Flashermac Posted October 8, 2008 Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 Bangkok Post 8 Oct 2008 Democrat files complaint against PM The Democrat Party filed a complaint with the Royal Thai Police against Prime Minister and Defence Minister Somchai Wongsawat for allowing the confrontations between the riot police and anti-government demonstrators happen on Tuesday, according to Democrat executive and opposition chief whip Sathit Wongnongtoey. After the Democrat Party meet to evaluate the political situation on Wednesday, Sathit said the Democrats considered the PM responsible for ordering the police to disperse the protesters led by the Peopleâ??s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), thus causing more than 400 injuries and two deaths. He accused Prime Minister Somchai of violating Criminal Code sections 295 and 297. Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva will draft a letter to explain the clashes to foreign governments, Mr Sathit said. According to the Democrat Party, the government tried to distort the truth by accusing the demonstrators of being armed so that the riot police could use force. The Democrats also claim that the government wanted to pass the blame to a unknown third party. The Democrats also accused the government of not following international standards by alleging police tried to negotiate with the protesters before the clashes occurred. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentors Posted October 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 do they exploit the situation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentors Posted October 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 Arrest warrants on 3 charges of PAD leaders lifted (BangkokPost.com) - The Court of Appeals on Thursday morning ruled to revoke the arrest warrants of nine core members of the Peopleâ??s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) on three charges of treason, conspiracy for inciting treason, and disobeying to disperse when ordered by law enforcement authorities. The nine members include Sondhi Limthongkul, Chamlong Srimuang, Piphob Dhongchai, Somsak Kosaikul, Somkiat Pongpaiboon, Suriyasai Katasila, Chaiwat Sinsuwong, Amorn Amornrattananont and Therdphum Jaidee. The court decided to lift their arrest warrants on the three charges because it considered the allegations as groundless. However, their arrest warrants on other charges, such as conspiring with more than 10 people to cause disturbances or physical harms, are still being imposed. Ealier on Thursday, PAD lawyer Suwat Apaisak said seven PAD core leaders would surrender to police if the court drops charges of insurrection against them. "If the court today revokes the treason charge, I will seek bail for Chamlong Srimuang and Chaiwat Sinsuwong, while the other seven will contact police and surrender to fight the remaining charges," Mr Suwat told reporters. http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=131273 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentors Posted October 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 FROM TODAY'S WALL STREET JOURNAL ASIA Thailand in Turmoil Two years after the Thai military ousted then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the full cost of that bloodless coup is finally becoming clear. Violent antigovernment protests this week have left two people dead, 443 injured, and the country's democratic prospects in jeopardy. The struggle is over whether Thai citizens will continue to enjoy their democratic rights. The protesters, who seek to oust the current government, have brought the government to near paralysis. The cast of characters is similar to 2006: Seven months ago the same group that had helped organize protests to oust Mr. Thaksin re-formed, led by a similar coterie of Bangkok elites, businessmen and academics. They now call themselves the People's Alliance for Democracy, but they are anything but. Their goal is to eliminate Thailand's one-man-one-vote democracy and replace it with a parliament that is 30% elected and 70% appointed. Why? To make sure that no one like Mr. Thaksin is ever elected again. The generals behind the 2006 coup thought that by simply removing Mr. Thaksin they could solve what they saw as the problem of Thailand's democracy: The fact that voters might choose to elect someone whom the generals and their friends in Bangkok didn't like. But when they organized elections in December, at the end of their 15-month stint as caretakers, the People Power Party, political heirs to Mr. Thaksin's party, was the victor. Mr. Thaksin, who had been in exile, jetted back to Bangkok. The PPP may not be perfect, but it has a mandate from the voters. A vote-buying case against the PPP and two smaller parties will be brought to court next week, and a guilty verdict could force the PPP to dissolve. Until then, it remains the popularly elected government. The PAD, in contrast, wishes to rewrite the constitution to get rid of the one-man-one-vote principle. [color:red]And since it cannot win at the ballot box, it is hoping to win in a street fight instead. [/color] For the past six weeks, PAD supporters have besieged Government House, demanding that the PPP government step down. After two PAD leaders were arrested over the weekend, 1,500 PAD supporters blockaded Parliament House while parliament was in session. The ensuing melee left hundreds wounded. The newly appointed prime minister, Somchai Wongsawat (who is Mr. Thaksin's brother-in-law), had to scale a wall and dive into a military helicopter to escape the mayhem. Thai police eventually cleared the way for the other politicians using tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades to dispel the crowd, according to the Associated Press. By yesterday the situation had calmed. The PAD is crying foul over the measures employed by what they call a "killer" government. But they themselves operate like a small army: Several PAD supporters were carrying guns during the street battle on Tuesday, and others had iron rods, slingshots, spears, etc. One policeman was impaled, and two were shot. These are not merely disgruntled citizens: The PAD is a well funded, highly organized force that operates a small city inside the government compound it has occupied for more than a month. The occupiers have electricity from generators, a constant supply of free food and water, and even portable toilets. Facing these circumstances, Mr. Somchai doesn't have any good options. Dialogue with the PAD may be all but impossible after the violence this week. He could call a state of emergency, which would give more power to the military and police to enforce law and order, although that could turn out to be embarrassing if they didn't follow orders. A third option is to form a unity government and share governing powers with the opposition Democrat Party, albeit at the risk of looking weak. He could also hunker down and wait for the PAD to wear out -- although this could take a long time, seeing as the PAD is constantly rotating in new "protesters" from the countryside. Meanwhile, the PAD continues its occupation of Government House. Pipop Thongchai, a PAD leader, told reporters, "We will continue to fight until Somchai resigns." Thailand's democracy has weathered many blows, including three coups since 1973. The peaceful transition of power to the PPP after polls that were largely fair and free was a step forward. If the PAD succeeds in overturning those elections, it will be at the cost of disenfranchising millions of voters -- and at a cost to Thailand's struggling democracy http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122350169960916759.html?mod=googlenews_wsj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 Best democracy money can buy. And winning an election means you can disregard the law and do anything you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khun_khon_neua Posted October 10, 2008 Report Share Posted October 10, 2008 As usual a foreign publication as come up a superficial opinion including several glaring factual errors and TRT/PPP propaganda. â??The PPP may not be perfect, but it has a mandate from the voters. A vote-buying case against the PPP and two smaller parties will be brought to court next week, and a guilty verdict could force the PPP to dissolve. Until then, it remains the popularly elected government.â? The PPP is not a popularity elected government. They got about 36% of the seats in Parliament and formed a coalition of various smaller parties (some of whom had made election promises not to be part of a coalition). People are mixing this up with 2005 when the TRT did indeed get a parliamentary majority on it own. â??The PAD, in contrast, wishes to rewrite the constitution to get rid of the one-man-one-vote principle. And since it cannot win at the ballot box, it is hoping to win in a street fight instead. â?? The PAD is not a political party and does not run any candidates in any election. One of their proposals for discussion is to have some portion of the parliament appointed in order to attempt dilute the power of the rural big shots that control the voting upcountry. These are the people the Thaksin bought off initially with his money, later with government money. This does not do away with one man one vote. â??The PAD is crying foul over the measures employed by what they call a "killer" government. But they themselves operate like a small armyâ? The PAD does indeed have a defensive security force. Many of these people participated in the October 1976 protests. No way are they going to allow themselves to be slaughtered again without putting up a fight. The behavior of the police early this week shows there is some justification for this. If the well publicized security force was not in place, there is little doubt a repeat of Oct 1976 would have already taken place. â??The peaceful transition of power to the PPP after polls that were largely fair and free was a step forwardâ? Wonder what drug they were taking when they wrote that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted October 10, 2008 Report Share Posted October 10, 2008 36% is about the most Hitler ever got in a free election too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentors Posted October 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2008 PAD plans major march against police Boosted by legal "victories", anti-government protesters are determined to hold police responsible for Tuesday bloodshed Buoyed by return of key leader Chamlong Srimuang and a court injunction prohibiting more drastic measures against it by the government, the People's Alliance for Democracy is stepping up a campaign against the police following Tuesday's bloodbath. PAD protesters will march to the national police headquarters on Monday morning to protest violent measures that left two demonstrators killed and hundreds injured as the PAD tried to seize Parliament Tuesday morning. Sondhi Limthongkul, a key PAD leader, told the protesters inside Government House that PAD followers will gather on Monday morning at 9am at the National Stadium and march to stage a protest in front of the police headquarters. The rally at Government House Thursday night was filled with swollen crowds as the protesters gathered to welcome their two leaders _ Chamlong Srimuang and Chaiwat Sinsuwong _ who were released on bail after the Appeals Court dropped treason charges against core PAD members earlier in the day. In another perceived legal victory for the PAD, the Central Administrative Court on Thursday also issued an injunction demanding the prime minister to strictly observe the international standards on crowd control when dealing with the protesters. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/10/10/headlines/headlines_30085702.php looks to me that they will and can march until the last piece of democracy is gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTO Posted October 10, 2008 Report Share Posted October 10, 2008 <> Even that is not quite correct as by then TRT was a amalgamation of other parties under TRT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentors Posted October 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2008 <> Even that is not quite correct as by then TRT was a amalgamation of other parties under TRT exact, except Chart Thai, all are TRT followers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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