Military Coup in Thailand 2006

[Butterfly]

The FCCT is located at:

Penthouse, Maneeya Center Building
518/5 Ploenchit Road (connected to the BTS Skytrain Chitlom station)
Patumwan, Bangkok 10330

I was planning on attending this, perhaps of interest so some here?:

Hey I might actually. Almost became a member, but I don't see the real privileges of becoming one. The BBC staff should be there as usual as this is their second headquarter, since they are on the same floor and their studios is right next door (Asia Today is done here in Bangkok).

This meeting might be interesting. 400 THB for the whole deal is reasonable. Another incentine not to become a member. I don't mind I might some days.

[Butterfly]

It wasn't a really a coup, huh ? The military takes over ... controls the media ... prevents demostrations ... installs their own hand picked civilians ...

Yep, US style democracy at work. See Iraq for a good example.

[Whiteshiva]

Taksin takes over ... controls the media ...attempts to prevent demostrations ... installs his own hand picked civilians ...
let us not forget aboishes laws creates new laws...

Exactly - the only difference is that now it looks as if the coup has made things more transparent, and hopefully people are no longer too timid to testify against the corruption that took place under Thaksins regime.

Coups are not a good thing in general, but compared to what Thailand had turned into under the Thaksin administration, it is the lesser of two evils.

[Storekeeper]

You people really are trippin' ... or totally blind. To me you're mental.

The guy was elected plain and simple. He didn't gain office through a coup but through free elections and it wasn't just poor folk who contributed to those land slide victories.

Sure is easier to control the media and demonstrators when you roll out the tanks, isn't it ? Why didn't Thaksin think of that ?

[Whiteshiva]

You people really are trippin' ... or totally blind. To me you're mental.

The guy was elected plain and simple. He didn't gain office through a coup but through free elections and it wasn't just poor folk who contributed to those land slide victories.

Sure is easier to control the media and demonstrators when you roll out the tanks, isn't it ? Why didn't Thaksin think of that ?

Sk - I don't mean to sound patronising, but if you had lived here and seen the blatant abuse of power that took place during Taksin's regime, you would probably think different about the coup. Winning an election does not give you the right to plunder the country, and unlike developed nations, Thailand did not have the necessary checks and balances in place. The few they had, Thaksin did his best to close down, intimidate into submission or ignore.

The counter corruption committee is just one example. Ever heard about Khun Jaruwan?

[William]

An interesting take on things by the ex-Ambassador from the UK in today's Nation

Thaksin to blame for coup, insists ex-UK ambassador to Thailand

Former British ambassador to Thailand, Derek Tonkin, has expressed his support for the September 19 coup, suggesting that ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is to blame for creating conditions that led to his removal.

In a letter to London-based The Times newspaper, published on Monday, Tonkin said Thaksin's "wealth has become so immense and has been used so shamelessly to undermine political opponents and critics that his position had become virtually unassailable through the ballot box".


His letter was in response to The Times' leading article on September 20 in which it stated Thaksin's record "does not justify an illegal attempt to force him from power".

"The problem for 30 per cent of urban dwellers in Thailand who are mostly opposed to Mr Thaksin is that his political party, through what would appear to be traditional but illegal vote-buying practices, has cornered 70 per cent of the rural vote," Tonkin said.

The ex-ambassador, who was in Thailand from 1986 to 1989, asked: "As the declared purpose of the coup is to restore democratic rights and bring an end to corrupt domination of the rural vote, is action against tyranny and for democracy not fully justified?"

American authorities, meanwhile, were critical of the coup. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said it was "a U-turn" and urged coup leaders to get the Kingdom on the right path "very, very quickly", Agence France-Presse reported from New York.

"The biggest problem is that in a Southeast Asia that was pretty stable ... it's a U-turn," she said in an interview on Monday with The Wall Street Journal.

The State Department on Monday urged the coup leaders to avoid politically motivated actions and called for elections to be held ahead of a one-year deadline set by the military junta.

The message came after the generals set up a high-powered committee to look into the books and tax records of the deposed PM, his cabinet members and their relatives, warning ill-gotten assets could be seized.

"Certainly, what we want to see happen as this process moves forward is a quick hand-over to civilian authorities and that any investigations or other activities that are done again be done in accordance with the law rather than being done for political purposes," State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said.
Washington has condemned the coup and is studying the possibility of reviewing military and other assistance to Thailand, a key Southeast Asian ally.

source: Thaksin to blame for coup, insists ex-UK ambassador to Thailand

[friscofrankie]

Apples .... oranges.

More like Granny Smiths - Golden Delicious

[Thetyim]

Washington has condemned the coup and is studying the possibility of reviewing military and other assistance to Thailand,

What a lovely choice of words
'We are thinking about talking about it '

[buadhai]

What a lovely choice of words
'We are thinking about talking about it '

Just be thankful they aren't actually doing anything....

[watterinja]

Washington needs friends over here at this time. Seems like a lot of words and bluster.

[Marmite the Dog]

American authorities, meanwhile, were critical of the coup. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said it was "a U-turn" and urged coup leaders to get the Kingdom on the right path "very, very quickly", Agence France-Presse reported from New York. "The biggest problem is that in a Southeast Asia that was pretty stable ... it's a U-turn," she said in an interview on Monday with The Wall Street Journal.

Ignorant bitch should keep her fucking gob shut and put her nose back up Bush's arse.

In answer to SK's point on the previous page; if the army hadn't intervened there would've been a lot of bloodshed orchestrated by Taksin in an attempt to declare marshall law and run the country as a police/army state, but with his own guys in charge with no intention of restoring democracy. Luckily, Khun Sonthi cares enough to have prevented that.

[watterinja]

General Prem is the shadow behind the faces

[Storekeeper]

In answer to SK's point on the previous page; if the army hadn't intervened there would've been a lot of bloodshed orchestrated by Taksin in an attempt to declare marshall law and run the country as a police/army state, but with his own guys in charge with no intention of restoring democracy. Luckily, Khun Sonthi cares enough to have prevented that.

At best you have third or fourth handed information bassed on gossip.

Why would there have been bloodshed ? I thought the military was all against Thaksin?

I'm done with it MtD. Just another thing about Thailand and expats in Thailnd that doesn't make sense to me.

[Marmite the Dog]

Just another thing about Thailand and expats in Thailnd that doesn't make sense to me.

Don't sweat it. Very little of anything makes sense here.

[king of uranus]

[quote=William;179133]An interesting take on things by the ex-Ambassador from the UK in today's Nation

Thaksin to blame for coup, insists ex-UK ambassador to Thailand

Former British ambassador to Thailand, Derek Tonkin, has expressed his support for the September 19 coup, suggesting that ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is to blame for creating conditions that led to his removal.

...

American authorities, meanwhile, were critical of the coup. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said it was "a U-turn" and urged coup leaders to get the Kingdom on the right path "very, very quickly", Agence France-Presse reported from New York.

"The biggest problem is that in a Southeast Asia that was pretty stable ... it's a U-turn," she said in an interview on Monday with The Wall Street Journal.

The State Department on Monday urged the coup leaders to avoid politically motivated actions and called for elections to be held ahead of a one-year deadline set by the military junta.
...

IF CONDO IS AGAINST IT, I'M FOR IT!

[diaw]

A man collides his taxi with tank

A taxi driver intentionally collided his vehicle head on with a tank that is guarding at the Royal Plaza on Saturday.
The driver, identified as Nuamthong Praiwan, was taken to a police station nearby. His taxi was sprayed with some sentences which read, "destroying the country," and "suicidal move."
His taxi was totally damaged from the crash, but the tank was unscathed.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/brea...ewsid=30015059

Interesting move...

[dirtydog]

A taxi driver was in critical condition Saturday after slamming his car into a tank in Bangkok's Royal Plaza to protest the military council that seized the power from Thaksin government.


The driver, Nuamthong Praiwan, said he painted the words "Destroy the country" on the side of his taxi, and the word "Suicide" on the trunk, before speeding into one of the tanks parked at the Royal Plaza.
"I did it intentionally to protest the junta that have destroyed our country, and I painted all the words by myself," he said from his bed.
Nuamthong suffered broken ribs and injuries to his chin and his eye.
A police however downplayed the incident, saying the driver was drunk and no message was sprayed on the taxi. "I didn't see any spray-painted words. Initially police suspected the driver might have fallen asleep, or it could have been reckless driving," police said.
The words painted on the car were however visible in photographs and television images of the taxi.
Taxi drivers are among the strong supporters of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's populist policies.
The military deposed Thaksin last month while he was in New York.

the nation

[diaw]

<1 ton car takes on a 22 ton tank... either very brave, or very drunk... a few paint touchups for the tank... wonder how much the taxi fellow needs to pay for the taxi he smashed... insurance won't cover it...

[Little Chuchok]

^ I would say he was very dumb.

I painted all the words by myself

Did he use crayons?

[ChiangMai noon]

during my first week in Bangkok, i was waaay drunk somewhere in sala deng, i opened a taki door on the right hand side and a passing car knocked the fukker clean off.
Was taken to the police station and we arrived at a sort of stalemate.
The police were telling me i should pay 12,000 bht, i was saying I shouldn't pay anything because he must be covered by insurance, I asked for a tourist police lawyer. he took over an hour to arrive.
5 hours of this, while the poor taxi driver was waiting outside smoking.
Finally i said i'd pay 1,000 baht and the driver was all over it. dreadful waste of time.
Are taxi drivers insured for drunken passengers that open the doors against traffic and get them knocked off? They bloody well should be.

[dirtydog]

I really don't believe Thai Taxi drivers get that many drunken Welsh tourists as passengers, why would they insure against that ?

[Thetyim]

Why didn't you just beat the taxi driver senseless with the car door and walk away.

[buadhai]

And the drunken Welshman fled the scene....

[diaw]

Wonder why the taxi driver didn't think to put the child-lock on for the right-hand door? Would've kept the drunk Welsh hooligan guessing for a few hours... taxi could have kept the meter running until the Welshman worked it out.

[friscofrankie]

during my first week in Bangkok, i was waaay drunk somewhere in sala deng, i opened a taki door on the right hand side and a passing car knocked the fukker clean off.
Was taken to the police station and we arrived at a sort of stalemate.
The police were telling me i should pay 12,000 bht, i was saying I shouldn't pay anything because he must be covered by insurance, I asked for a tourist police lawyer. he took over an hour to arrive.

"And so go the days of our lives..." (welsh version)