Thread: Divided Thailand seeks elusive 'normalcy'

Originally Posted by Mid

No soldiers would think of harming the people.

Certainly not. Not ever. Not in 1976, 1992, 2009 or 2010. All of these events just haven't yet been explained properly.

Thailand still seeking a way forward: Thitinan

Thailand still seeking a way forward: Thitinan

By Pravit Rojanaphruk
The Nation
Published on October 6, 2010

Thailand is searching for a new political consensus although the establishment fears that if it makes a political concession it will lead to more. That is the view of Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute of Security and International Studies (ISIS) at Chulalongkorn University.

"The establishment is afraid of losing it all ... so they have tried to keep everything and risk losing it all," Thitinan told a public forum on transitions to democracy in Southeast Asia organised by ISIS at the university yesterday.

The ISIS director said Thailand was also in a kind of political transition, although the transition might in fact be a "regression transition" in which political rights are curbed and self-censorship becomes widespread as the establishment becomes increasingly worried about the succession to the throne.

He predicted that the political situation was unlikely to remain calm and clear indefinitely, adding that much would depend on the new Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha.

"We will see a greater role for the military before we see it reduced," Thitinan predicted, adding that Prayuth's acceptance speech last week about possible future military intervention in politics was tantamount to a "self-invitation" for the military.

Thitinan said Prayuth's pledge to protect national sovereignty and the Crown had become "a recipe for [military] intervention".

The academic warned that growing self-censorship in Thai society had become the "most dreadful, dangerous kind of censorship", as it emanated from fear.

The lese majeste law had become like a "deepening cancer", he said, as anyone could sue anyone who they claimed had offended the monarchy.

"The trend is definitely not good," he said, adding that space for dissidents was being limited.

Maung Zarni, a research fellow from the London School of Economics (LSE) and a current visiting senior fellow at ISIS, said the election in Burma scheduled for early next month (November 7) was like a transition to an economic and political "twilight zone".

Maung Zarni said the junta-sponsored charter in 2008 had ensured that the legitimacy of military rule would extend well beyond the election, as it was designed to ensure the military class remained as the ultimate rulers.

While self-censorship was a product of Burma's "neo-totalitarian system", Maung Zarni pointed out that even in jail, dissidents managed to resist by drawing paintings behind bars or getting news from the outside world.

Indonesian Ambassador to Thailand Mohammad Hatta said his country had managed to put the military back in the barracks and a consensus for rule by the people had clearly been established.

The military was forbidden from doing business, was no longer in Parliament nor in any other government offices except the Defence Ministry, Hatta said.

"In Indonesia, democracy has reached the point of no return and that's only forward ... because the people have spoken."

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

"The establishment is afraid of losing it all ... so they have tried to keep everything and risk losing it all,"

Bingo. Lets hope they are beginning to listen to some wiser counsel, for the sake of both themselves and the nation they treat with such contemptible disdain.

Originally Posted by sabang

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

"The establishment is afraid of losing it all ... so they have tried to keep everything and risk losing it all,"

Bingo. Lets hope they are beginning to listen to some wiser counsel, for the sake of both themselves and the nation they treat with such contemptible disdain.

hardly afraid, they can always organize a coup to stop it all

Originally Posted by sabang

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

"The establishment is afraid of losing it all ... so they have tried to keep everything and risk losing it all,"

Bingo. Lets hope they are beginning to listen to some wiser counsel, for the sake of both themselves and the nation they treat with such contemptible disdain.

And who is that establishment?

Would that include such notable establishment figures as Yaowapa Wongsawat, Suriya Jungrungreangkit, Sanoh Thienthong, Phinij Jarusombat, Suwat Liptapanlop, Sudarat Keyuraphan, Suchart Tancharoen, Pracha Maleenont,Pongsak Raktapongpisak, Chalerm Yubamrung. Or maybe you are talking about the ex PM General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh.

Please show me one non-establishment type in either the PTP or the UDD leadership that has any power or political clout.

TH

In the past week we have heard that the governing political party is likely to be disbanded due to financial irregularities, there has been a "red-shirt" bomb somewhere pretty much every day and the state of emergency continues in Prathum Thani, Samut Prakarn and Bangkok and a US naval ship has docked in Chomtien to provide amusement for the local katoeys.

Welcome to the new "normalcy".

Originally Posted by Thormaturge

In the past week we have heard that the governing political party is likely to be disbanded due to financial irregularities, there has been a "red-shirt" bomb somewhere pretty much every day and the state of emergency continues in Prathum Thani, Samut Prakarn and Bangkok and a US naval ship has docked in Chomtien to provide amusement for the local katoeys.

Welcome to the new "normalcy".

The US navel ship docked in Laem Chabang.

TH

Originally Posted by Thaihome

Originally Posted by Thormaturge

In the past week we have heard that the governing political party is likely to be disbanded due to financial irregularities, there has been a "red-shirt" bomb somewhere pretty much every day and the state of emergency continues in Prathum Thani, Samut Prakarn and Bangkok and a US naval ship has docked in Chomtien to provide amusement for the local katoeys.

Welcome to the new "normalcy".

The US navel ship docked in Laem Chabang.

TH

Gawd we are getting picky.

OK... Laem Chabang in Chonburi Province. I knew it was somewhere near DD.

I'm sure DD and the katoeys know where to go......

Originally Posted by sabang

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

"The establishment is afraid of losing it all ... so they have tried to keep everything and risk losing it all,"

Bingo. Lets hope they are beginning to listen to some wiser counsel, for the sake of both themselves and the nation they treat with such contemptible disdain.

As you did not respond to my other post, perhaps you can reconcile the PTP obvious recruitment efforts to enlist Major General Sanan Kachornprasart into the fold of their anti-establishment movement.
TH

The Puea Thai Party has plans to set up a political alliance network and Deputy Prime Minister Sanan Kachornprasart is on the alliance list, a key member of the opposition camp, Col Apiwan Wiriyachai, said on Thursday.

A Dinosaur of Thai Patronage Politics

Sanan Kachornprasart along with Banharn Silpa-Archa and Chavalit Yongchaiyudh are instrumental yet controversial behind-the-scenes old-timers of Thailand's patronage politics.

Cavalry officer Sanan Kachornprasart was a career soldier up until 1977 when he was imprisoned for treason for his involvement in an attempted coup led by the late General Chalard Hiransiri, aimed at toppling the radical rightwing government of Tanin Kraivixien.

After eight months and eight days at Bang Kwang Detention Centre, on 3rd December 1977 Maj-Gen Sanan was released as a result of an amnesty issued by General Kriangsak's administration. After his release from detention Sanan decided to enter politics and joined the Democrat Party.

In his first general election, Sanan ran for a House seat in his home province of Pichit and won. His first ministerial post, deputy transport minister, came in 1986 under Prem Tinsulanonda. And in 1988, Sanan Kachornprasart was elected as the Secretary-General of Democrat Party.

In 1989, in the wake of country’s worst natural disasters, typhoon Gay, the large extent of illegal logging, piled up in provincial capitals, was revealed. A nationwide logging ban, ordered by an agriculture minister Sanan, revoked forestry concessions and resulted in the destruction of more forests. Critics charged Sanan Kachornprasart of personally benefitting from the ban, citing his reported connections to illegal logging hideouts. Sanan of course flatly denied the allegations.

In 1994 Sanan got the post of interior minister in the first Chuan Leekpai government. In March 1998 he berely survived a Parliament inquiry to determine if he had supplied a false educational background which listed him as a Bachelor's degree holder. Such an offence could have cost him his ministerial post.

In September 1998, Sanan approved a hike in tollway fees from ฿30 to ฿40, apparently violating the state contract with the private tollway operator Bangkok Expressway Plc. The illegal hike cost motorists an estimated ฿29 Million.

During a January 1999 House censure debate, opposition lawmaker Chalerm Yoobamrung from the NAP accused Sanan and his close associates of accepting ฿22 Million in bribes to help alleged German mafia figure Wolfgang Ulrich escape immigration and tax charges.

At about the same time, a female reporter accused Sanan of sexual abuse. Whatever the circumstances may be, he is not the one to give up easily, resilience is one of Sanan's greatest assets.

On 19 August 2000, Sanan resigned as Secretary-General of the Democrat Party, following the Constitutional Court’s finding that he had made false statements on his assets declaration. Sanan was banned from politics for five years. The case and the suspension further tarnished the clean image of the Democrat Party, reducing its prospects for the 2001 election.

Both Sanan Kachonprasart and Thaksin Shinawatra were found to conceal their wealth. Both cases were well documented. The Constitution Court banned Sanan from politics for five years, but two weeks later absolved Thaksin, after one of his people has been appointed to the court.

In 2003, Sanan backed Banyat Bantadtan to become the new leader of the Democrat Party. Banyat won a narrow victory over Abhisit Vejjajiva. A source within the Sanan's faction said of Abhisit, "He rarely communicates with other members. He might be a popular politician and a parliament star, but many party members see him as snobbish."

Sanan attempted a political comeback in 2004, setting up the Mahachon party to compete in the February 2005 general election. Mahachon had a disastrous showing, winning only two seats (Ubon Ratchathani and Nakhon Ratchasima). Despite that, Sanan, however, was later able to bring to the opposition the three votes it needed for the total of 125 required to start impeachment proceedings against TRT ministers.

In 2007, Sanan left his old Mahachon outfit to join with Banharn Silpa-archa and Chart Thai for the December election. Sanan and his son Siriwat ran in the family’s home province of Phichit and won. Sanan served as deputy prime minister in the Samak and Somchai governments and continues to serve as a deputy prime minster in the Abhisit Vejjajiva government.
– –

Sanan Kachornprasart is married to Khunying Chaweewan. The couple have two daughters and one son, Siriwat, who is now a House MP representing Phichit.

Sanan Kachornprasart is an avid drinker of wine, with a known preference for Margaux. Sanan’s residence is reportedly a wine-cellar in its own right, with hundreds of bottles in storage ranging in price from a few thousand baht to a hundred thousand baht.

On October 20, 2008, Sanan and his wife reported total assest of US$3,881,487.98. Assets of interest include ivory tusks, 18 guns, multiple cars and houses, and an ostrich farm (Kachorn Farm).

Abhisit 'rowing the boat for bandits'

SPECIAL REPORT

Abhisit 'rowing the boat for bandits'

By The Nation
Published on October 11, 2010

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has come under a barrage of complaints about corruption scandals in his Democrat-led coalition government and his alleged 'lack of leadership' when it comes to making hard decisions. The Nation's Kornchanok Raksaseri talked to some politicians and academics to find out what's the real problem for Abhisit and whether he could handle things better.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has been recently criticised for not being decisive in fixing problems, leaving them to drag on and on. A senior and highly respected figure, who asked not to be named, said Abhisit was too worried about his office.

"He should have decided better on some issues. But it's like he's trapped in Thai politics." He also said Abhisit's ego is part of the problem.

A veteran politician, who also asked not to be named, said plainly questionable projects such as the NGV buses and reshuffles hound Abhisit's government more than any other. He said Abhisit was too laid-back, so in a way he was "rowing the boat for the bandits".

The appointment of Mongkol Surasajja as the new permanent secretary of the Interior Ministry, who has been attacked for lack of seniority - on the other hand - was braked by the computer corruption scandal.

The strain in the diplomatic relations between Thailand and Saudi Arabia might have reached a boiling point had Pol Lt-General Somkid Boonthanom not decided to turn down a promotion to assistant police chief. The offer was made to him even though the people involved could foresee possible problems due to the sensitivity of the move.

The conflict between the residents in Map Ta Phut and heavy industry persist after the Cabinet decided to list just 11 industrial activities, as recommended by the National Environment Board, as likely to be hazardous to people's health or the environment instead of the 18 activities proposed by a panel of stakeholders.

The 3G phone auction was suspended. The bill on establishing the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission is still stuck in Parliament while legislators did not expedite passing the law earlier and still cannot agree on its contents.

Abhisit defends himself by saying he respects the courts and follows the law.

Academics point out that the problems are rooted in the political system. Since Abhisit cannot form a one-party government, he has to depend heavily on many groups and then is hemmed in by many factors.

Political analyst Sukhum Nualsakul said Abhisit is working in restricted conditions. The laws and administrative systems still have conflicts and sometimes lead to a deadlock.

"People criticise him because they're disappointed. But a prime minister cannot do everything and be a superman," he said.

Sukhum Chaloeysap of Suan Dusit Rajabhat University said Abhisit needs support from many groups within and outside his party to stay as prime minister. He cannot stand only by his principles.

Abhisit's strength is his image as a straightforward and honest leader. However, those characteristics cannot help him make a great leap forward.

"Abhisit lacks political tactics. And in general, he cannot escape his own shadow, people's anticipation and Thaksin's shadow, like the populism policies which he used to attack. People are used to guileful politicians. Considering Abhisit's careful and principled style, his popularity might not rise dramatically," Sukhum said.

"People expect a lot from Abhisit. But he might be in a position where he can't say anything or make a big move. The Democrat Party might have made an agreement during the government's formation not to interfere in coalition parties' authority, but it unavoidably hurts the government itself," Sukhum said.

"I think Abhisit knows and keeps up with the political game. But sometimes he must subdue his potential for the survival of the government or his party," Sukhum said. "Ideology is easier to say than to practice."
The academics showed compassion for Abhisit, but they could not hide their "hopelessness" towards politics.

Trakul Meechai, a Chulalongkorn University political scientist, said politics is only heading downhill and will reach a critical point before some changes can happen.

However, problems and obstacles are not excuses for politicians, especially for Abhisit as a prime minister, who has vowed to bring about reform for the sake of the country.

Abhisit should not let the people down; they have high expectations of him. And he cannot wait until a critical point arrives.

If Abhisit is working hard, then maybe he has to work even harder to bring some improvements and some hope to the people, he added.

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

A senior and highly respected figure, who asked not to be named, said Abhisit was too worried about his office.

Not, you know, ...... HIM ?

I mean, there isn't anyone else left with any respect.

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

"People criticise him because they're disappointed. But a prime minister cannot do everything and be a superman," he said.

so much for calling him a dictator, unlike someone else

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

Abhisit's strength is his image as a straightforward and honest leader. However, those characteristics cannot help him make a great leap forward.

they need a decisive dictator because that's how things move forward in third world countries.

Another carefully crafted Nation piece to infer that Abhisit is a good guy and so is his party - if it weren't for all those nasty provincial politicians in the coalition who are corrupt.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home...-30139874.html

BURNING ISSUE

All sides should stop playing the military card

By Avudh Panananda
The Nation
Published on October 12, 2010

National security and the government's stability are two issues that might be related but should be kept separate, because mixing the two only fuels volatility without resolving anything.

However, with Thailand going through a rough patch, the two issues have become blurred. Politicians in the coalition and the opposition are trying to manipulate the state apparatus for partisan gains.

If this were allowed to continue, then the future of democracy would be in grave danger, because the military, which is intrinsic to the security apparatus, would become an indispensable factor in the political equation. Also, coup d'etat is a cardinal sin in democracy.

The prolonged presence of the Centre for Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES) is a classic case for a mistaken idea that the government's survival is the essence of national interest.

The CRES came into existence on an ad hoc basis and should be dismantled soon after the dissipation of the state of emergency. Instead it is evolving as if it is going to become a permanent fixture.

When the government declared the emergency in April, its justification was to rein in the red shirts, particularly those prone to violence. The Democrats saw the CRES as an antidote to the failed emergency rule imposed by the administrations of Samak Sundaravej and Somchai Wongsawat.

Under Samak and Somchai, the emergency law became a paper tiger because top generals dithered in the face of the yellow shirts, who were seen as political activists but were classified by the two previous governments as being a threat to their survival under the pretext of national security.

The CRES was set up by the Democrats to take charge of the anti-riot operations under the supervision of coalition overseers. Despite a fancy organisational chart, the actual power to execute security measures was concentrated in the hands of few top generals, including the Army chief.

CRES overseers, including the prime minister, were just figureheads. The red-shirt protests might have taken a different turn if the April 10 bloodshed had not served as a wake-up call for top brass - that the red menace was real and committed to the butchery of soldiers.

The military put an end to the red-shirt protests in May. It remains debatable whether the top brass reined in the red-shirt movement for the sake of the government or for safeguarding the armed forces.

It is no secret that the red shirts spawned the growth of "watermelon" soldiers, who in turn fuelled the unprecedented rift within the military ranks.

Coalition and opposition politicians have openly tried to sway the CRES in their battle of wits. Top generals have suddenly become the most sought-after trophies to tip the power balance.

The longer the CRES stays in operation, the more dangerous it will become to the political system, because for the generals it is a trapdoor to power. Past conflicts should serve as a lesson that playing the military card would likely end up with a power seizure.

Before the 2006 coup, then-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and the yellow shirts struggled against each other. The military card featured prominently in the strategies of the respective sides.

Thaksin gave the green light to mobilise the military to crush the yellow shirts, yet his attempt to rally the soldiers backfired, bringing about his own downfall.

Under the CRES mandate, a few top generals can wield a lot of power. Less than a week after taking office, Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha has dismissed any speculation of a coup. Such denial has always preceded past power seizures.

If democracy is to advance forward, it is imperative that coalition and opposition politicians stop playing the military card to outwit one another.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home...-30139872.html

Use of security laws comes under attack at seminar

By Pravit Rojanaphruk
The Nation
Published on October 12, 2010

Thai society should question the continued use of special security laws like the emergency decree imposed in Bangkok and nearby areas and not mistake the suspension of certain fundamental rights as part of the rule of law, according to top law professor Vitit Muntabhorn of Chulalongkorn University.

"The exceptions are now the rule. That exceptionalism is not the rule of law. We have to question that," he said.Vitit spoke at a seminar on special security laws organised by the Institute of Security and International Studies (ISIS), the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and Cross Cultural Foundation at Chulalongkorn yesterday.

Vitit said the geographic spread in the use of security laws and their cumulative effects opened doors to many excesses that were not in line with respect for human rights.

These included preventive detention for 30 days without charge under the emergency decree in Bangkok and beyond and the additional seven-day preventive detention allowed under martial law imposed in the far South.

"The people arrested can be taken to court right away, instead of waiting 30 days," Vitit said.

National Human Rights commissioner Niran Pitakwatchara said the use of these special security laws was like applying a strong dose of medicine, or chemotherapy, that could end up killing the patient.
"The patient may die," he said referring to Thai society.

"It will expand the alliance of those who dislike [the government]," he warned, adding that the law enabled the government to operate above the Constitution.

The detention of red-shirt demonstrators was the jailing of "people who think differently from the government", Niran said. Asked later by The Nation if any of the hundred or more detained red shirts should be regarded as "political prisoners" or not, Niran said yes.

"Whether we accept it or not, [some red shirts] think they have been politically detained," he said, adding that this applied only to those who had assembled peacefully but ended up being detained.

Niran proposed that the Centre for Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES) be dissolved immediately to pave the way for a reliable and trustworthy inquiry into the death of 91 people in April and May and the recent spate of bomb blasts.

"As long as CRES exists to oversee the situation, it can be construed that an attempt to hide information continues," Niran said.

Vitit, meanwhile, said the issue of whether red shirts were political prisoners should be open for consideration.

"It is an open discussion whether there are political prisoners in Thailand today," Vitit said, stressing that this should only be applied to red shirts who were non-violent but detained by the authorities under the emergency decree.

"We have to test it," Vitit said, adding that the government claimed there were no more than 200 red shirts held in jail, but other sources suggested there could be 300 or more.

Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said at the same seminar there were 184 red shirts currently being detained in normal prisons, with 25 reported as missing, but no political prisoners.

"It's interesting you use the term 'political prisoner'. I don't find any country using that term in regard to people who are held in Thailand ... There are no secret cells, as reported by the media. We found no one held in secret jails. We found no one held without charges," he said, adding that those reported as missing could be "normal" missing people.

"Every day, there are people missing in Thailand."

Call an election.

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=53125

POLITICS-THAILAND

Government’s Use of Emergency Law Under Fire

By Marwaan Macan-Markar

BANGKOK, Oct 11, 2010 (IPS) - A powerful bomb that ripped through an apartment building on the Thai capital’s outskirts last week – one that killed the suspected bomb maker and three people – has provided the latest twist to an ongoing debate about the Thai government’s continuing use of a harsh emergency law.

The explosion, which shattered the calm of the Samarn Metta Mansion apartment, came a few hours after the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva extended the emergency decree for another three months in Bangkok and three neighbouring provinces.

The Abhisit administration is also using this explosion, the latest in a series of smaller bomb blasts that have gone off across this sprawling megapolis, to buttress its claims that the decree needs to be extended due to the unsettled political climate.

In the administration’s crosshairs are operatives within the anti-government protest movement, known as the red shirts for their signature crimson clothing, who are allegedly behind the string of explosions.

"This emerged for the first time with last week’s bomb – to establish the link," Panitan Wattanayagorn, a government spokesman, said Monday during a seminar discussing the emergency laws at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University. "These people are connected to the red shirts, and they are capable of exploding bombs."

"It is clear, the threat is clear," added Panitan, echoing the words of his prime minister, who on Friday warned that there would be more explosions.

"Bangkok is likely to stay under threat of bomb attacks at least until the next month," Abhisit was quoted as having told the ‘Bangkok Post’, an English- language daily. "There is more than one group of instigators on the move at the moment."

Yet going after the alleged perpetrators of the bomb blasts does not need the backing of the harsh emergency law, say analysts and human rights activists who are worried that the continued dependency on a law aimed to target and silence the red shirts would become counterproductive.

"The emergency decree is not needed in the red shirt areas," said Rungrawee Chalermsripinyorat, Thailand analyst of the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank. "The government could use regular laws to deal with the disturbances."

The danger is that the law could harden red shirt attitudes and further widen and deepen this South-east Asian kingdom’s bitter political divide, she explained to IPS. "It has already created a wide sense of resentment against the state, because the law has been used to detain people, (and) many of them are not bomb makers."

Legal experts say the political climate in the Thai capital is steadily inching toward one where laws meant for abnormal circumstances are becoming the norm. "The exception is becoming the rule on many fronts," said Vitit Muntarbhorn, professor of law at Chulalongkorn University. "National security laws are becoming permanent – "the permanence of the temporary."

These alarm bells are being triggered by the sweeping powers under the emergency decree, which allow officials to detain anti-government protesters without charge, deny the suspects information about the charges against them, keep them in "unofficial" detention centres and even impose censorship on red shirt media.

The current emergency decree to target the supporters of the United Front for Dictatorship Against Democracy (UDD), as the red shirts call their movement, was imposed on Apr. 7 to curb violence on the streets of Bangkok. By then, the UDD’s numbers had swelled to tens of thousands of largely working-class protesters from the north and north-east provinces.

The UDD’s protests to force the Abhisit government to dissolve parliament and call an early general election came to a bloody end on May 19, following clashes between heavily armed Thai troops and a shadowy group of armed men in black shooting from behind red shirt lines.

Two bloody clashes between the soldiers and the protesters – the first in April – left 91 people dead, a majority of them civilians, and close to 1,900 people injured.

By late August, the jails in Bangkok and in cities across the north and north-east held close to 470 political prisoners, some of them arrested for their alleged role in acts of violence – including torching government buildings – during the end of the clashes.

"The government is systematically using the Emergency Decree to hold persons without charge for up to 30 days in unofficial places of detention," Human Rights Watch (HRW), the New York-based global rights lobby, charged days before the Abhisit administration extended the period of emergency.

"The category of people subjected to questioning, arrest and detention by the government’s Centre for the Resolution of Emergency Situations (CRES) has apparently been expanded beyond leaders and members of the UDD who directly took part in the protests, and now includes those accused of sympathising with or supporting the UDD," HRW added. "Hundreds of politicians, former government officials, businessmen, activists, academics and community radio operators have been summoned to report to the CRES."

But the government denies that red shirt detainees have been trapped in a legal black hole under the emergency law. "There are no secret jails. No one is held in secret jails," said Panitan. "We have 184 people being detained in normal prisons." (END)

http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/o...shirt-movement

Puea Thai Party and the red-shirt movement

• Published: 12/10/2010 at 12:22 PM
• Online news: Opinion

The death of a suspected red-shirt bombmaker in the explosion at a Nonthaburi apartment building has further tainted the bruised reputation of the UDD and, inevitably, the opposition Puea Thai Party.

Puea Thai was probably not involved in any of the bomb incidents in Bangkok and its suburbs, including the latest deadly blast, the accidental explosion in Nonthaburi that left four people dead including the suspected bombmaker and nine injured.

Nor did the party endorse the violence.

Yet, the party’s name has been tainted because the suspected bombmaker, Samai Wongsuwan, was a dedicated red-shirt supporter.

Moreover, a secretary to a House committee who got the job on the recommendation of a Puea Thai MP who happens to be the committee chairman was linked to the Nonthaburi bomb blast, although that does not necessarily mean she was involved in the incident. She reportedly admitted that she transferred 50,000 baht to a suspect in the deadly explosion.

The Puea Thai Party and the red-shirt movement, led by the United Front for Democrocy against Dictatorship (UDD), are closely connected to a point that it was widely seen as a single entity with two different responsibilities – parliamentary politics for the party and street politics for the red-shirt movement – but sharing the same common goal, which is to bring down the Democrat-led government to pave way for new elections and a political comeback for the party.
And they share an ultimate goal -– that is, to return former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to his home country.

The Puea Thai MPs and red-shirt supporters are hard to distinguish apart. They wear red to demonstrate their political colour, speak the same political language and share the same political ideology. More importantly, they are answerable to the same leader, Thaksin.

Of course, there are radical elements in the UDD who are prone to violence and may take the law into their own hands without the consent of the UDD leadership, as in the case of Samai Wongsuwan.

But the UDD leadership’s deafening silence on the Nonthaburi case can only be construed as implying that the movement does not reject violence as a means to achieve its political goals.

On the other hand, the Puea Thai Party has never publicly criticized or condemned the UDD’s activities although some of the activities were blatant violations of the law and gross transgression of the rights of the other people. A case in point was the month long takeover of the Ratchaprasong shopping district in April-May.

The party was conspicuously silent about the evidence implicating a red-shirt supporter in the Nonthaburi bomb blast but, at the same time, implied that the explosion might be the dirty work of elements close to a politician with a rock-blasting business.

Hence, it came as no surprise that the Puea Thai leadership unceremoniously rejected the reconciliation plan proposed by one of its deputy leaders, Plodprasob Suraswadi. The plan calls for, among other things, the party to stop supporting all forms of violence and all activities deemed as disloyal to the monarchy.

The latest bomb blast should serve a wake-up call for the Puea Thai Party to rethink its closely knitted relationship with the red-shirt movement and to refocus its attention on parliamentary politics.

http://www.prachatai3.info/english/n...ontent=Twitter

Sombat’s activities more dangerous than violent campaigns

Tue, 12/10/2010 - 17:14 Khamnoon Sitthisaman, appointed senator and Sondhi Limthongkul’s right-hand man, wrote in his ASTV-Manager column that Sombat Boon-ngam-anong’s symbolic activities are more dangerous than violent campaigns, as they cannot be handled by the law.

In his column on 9 Oct, entitled ‘Violence and symbolic struggles’, Khamnoon said that during the cold war the Communist Party of Thailand had only one AM radio station which was not easily accessible, but civil war still occurred, killing and injuring thousands of people for decades. Now that there are community radios, satellite television stations, websites, dailies and weeklies, who can guarantee that another civil war will not happen, despite the failure of the red shirts’ recent rallies, he asked.

The March-April 2010 rallies seem to be a defeat, but only in the form of large public gatherings. In contrast, illegal, underground, decentralized and guerrilla-like campaigns have pervaded. Khamnoon believes that even if Thaksin Shinawatra wanted to order a halt, he couldn’t because he wouldn’t know who to give the order to. It is not really an exaggeration to say that a certain number of red shirts have already gone beyond Thaksin, he said.

Violence, however, is not much of anything, as it will never lead to victory, and will only damage the red-shirt movement. Sombat Boon-ngam-anong’s symbolic campaigns are more dangerous, he said.

‘Violence is illegal, and the government, if it boxes clever, can suppress it. But Sombat’s campaigns cannot be prosecuted under any laws, whether the lèse majesté Section 112 or anything else. This is a cause for concern if the government is not wise, is only buying time, or is afraid of this and that,’ Khamnoon said.

On 10 Oct, Samran Rodpetch, Deputy Leader and acting spokesperson of the New Politics Party, said that there were three groups of people who were trying to create unrest in the country. The first group employed violent means, including bombings and assassinations of important figures. The second was Sombat’s group which had held activities, including one recently at the Pridi Banomyong Bridge in Ayutthaya, which had implications that subverted the monarchy, but which were difficult for the law to handle. The last group was an anti-monarchy underground movement active on foreign and domestic websites.

Despite the current worrisome situation, Samran expressed his confidence in new Police Chief Pol Gen Wichean Potphosri who was active in dealing with the problems, and the new Army Chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha who was straightforward and strong.

He expressed disappointment with the government, however, which he alleged was busying itself with politics, cabinet reshuffles, and aimless reconciliation. The Prime Minister is a good person, but lacks leadership. He urged the PM to be strong and to tighten his grip on power in dealing more firmly with problems, particularly the anti-monarchy movement.

Suriyasai Katasila, the party’s Secretary General, urged Abhisit Vejjajiva to assume the post of the Director of the CRES himself, to shore up public confidence in national security.

Source:
http://www.prachatai3.info/journal/2010/10/31430

Sonthi and Sanan face student protest | Prachatai English

Sonthi and Sanan face student protest

Tue, 12/10/2010 - 17:33 Former Army Chief Gen Sonthi Boonyarattakalin, leader of the 2006 coup, and Deputy Prime Minister Maj Gen Sanan Kochornprasat faced a protest by a group of students dressed up like ghosts during a public forum on reconciliation and amnesty at Ramkhamhaeng University.

On 11 Oct, Gen Sonthi and Maj Gen Sanan were among speakers on reconciliation and amnesty as a solution to political problems at a forum held by the Faculty of Political Science and the students’ organization of the university.



When Maj Gen Sanan spoke first at the start of the forum, a group of about 5 students came into an adjoining room which was occupied by an audience watching the forum through glass panels. They wore makeup to look like ghosts and had placards attached to their chests with messages like ‘Pity that the dead have no reconciliation’, ‘I’m a professional soldier. I don’t play politics.’, and ‘Reconciliation? Have you asked the ghosts?’





The organizers quickly moved them away, begging the students to consider the reputation of the university. Part of the audience applauded the students. When some reporters took photographs, one of the organizers closed the curtains between the two rooms.

The group of students agreed to leave the room as requested and distributed copies of their open letter to the reporters, despite attempts to obstruct them by students from the co-organizing students’ organization.

The letter, addressed to Sonthi and Sanan without rank, said that the attempt to seek reconciliation and amnesty was a shame when those who were responsible for the 91 deaths had yet to be identified and punished. Reconciliation or amnesty was relevant only after the people were informed of the truth and the government which ‘killed the people’ resigned or called a new election. And it should be carried out by the people themselves, not by politicians, particularly those ‘who staged coups to seize power from the people.’

Therefore, neither Sonthi nor Sanan are suitable or legitimate persons to call for reconciliation or amnesty, said the letter from the group called ‘Ram Prakai Fire’.

^

file under good news

#90- Excellent article.

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

Sombat’s activities more dangerous than violent campaigns

Tue, 12/10/2010 - 17:14 Khamnoon Sitthisaman, appointed senator and Sondhi Limthongkul’s right-hand man, wrote in his ASTV-Manager column that Sombat Boon-ngam-anong’s symbolic activities are more dangerous than violent campaigns, as they cannot be handled by the law.

In his column on 9 Oct, entitled ‘Violence and symbolic struggles’, Khamnoon said that during the cold war the Communist Party of Thailand had only one AM radio station which was not easily accessible, but civil war still occurred, killing and injuring thousands of people for decades. Now that there are community radios, satellite television stations, websites, dailies and weeklies, who can guarantee that another civil war will not happen, despite the failure of the red shirts’ recent rallies, he asked.

[...]

Violence, however, is not much of anything, as it will never lead to victory, and will only damage the red-shirt movement. Sombat Boon-ngam-anong’s symbolic campaigns are more dangerous, he said.

Source:
“คำนูณâ€� ระบุà¸�ารต่à¸[at]สู้ขà¸[at]ง “สมบัติ บุà¸�งามà¸[at]นงค์â€� à¸[at]ันตรายà¸�ว่าใช้ควภ²à¸¡à¸£à¸¸à¸™à¹�รง | ประชาไท หนังสืà¸[at]à¸

I was wondering when the ultra-loony-right would lash back at Sombat. A peaceful uprising of the masses against the amatyathipithai system is what the PAD and their backers dread the most..

Thailand's real refugee problem - an interview | Asian Correspondent

Thailand's real refugee problem - an interview

Oct. 13 2010 - 05:52 pm

By Andrew Spooner

Earlier this month I made contact with a Thai national who has been granted refugee status in the UK. She lives in a simple house, on a typical street, in a very typical, provincial English town. “Tan” (her identity, for her protection, remains anonymous) endured so many threats to her person from people she asserts were connected to the extremist right-wing yellow-shirted PAD, that she felt forced to flee Thailand and seek refuge in a different country. Her claim for refugee status was accepted by UK authorities (substantial evidence needs to be produced for the UK authorities to accept someone as a “refugee”) and she now has leave to remain in the UK for 5years.

What readers need to be reminded of is that while the Red Shirts have been ruthlessly crushed by the Thai state, any equivalent action by the extreme right-wing PAD and their yellow-shirted supporters, goes completely unpunished by the Thai state. The PAD and their supporters are seemingly free to commit acts of violence and intimidation with complete impunity. In effect, the question remains - are the violent, extremist PAD acting on behalf of powerful elements within the Thai regime? And, if so, can Thai nationals expect protection from the Thai state, under the rule of law, when threatened by the PAD? The only answer at the moment, and the UK authorities seem to agree, is that no, they can’t. (A Thai version of this interview is available here - Thailand Solidarity: )

“I am a citizen of Thailand and I graduated with a Masters Degree from Thammasart University, Bangkok, Thailand in 2006. After graduating I was employed as a researcher with an international N.G.O. I left Thailand in early 2009. I had received death threats on my personal mobile phone. My husband received abuse by post to his office and other threats from supporters of the 2006 military coup. The political situation in Thailand had been deteriorating for some time and there were serious concerns about the lack of justice and the lack of rule of law. Violent political acts by the Yellow Shirted PAD were taking place nearly every day and repressive laws were being used to silence critics of the government. I left all my belongings in my home in Bangkok, arriving with only one small suitcase. I had to resign from my job and leave my friends and family behind. I have never lived outside Thailand before.

I applied for political asylum in the U.K. on the basis that if I returned to Thailand, I would be at risk of persecution from non-State and State actors due to my own political activities and to my close association with my husband. Since the year 2000 we had written books and article together and had collaborated on a number of Human Rights projects. Neither of us has ever been involved in violent acts. We merely stood up for Democracy and Human Rights and opposed the military coup in 2006 and the subsequent destruction of Democracy.

The non-State actors that I refer to are supporters of the fascist PAD who took over and wrecked Government House, used violence and weapons outside Parliament and took control of the two international airports in 2008. As an NGO activist I personally knew many PAD supporters and they knew me well enough to make death threats to my mobile phone and to make abusive comments to my face when I was carrying out my NGO duties.

Over the phone, these people said things like: “Watch it... you are going to be disappeared”... “You’ll catch a bullet”.... “look around you when you travel, you’re going to be disappeared”. I tried to ignore these threats at the time, in order to maintain some level of sanity. PAD websites, like the ASTV website had a habit of publishing peoples’ personal details and encouraging violence towards Red Shirt pro-democracy activists. Persecution by State and non-State actors includes violent assault, injury or death, but also degrading behaviour.

I had to show the British authorities that I was at risk of persecution from non-State and State actors because of the total break down in the rule of law and the increased political violence in Thailand since the coup of 2006. The political violence since 2006 was perpetrated mainly by the Thai State, but also by PAD supporters. It included soldiers firing on unarmed protestors, assassination attempts against activists and the planting of bombs. The number of political prisoners was also rapidly increasing. I had to prove that there was a serious deterioration in Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Thailand which would result in both my persecution and lack of sufficient protection by the Thai State. I was able to show that the present Government is staffed by PAD members and backed by the army. Prominent British academics and Human Rights activists wrote letters supporting my application for refugee status. I also quoted many international Human Rights reports and authoritative newspaper articles.

I now have refugee status and the right to remain in Britain for 5 years. I am currently studying English.”