized by some as class warfare, pitting the country's vast rural poor against an elite that has traditionally held power.

The protesters, who claim the government took power illegitimately, had previously demanded Parliament be dissolved immediately, while the government said it would disband parliament in six months.

The Red Shirts softened their stance Friday, offering the government a proposed compromise of 30 days to disband the legislature in a move they said was aimed at preventing further bloodshed.

Red Shirt leaders said that if no compromise was reached they would continue their demonstrations in the Bangkok commercial district that they have transformed into a protest camp with barricades of tires and bamboo stakes, paralyzing business and daily life in the city.

Many in the capital have grown weary of the confrontation and the disruptions, and thousands of residents gathered at a park Saturday to demand the protests end. "Please stop the mob — I want a normal life," read one sign.

The Red Shirts consist mainly of rural supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and pro-democracy activists who opposed the military coup that ousted him in 2006. They believe Abhisit's government is illegitimate because it came to power under military pressure through a parliamentary vote after disputed court rulings ousted two elected pro-Thaksin governments.

Since the beginning of the crisis, Abhisit's government has threatened to curtail the protests but has failed to follow through. Military units from the 200,000-strong army have been routed in several confrontations with the crudely armed demonstrators. The police have often melted when faced with determined protesters.

Source: AP News
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