The current state of things

From the Bangkok Post

On Friday, army commander Gen Anupong Paojinda rejected a call by Mr Samak to declare a state of emergency and call out troops. He suggested the use of police instead, or the resignation of the premier to cool tempers. Mr Samak repeated he would not resign.

“If the PAD succeeds in ousting Samak, it will be a huge setback for Thai democracy,” Prof Thitinan said. “It will be the crowning success for the right-wing conservative contingent who are against election-based democracy.”

PAD leaders, such as retired Maj-Gen Chamlong Srimuang, have said the Thai electorate is too uneducated to vote….

The “front page” of today’s Bangkok Post on-line

Shoving match

Latest Protesters armed with clubs pushed and forced police off the grounds of Government House early on Friday morning as a senior PAD member threatened to make demonstrations “more aggressive”.

PAD appeal denied

The Civil Court refused on Thursday to lift its order for protesters to leave Government House immediately – but said it could appeal the order later.

Trains halt

Railway workers on Thursday began a sick-out to support the anti-government actions in Bangkok, and announced that all train service to the North and Northeast will halt at midnight on Friday, causing disruption to commuters and tourists.

I confess that, of the three headlines and summaries, the one that confuses me most is that Railway workers are supporting the PAD by taking a day off.

Once again, inconveniencing commuters and travelers seems to work the other way, getting people pissed off at the disruptive tactics of the PAD rather than the government trying to provide the services, but then, what do I know?

The most troubling quote for me came from the first article:

“In this situation, Maj-Gen Chamlong or Samak cnanot take a step back. There must be a breaking point, otherwise the country will become disheartened. If we want to remove an abscess, we must be ready to face pain to get rid of the infectious part.”

Why am I so serious about the PAD & the Government?

I can’t vouch for it’s authenticity, but the photo below is purported to show the bodies of protesters killed by police on the 6th of October 1976.

It is clear though, that a massacre of peaceful protesters (mainly students) took place on that day.

What’s going on right now has the potential to be very dangerous for a lot of people.

I think one of the only factors that has kept the government response in check for some time has been that the current Prime Minister (Samak) has often been acccused of being the guy who ordered the guys with guns to open fire on that day back in ‘76.  Any sort of a repeat would probably see him in deep shit.

That said, he now has an order from the Courts to give legitimacy to any actions taken by the police.

The PAD is acting irresponsibly, and insofar as they continue to defy the judiciary and state that their goal is to topple the government, I think they are creating a dangerous situation.

Recipe for disaster

The Judiciary:

The Civil Court on Wednesday night ordered the People’s Alliance For Democracy (PAD) to immediately move out of Government House and its grounds. Nine PAD leaders also face arrest.

The Police:

“I’m pleading with you to leave Government House. I do not want to call this an ultimatum. It is a plea,” said Pol Gen Kowit.

The PAD:

“If we move out of here, it means that we are losing. I believe if we continue protesting here for another three or four days, the government itself will fall.”

The Government:

“Before sunset, security forces will be deployed to force the protesters out of Government House. “It must end today. It cannot continue,”

THE FULL STORY FROM THE BANGKOK POST IS REPRINTED BELOW:

Thailand versus Isaan: Part 1

I have disabled comments on this post.  It’s not that I don’t welcome them, its because I have written this blog in two parts, and I’d like people to see the second part before commenting.

Part One, which started out to be a couple of background paragraphs to the piece I wanted to write, turned into an essay on it’s own.

What I wanted to write about isn’t in part 1 — it’s in part 2.  But having pounded out 2,800 words of background, I don’t think I can launch into the main part of my blog without completely burying the message.  So please bear with me.  Hold your comments until the end, then you can fire away with abandon.

Introduction

Let me say upfront that I feel completely unqualified to write the blog I’m writing.  I lack a lot of the solid factual knowledge that comes from researching a subject you want to write about.

I’m not a journalist and I don’t pretend to be.  I won’t be giving you historical perspectives or clear social explanations that you’d expect from a coherent, well-researched and well thought-out article in a magazine or newspaper.

Rather, I’m offering some observations, opinions, guesses and thoughts about a subject that I find interesting but about which I have only the groping understanding of the blind man who encounters and elephant for the first time.

You probably know the story: several blind men walking togher encounter an elephant.  Each feels a different part of the elephant and they fall into an argument about what they’ve encountered.  The fellow feeling the leg says it’s a tree.  The guy touching the tusk argues that its a spear.  The man who holds the trunk says it’s a large snake.  The guy touching the ear says that its a banana tree or whatever.  You get the idea.

It’s official; Bangkokians oppose the People Against Democracy!

The Bangkok middle class is the core constituency of the PAD. Bangkok is where it’s greatest support is. To read a survey that says that 72% of Bangkok residents surveyed disagree with the PAD is like hearing that the people of Boston think that the Kennedy clan should move out of state.

The feeling among the middle class Bangkok Thais I have spent time with over the past two days is a mix of anger and disgust that the PAD is acting the way it is.

I arrived in Bangkok just weeks before the street protests against then-Prime Minister Thaksin began in 2005. We’ve hardly had a boring day politically in the three years since. I don’t know if Thai politics is always this much fun, but there certainly never seems to be a dull moment here.

HERE IS THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE REPRINTED IN FULL FOR REFERENCE:

Bangkok disagrees with PAD’s moves: Survey

(BangkokPost.com) – About 70% of people questioned in a survey conducted by Bangkok University disagreed with the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD)’s moves to topple the government.

Hawng Blow Job

I found myself in Silom today, 90 minutes early for a meeting. Wondering what to do with my time. my mind naturally wandered to Star of Light, the best blow job bar in the universe.

I decided to take a walk there and see if I could fill up the 90 minutes by filling up one of the service girls with my man-juice.

The latest from the People Against Democracy

‘Them or us’

Nattaya Chetchotiros and Pradit Ruangdit

The People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) is betting its future on Tuesday’s showdown with the government with confidence that Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and his cabinet will be toppled.

Calling today’s showdown “the last whistleblow”, Sondhi Limthongkul, one of the PAD leaders said: “If we fail this time, we’ll quit and surrender the country to them. When people don’t care about us, we won’t have to care about them. Let others take over the country.”