Thread: Thai elections 2011-Thai PM sets stage for tough election

Bhumjaithai challenges Pheu Thai to report electoral frauds : National News Bureau of Thailand

Bhumjaithai challenges Pheu Thai to report electoral frauds



BANGKOK, 26 May 2011 (NNT) – The Bhumjaithai Party has challenged the Pheu Thai Party to lodge petitions to the Election Commission (EC) if any electoral offences are really found in the northeastern province of Buri Ram.

Bhumjaithai Party Spokesperson Supachai Jaisamut stated that the Pheu Thai Party should directly report illegal behaviours of election candidates to the EC and stop accusing other political parties.

Earlier, the Pheu Thai Party claimed that there was an electoral fraud found in Buri Ram. Additionally, Pheu Thai candidates were recently attacked by ping-pong bombs, and a Bhumjaithai minister was reportedly spotted near the scene.

Mr Supachai challenged the Pheu Thai Party to clearly expose the name of the alleged minister. He then affirmed that his party does not need to take a risk by violating the electoral laws, boasting that Buri Ram remains one of its key strongholds.

Chuwit prefers to serve as opposition leader : National News Bureau of Thailand

Chuwit prefers to serve as opposition leader



BANGKOK, 26 May 2011 (NNT) – Rak Prathet Thai Party leader and former massage parlour tycoon Chuwit Kamolvisit has confirmed his standpoint to be the head of the opposition in the House of Representatives.

Speaking during his visit to Wat Hualampong in Bangkok for his political campaigns, Mr Chuwit said he does not want to compete with other candidates as well as vie for the prime minister post in the upcoming general election.

The outspoken candidate indicated that his aim is only to lead the opposition team in Parliament.

The Rak Prathet Thai Party leader added that an exit from rifts in the country at present depends on Thai citizens only, not politicians. According to him, people have created division among political groups, so only their unity is required to solve such a problem in the society.

Mr Chuwit and his team on Wednesday travelled to Wat Hualampong for merit-making and visiting people in its vicinities as part of his political campaigns. He was well received at Wat Hualampong, after which he moved to Tha Phrachan and Tha Wang Lang piers to canvass more votes from the electorate.

Democrat leader is not stepping down if suffering a defeat in the election : National News Bureau of Thailand

Democrat leader is not stepping down if suffering a defeat in the election

BANGKOK, 26 May 2011 (NNT)-Bangkok MP Mr. Ongart Klampaiboon has insisted that the Democrat Party does not have a policy for the leader to step down from the position if the party fails to win in the election.

Mr. Ongart also expressed his confidence that Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva would remain Prime Minister for another term. Commenting on the comment made by Bhumijai Thai core member Mr. Newin Chidchob , who said Ms. Yingluck would not become the next premier and that Mr. Abhisit should resign as the leader of the Democrat if his party was defeated in the election, that this was merely his political opinion and not intended to criticize Mr. Abhisit.

Meanwhile, Mr. Ongart said he believed that somebody else in Pheu Thai or who was not a member could step in as prime minister if the Pheu Thai won this election instead of Ms. Yingluck as Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra once said.

Mr. Ongart also denied rumors that the Democrat could possibly have been hiring a group of third person who would pose as Red Shirt followers to set up a situation in Udonthani province and pass the blame on to the Opposition.

Originally Posted by Norton

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

Yingluck ignores Newin's prediction she won't get to be PM

Any predictions on Nowin's political maneuvering if PTP wins election?

Depends where the money is. Both the Dems and the army are we cashed up

Thai-ASEAN News Network

A Question Thaksin Will Not Answer

UPDATE : 25 May 2011

It is no secret that Pheu Thai Party is led in policy and spirit by ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra. As the party's patriarch, Thaksin has made it so Pheu Thai has no choice but to win the coming election, so that as the government leader he will be able to absolve himself of the crimes he has been convicted and indicted in.

The first and foremost of those convictions was Thaksin's abnormal wealth, ruled by the Supreme Court to be the result of his abuse of administrative powers. The ruling resulted in the seizure of 46 billion baht of his gains.

His second conviction was for the crime of tax evasion in the sale of Shinawatra Computer and Communication Plc. shares. The ruling sentenced to jail his former wife, her personal secretary and his brother-in-law, while his own sentence is pending an appeal.

Conviction three was Thaksin's corrupt purchase of 33 Rai of land along Ratchadapisek Road. The Supreme Court committed the former prime minister to two years imprisonment on this case without any probation, meaning that if he were to return to Thailand without any leverage he would be immediately imprisoned.

The fourth conviction concerned discrepancies in the special 2 and 3 digit lottery scheme, a case that also found fault with the lottery office's own executive members, putting the office board chairman and director behind bars.

In a fifth case awaiting ruling, Thaksin was found once again suspect of corruption in the purchase of conveyor belts to be used with the CTX 9000 baggage claiming systems at Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

A sixth case, also pending conclusion was that of state bank Krung Thai authorizing a major loan for Krisada-Mahanakorn Group, a corporation known to be harboring non-performing loans that should have disqualified it from securing public funds.

The seventh case Thaksin was charged in, which is currently still being reviewed by the Office of the Attorney General, is his concealment of shareholding in SC Asset Corporation Plc.

The eighth case, now in the hands of the Supreme Court, involves Thailand's Export Import Bank providing a loan of 4 billion baht to Myanmar.

So amongst the many promises Pheu Thai and Thaksin are ready to make to win over votes and all the questions they are ever eager to answer to sway undecided voters, the question of how Thaksin will account for this laundry-list of offenses is one he will likely not give any clear answer to while Pheu Thai Party will never fully be able to promise that justice will be served under their watch.


Naew Na, May 25, 2011

Translated and Rewritten by Itiporn Lakarnchua

Please note that the views expressed in our "Analysis" segment are translated from local newspaper articles and do not reflect the views of the Thai-ASEAN News Network.

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

The first and foremost of those convictions was Thaksin's abnormal wealth, ruled by the Supreme Court to be the result of his abuse of administrative powers. The ruling resulted in the seizure of 46 billion baht of his gains.

His second conviction was for the crime of tax evasion in the sale of Shinawatra Computer and Communication Plc. shares. The ruling sentenced to jail his former wife, her personal secretary and his brother-in-law, while his own sentence is pending an appeal.

Conviction three was Thaksin's corrupt purchase of 33 Rai of land along Ratchadapisek Road. The Supreme Court committed the former prime minister to two years imprisonment on this case without any probation, meaning that if he were to return to Thailand without any leverage he would be immediately imprisoned.

The fourth conviction concerned discrepancies in the special 2 and 3 digit lottery scheme, a case that also found fault with the lottery office's own executive members, putting the office board chairman and director behind bars.

In a fifth case awaiting ruling, Thaksin was found once again suspect of corruption in the purchase of conveyor belts to be used with the CTX 9000 baggage claiming systems at Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

A sixth case, also pending conclusion was that of state bank Krung Thai authorizing a major loan for Krisada-Mahanakorn Group, a corporation known to be harboring non-performing loans that should have disqualified it from securing public funds.

The seventh case Thaksin was charged in, which is currently still being reviewed by the Office of the Attorney General, is his concealment of shareholding in SC Asset Corporation Plc.

The eighth case, now in the hands of the Supreme Court, involves Thailand's Export Import Bank providing a loan of 4 billion baht to Myanmar.

quite an innocent man

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

Originally Posted by Buksida

But Thaksin isn't running in this election, so he can have no mandate.

Semantics, but you're right in this respect.

Originally Posted by Buksida

You seem to be contradicting yourself, sure the media is less free now, it got worse under Thaksin and has continued downward.

Step by step for you:

1) The army have owned the majority of the press and TV for many many years - decades, well since it was instigated by the kings of the times...

2) MrT was attacked on all sides by these medias, some of which had opened up a little over time, many had not (I did business with three channels before MrT's time in power; generals in uniform signed the contracts...). He fought against these army controlled/elite controlled medias. It wasn't a matter of freedom of speech or not, it was a matter of his political survival, he was fighting against established elites not against the people.

3) the latest coup, and abhisit. Press, radio, TV and internet freedom has been attacked by the army, various ministries (MofCulture and the 'Cyber' ministry, mostly). Not attacked so much as shut down. Army generals having weekly meetings with newspapers telling them what they can and cannot report, closing down of outlets that do not correspond to their political viewpoint, etc.

I think it's important to clearly lay out these differences, so there's no confusion. So, I'll do so again:

1) The medias were initiated by Kings and bluebloods.
2) Over time, especially since the 1930's, the army have taken control of virtually every media outlet. Those that were not controlled by the military were (and still are) controlled by Bangkok bluebloods.
3) MrT came along. Some new media outlets (very few) opened up that were not controlled by the traditional group, but by new business investors such as MrT.
4) The coup came along and got rid of MrT. They decided to clamp down on freedom of speech, so that MrT, another MrT or the populous generally, did not have a platform to voice opinions that differed from those of the establishment (army and bluebloods).

It's a simple but correct snapshot. No quantity of spin will change these facts/details.

My analysis of Mr. Thaksin-State Media relations support these facts completely.

The State Media sources are proffesional at making up stories. As mentioned above, Mr. Thaksin was fighting for political survival when he finally struck back by forcing them to prove the voluminous stories in court.

It was not apparent then, but in hindsight it has become clear that the Thaksin demonization campaign was already launched even while he was Prime Minister. That softened up the populace for the coup which followed.

Yingluck shrugs off Newin

Yingluck shrugs off Newin’s prediction



KHON KAEN, 26 May 2011 (NNT) – Pheu Thai prime minister candidate Yingluck Shinawatra has shrugged off an analysis made by Bhumjaithai de facto leader Newin Chidchob that she would not be given the prime minister post although her party would win majority votes.

Speaking during her election campaign in the northeastern province of Khon Kaen, Ms Yingluck voiced no concerns over the prediction given by Mr Newin. She responded that she will let people decide whom they will vote for in the upcoming election on 3 July 2011.

Pheu Thai’s no.1 party-list candidate expressed her wish that she wants to see the election conducted in a constructive manner. She then encouraged people to cast their votes in the election since their voice will be the sole judge to rule the future of the country.

Mr Newin earlier predicted that Ms Yingluck was being used by her brother former Prime Minister Dr Thaksin Shinawatra to boost popularity of the Pheu Thai Party. He believed that she would not be given the prime minister post although her party would gain the majority of the seats.

Upon their visit to several markets in Khon Kaen province on Thursday morning, Ms Yingluck and her team, including 10 Pheu Thai constituency MP candidates for the province, were given a warm welcome with lots of roses and floral garlands from local people.

^ Well she hasn't denied it, just gave a politicians answer (she's learning fast!)

Bangkok Post : P.Thai wants halt to drug bust

P.Thai wants halt to drug bust

• Published: 26/05/2011 at 01:15 PM
• Online news: Local News

The Pheu Thai Party on Thursday submitted a petition with the Election Commission saying that the ongoing drug suppression operation being conducted by the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) has caused fear among the local people and this may cause them to waver in casting votes in the forthcoming election.

The petition was filed by Vicharn Meenchainant, the party's chairman of Bangkok zone.

He asked the EC to order the caretaker government to suspend the Isoc's drug suppression operation being conducted in many parts of Bangkok including Min Buri, Khanna Yao, and Lat Phrao.

He said in the operation, Isoc had set up a command centre with a satellite dish to monitor the movementns of core members of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD).

Moreover, the people were queried about their occupations and told to put their names on a survey form.

The people in those areas were living in fear because of the crackdown. This could cause them to become uncertain how to vote July 3 elections.

During the lead-up to the election, the drug suppression operation should be focused on border areas, not in Bangkok, Mr Vicharn said.

^ WTF???????????

Got to be a contender for weirdest shit going for a while

Satellite monitoring of UDD people....it is almost as if they are suggesting a link between the drug dealers and the UDD....almost....

Better to shoot 2,500 instead, right? That didn't cause fear then....

Stopped folks voting too, right?

Pad protests....."Not near as massive as the Red shirts- but the difference was the Army was in virtual mutiny, and no substantive action was taken against the PAD." Quote from Post #1057 (Sabang)

That was because the PAD protests were a top-down creation, not like the spontaneous, bottom up Democracy Movement protests resulting largely from the coup.

Some people write-off the PAD as being irrelevant right now, but I am not so sure. Considering it was a top-down initiated operation to begin with, those behind it can regenerate a similar thing.

One can conclude that the PAD or some other form of the same thing, was in fact the protest wing of the Amart. They will 'boot this up' again when things are not to their liking. The military being a big part of this, they will have free rein when it comes to protesting. It wasn't a mutinous circumstance in the military that prevented them from acting. They weren't too keen on acting against their own.

Case in point is the Airport caper and sacking of Government House. Nobody has been held accountable for that while the Democracy Movement leadership has beat a steady path to the jail.

This continues to be the #1 double standard the Red Shirts speak about.

Bangkok Post : Pheu Thai: Bhumjaithai to win 10 seats

Pheu Thai: Bhumjaithai to win 10 seats

• Published: 26/05/2011 at 01:16 PM
• Online news:

The Bhumjaithai Party would likely win about 10 seats in the House of Representatives after the July 3 general election, according to the Pheu Thai Party.

Pheu Thai deputy leader Kanawat Wasinsungworn said on Sunday Bhumjaithai de facto leader Newin Chidchob wanted to unnerve his party by making a prediction that Pheu Thai's No.1 party-list candidate Yingluck Shinawatra would not be the next prime minister.

"Pheu Thai has promised the people that if it wins the election, it will back Ms Yingluck as the next prime minister.

"The 'female PM' trend is growing and I believe 'Yingluck fever' will rise during the later stage of the election. Therefore, it would be impossible for Pheu Thai to nominate other members," Mr Kanawat said.

He said Mr Newin came out to make the prediction because of the Bhumjaithai's popularity.

"From our survey, I don't believe the Bhumjaithai will gain 111 seats in the House and it might not even win half of the 33 seats it won previously because our survey reveals that the Bhumjaithai's popularity is less than four per cent in the lower Northeast," the Pheu Thai member said.

He said the survey shows that Pheu Thai should win about 260 to 270 seats.

Bangkok Post : Suthep dismissive of 'seer' Newin

Suthep dismissive of 'seer' Newin

• Published: 26/05/2011 at 12:02 PM
• Online news: Local News

Democrat deputy leader Suthep Thaugsuban said on Thursday Bhumjaithai de facto leader Newin Chidchob should watch over his party's future first, and also called on the Election Commission to examne the red-shirt movements and their connection with Pheu Thai.

Mr Suthep's comment came after Mr Newin yesterday predicted that the Democrats would lose the July 3 general election and would win only 160 seats in the House.


Democrat Party deputy leader and caretaker Deputy Prime Minister overseeing security Suthep Thaugsuban (Photo by Thiti Wannamontha)

"I just know that Mr Newin is presenting himself as a seer and I'm indifferent to his prediction.

"But Mr Newin should look to his own future and make sure that his party will win all the seats in the House that he predicts," the caretaker deputy prime minister said.

On Mr Newin's comment that caretaker Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva should resign as Democrat leader if the Democrats lose the election, Mr Suthep said that as a banned politician Mr Newin had no right or authority to make decisions for the Democrats.

"I'm still confident the Democrats will win the election because the party has a responsibility to protect the country," he said.

Mr Suthep said he was ready to explain the truth after the Pheu Thai Party yesterday filed a complaint with the police accusing him of defaming its leading red-shirt candidates in violation of the constitution.

He said he was not at fault and the Democrat Party would not be dissolved, if he were found guilty.

He said the EC should seek ways in dealing with the red-shirt activities that are obstructing the Democrats' election campaigning.

The EC should examine the role of the red-shirts and their affiliation with Pheu Thai, he said.

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

Mr Newin had no right or authority to make decisions for the Democrats.

When you make a pact with the devil he will have plenty of authority.

It is up to the media to take some time to think whether they are doing their job objectively, or are being used to give out reports scripted by Pheu Thai. Quote from a State Media article above

So if they say anything favorable about the PT party, they are not being objective........Hmmmmm.

Originally Posted by Calgary

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

....It's a simple but correct snapshot. No quantity of spin will change these facts/details.

My analysis of Mr. Thaksin-State Media relations support these facts completely.

The State Media sources are proffesional at making up stories. As mentioned above, Mr. Thaksin was fighting for political survival when he finally struck back by forcing them to prove the voluminous stories in court.

It was not apparent then, but in hindsight it has become clear that the Thaksin demonization campaign was already launched even while he was Prime Minister. That softened up the populace for the coup which followed.

The ability of some to rewrite history is at times simply amazing.

Let’s take a look at what the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) said in November 2005 about Thailand and freedom of the press.

TH

http://anfrel.org/country/Thailand/M...ission2005.pdf

...Not content to merely subordinate the military, police, and civilian bureaucracy to his own authority, the image conscious prime minister also began to exert tremendous pressure on the media in an effort to control the flow of information in society and silence his critics. Moreover, he has resisted constitutionally mandated media reform that would remove broadcasting frequencies from direct state and military control and place them instead under an independent regulatory body that would allocate and oversee them in the interest of the public. Because of measures adopted by the Thai Rak Thai leadership, a cloud of fear and intimidation has descended upon journalists, bringing with it severe negative consequences for freedom of the press. Reflecting these worrisome developments, Freedom House, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization working to promote democracy and freedom internationally, downgraded its assessment of Thailand’s media from “free” to “partly free” in May 2003 (Nation, 2 May 2003; cited in Pasuk and Baker 2004: 154).

Up until the mid-1990s, Thailand had five television stations, each of which was owned by either the government or the army. In 1996, the country’s first independent television station, iTV, was launched. It quickly made a name for itself by broadcasting hard-hitting investigative reports and critical news stories. In the year prior to the 2001 House of Representatives elections, Shin Corp, one of the prime minister’s companies, bought a controlling stake of 39% in iTV. After journalists working for the TV station complained 28 that Thaksin was interfering with their reporting on the upcoming election, 23 of them were summarily dismissed. Following their dismissal, journalists who remained at the station reported that they were pressured to place a positive slant on all reporting about the Thai Rak Thai government (Mutebi 2003: 106; McCargo and Ukrist 2005: 44, 189; Pasuk and Baker 2004: 149). As a physical manifestation of iTV’s subordination to Thaksin, the station’s headquarters was relocated in February 2003 to Shinawatra Tower 3, where it found its new neighbor to be none other than the Thai Rak Thai Party (Supinya 2003: 4-5).

Besides controlling all TV broadcasting in Thailand either through government/army channels or through private ownership, Thaksin can also rely on favorable coverage from state-controlled radio. Of Thailand’s over 523 radio stations, 203 are owned by the army, 44 by the police, 62 by the Mass Communication Organization of Thailand, 147 by the Public Relations Department under the Office of the Prime Minister, and the remaining, by various state entities(“Seu peue ganseuksa… panha thi ro gan gaekai” 2004: 4). In other words, with the notable exception of small-scale community radio, Thaksin has virtually absolute control over the electronic media in Thailand. Not surprisingly, on several occasions, critical voices have been silenced.14 While the 1997 Constitution stipulates that the airwaves are to be taken out of the hands of the government, army and their big business concessionaire partners and placed under an independent regulatory agency, the Thaksin government has shown little inclination to comply with this mandate. The process to select members of the regulatory agency initially got underway in 2001, but stalled when efforts to pack the body with anti-reform minded people were successfully challenged in the Administrative Court by media activists (Pasuk and Baker 2004: 151). Since that time, the government has made no sincere effort to resolve the conflict, symbolizing its intent to undermine media reform that would lead to greater independence of the press.

Politically motivated intervention in the print media since Thaksin became prime minister has had an equally chilling effect. The fact that Thai newspapers are dependent on revenue derived from advertising, and that the advertising outlays of the government and companies associated with the government comprise roughly 60% of all press advertising, has given Thaksin a great degree of leverage over the print media. As the Thai Journalists’ Association noted, “It has become well known among print journalists that advertising incomes from companies under powerful people in the administration, and from government agencies and state enterprises, have been used to bargain against publishing stories that could negatively affect the government’s image” (Nation, 29 December 2003; quoted in Pasuk and Baker 2004: 152). Similarly, The Nation reported as early as 20 August 2001 that “if any newspaper should dare to report negatively on the government, Matchbox Co., the advertising arm of Shinawatra Corporation, will withdraw its advertisements without explanation” (McCargo and Ukrist 2005: 195).

Nonetheless, in spite of the strong financial incentives not to criticize the Thai Rak Thai government, some critics in the print media have refused to be silenced. In these cases, the government has relied on more direct tactics of intimidation. For example, the Special 14 For details on intimidation and political interference in the electronic media, see Pasuk and Baker 2004: 149-54; and McCargo and Ukrist 2005: 193-4. 29 Branch police sent a warning letter to one newspaper accusing it of acting irresponsibly by printing a translation of a Reuters report on the prime minister’s assets concealment case (Associated Press, 7 August 2001; cited in McCargo and Ukrist 2005: 190). Foreign correspondents were not immune from harassment, either. Two foreign journalists at the Far Eastern Economic Review initially had their visas suspended and were threatened with deportation after writing a brief article in January 2002 that made reference to alleged tension between the prime minister and the Royal Palace. The situation was defused after the magazine’s publisher wrote a letter of apology, but had the journalists been deported, it would have been the first time since 1977 that a foreign reporter was expelled from thecountry (McCargo and Ukrist 2005: 197-8). The same week that the Far Eastern Economic Review journalists were threatened with expulsion, reports leaked out that the Anti Money Laundering Office, an agency under the Prime Minister’s Office, had launched a probe into the financial accounts of outspoken critical journalists at the Nation Group and Thai Post. Although the investigations were halted after being exposed and the government denied that they had been politically motivated, it seems difficult to believe that any explanation other than intentional political intimidation was possible (Suthichai 2002: 76; McCargo and Ukrist 2005: 190; Pasuk and Baker 2004: 153-4).

More overt forms of censorship have also been exercised by the Thaksin government. For example, a special edition of The Economist that offered a critical evaluation of the government’s performance was simply banned (Suthichai 2002: 76). The owner of the Thai language daily Naew Na reported that Thaksin and his representatives had asked himrepeatedly to cancel Prasong Soonsri’s regular column, which was often critical of the government (Nation, 14 March 2002; cited in Pasuk and Baker 2004: 152). Prasong ultimately resigned in order to prevent his colleagues from having to face undue difficulties on his account (Thepchai 2005: 197-8). At the English language daily Bangkok Post, after phone calls were received demanding that critical reporting be pulled (and perhaps even more frighteningly, after compliance with these requests), the editor was finally transferred to a different position. Commenting on this sorry state of affairs, he observed, “ In 30 years, there has been no political meddling as shocking as this….

What is happening now is worse than under military regimes” (Nation, 27 February 2002;cited in Pasuk and Baker 2004: 153). Similarly, citing increasing subjection to censorship, the editor and several columnists at Siam Rath weekly also resigned. Their resignation came after the owner of the magazine, presumably acting under political pressure, ordered an entire issue withdrawn and rewritten overnight (Nation, 28 February 2004; cited in Pasuk and Baker 2004: 153). As if this sort of intimidation were not enough, in 2003, relatives of Suriya Jungrungruangkit, a cabinet minister and secretary-general of Thai Rak Thai, bought an outright twenty percent stake in the Nation Multimedia Group (Committee to Protect Journalists; cited in McCargo and Ukrist 2005: 194-5), one of the few genuinely independent and consistently critical voices remaining in the media. Many observers speculate that it will only be a matter of time before they increase their level of ownership to a point from which they will be able to force the recalcitrant journalists into line.

Originally Posted by DrB0b

^The point here, which you seem to have completely missed, is what the hell is ISOC doing organising a drug suppression campaign in bangkok? It is not even remotely within their remit.

Something useful for once?

At least they aren't shooting people or children eh...

Anyway, the point being made by the PTP is that people will be scared to vote. Something which you appear to have missed. Fear-mongering...? Implanting suggestions?

Rather a grand claim wouldn't you agree, perhaps even a distortion of reality....

And what does this mean?

"command centre with a satellite dish"

Satellite monitoring? Or just watching Thai soaps...?

Oh and another thing, one of the places mentioned as being monitored is Lat Phrao, which is where I currently reside...and I've never heard of anyone being stopped and having their name and occupation taken down on a survey form (which of course is just terrible!!! How dare they do such a heinous thing!!! Such an infringement of human rights...! Although I have been stopped by the police on several occasions in the UK and had my name, address and personal details recorded and checked...but that is a free and fair democracy, so lets forget that detail, right?). And no one has mentioned it to me. So I am somewhat surprised by this revelation! Certainly there aren't any army or police around here recently. So I wonder who is doing this monitoring....?

Btw, just found this....it appears it is their remit....and interestingly, people were claiming they would be used to monitor political groups, before they had even been formed. 18 days later and Pheu Thai are claiming some sort of diabolical plot is unfolding...that's quite some going in just 18 days.....

-----

Bangkok Post : ISOC launches anti-drug task force

ISOC launches anti-drug task force

• Published: 8/05/2011 at 12:00 AM
• Newspaper section: News

The Internal Security Operations Command's new task force unit, known as the 315 Unit, will be launched tomorrow to target illicit drugs in Bangkok and five neighbouring provinces.

The provinces are Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Samut Prakan, Nakhon Pathom and Samut Sakhon.

Isoc spokesman Maj Gen Ditthaporn Sasasmit said the provinces were targeted because the use and distribution of illegal drugs has increased throughout them.

Maj Gen Ditthaporn said the unit had several operational teams, each comprising 12 to 16 members. The teams will crack down on drug activities in the target provinces, starting tomorrow. The operation will last for five months.

He refuted suggestions that the establishment of the special task force unit was politically motivated, saying the unit was only geared towards drugs suppression, not beating back the government's rivals.

"We assure the public that the 315 Unit will mainly focus on drug suppression. It will not be used as a political tool to put pressure on canvassers of any parties, as has been alleged," said Maj Gen Ditthaporn.

He said the army had instructed military units to arrange teams of officers to join the anti-drug operation with the police and the Office of the Narcotics Control Board.

A total of 148 teams from the army, the navy and air force will join the suppression operation, involving about 2,000 personnel.

Col Suthas Charumanee, deputy commander of the 7th Infantry Division, yesterday denied the establishment of his division was aimed at suppressing activities of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship in the North.

The 7th Infantry Division under the 3rd Army Region has been responsible for safeguarding border areas and preventing the influx of illicit drugs into the country, said Col Suthas.

-----

Oh and please do try to remember DrBob, Bangkok is an essential win for Pheu Thai and it isn't as if the Pheu Thai Party and their leader Thaksin are well acquainted with the truth at all times. They have been known to fabricate. This is certainly some interesting propaganda. I will ask around Lat Phrao and see if anyone has experienced this grave intimidation...just for you....

I certainly hope it is the rubbish it appears to be. If it is confirmed...well....the Dem's may have just put another nail in their coffin...

Originally Posted by Norton

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

Mr Newin had no right or authority to make decisions for the Democrats.

When you make a pact with the devil he will have plenty of authority.

Indeed, and in answer to your earlier question, it appears Newin is backing everyone and no one at the moment. I think he's hoping his party will win enough seats to be the power broker once more...

That is the problem when entering any discussion regarding Mr. Thaksin.

It just provokes the Thaksin haters to regenerate and regurgitate stuff the State Media and foreign sources who unwittingly copy the State Media, has fed them.

Case in point is ThaiHome post #1144 above.

They obviously save this stuff. The State Media Thaksin demonization campaign goes back a long way and has generated a lot of articles promoting their agenda.

I am always ambivelant to respond to anything about the deposed Democratically elected PM. It inevitable unleashes a torrent of State Media stuff the haters have saved.

ThaiHome's post above makes the eyes bleary trying to tackle it. I just dont bother anymore.

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

And what does this mean? "command centre with a satellite dish"

It means this "He said in the operation, Isoc had set up a command centre, with a satellite dish, to monitor the movementns of core members of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD)." Notice the commas I helpfully added? One would think that with the amount of copying you do from Thai newspapers you'd be used to their awful standard of English (and your quite is a perfect example of just how bad their writing can be) and be able to work out what they mean.

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

Satellite monitoring?

Communications. Nothing sinister.

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

At least they aren't shooting people or children eh...

While I find this constant body-count nonsense both childish and irrelevant I have tio ask if you're actually aware of who ISOC are? They are responisble for the deaths of tens of thousands. BTW, children are people too.

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

.it appears it is their remit

No, just because they choose to do something does not mean it is within their remit. If it was within their remit there would be need for the vocal denials that these actions are politically motivated. However, monitoring "subversives" is definitely within their remit, it's their main function.

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

I will ask around Lat Phrao and see if anyone has experienced this grave intimidation...just for you....

No need. I find your information untrustworthy and your knowledge extremely limited. As for walking around Lat Phrao, having lived and worked in Lat Phrao myself I'm perfectly capable of asking my own friends down there.

Mr Suthep demonstrates how he performs his 'pull a condom over the head' party trick: