itsmedave Posted February 5, 2006 Report Share Posted February 5, 2006 Since Thaksin owns most of the tv stations, it might be hard for most to see what's been going on at the big rally at the Royal plaza tonight. The Nation website <nationmultimedia.com> has a great timeline of events, but even that fails to capture the flavor. I'm lucky (?) enough to have Sondhi's satellite channel on my tv, so I'm able to watch the whole mess (with the aid of my lovely interpreter) We started watching at about 6:30 pm. By this time it was estimated that 100,000 people were there. I can't imagine how they could make a close estimate, but the entire grounds were completely full, and the street outside was also packed as far as the camera could see. Sondhi showed up at around 7pm at the top of a huge stage with his co-host chick both wearing whte shirts and headbands (in contrast with the yellow that most of the crowd wore. He said he had many shocking things to say. One of which must have been that Thaksin should be executed for speaking improperly about the King. He also said TS was morally bankrupt for putting a ladyboy in the gov't. He also called T.S. a coward for running off to Chiang Mai which proved he must have done something wrong. They started a "Thaksin...get out" chant which the crowd responded to loudly. At one point there was a mild scuffle when a pro Thaksin dude was about to get his clock cleaned, but he was quickly escorted out. Sondhi thanked the police for keeping them all safe and for being more neutral than the police at Lumpini. He then read the petition to be submited to the King (it was long) and promised to return later with more news. He spoke for about 90 minutes. Aftrerwards a monk spoke for almost 2 hours while Sondhi (and thousands of others) walked to the house of the dude who would accept the petition. Sondhi walked into the house, but had to give it to an aide because the real guy was off in Korat. BUmmer for Sondhi. Meanwhile other muckedy mucks took their turns at the stage, getting more and more forceful in their orations. (using quite a bit of foul language, I'm told) It was announced that a minister in the gov't had resigned (making it 2 in the last few days after the culture minister quit last week) and that more would be following soon. A speaker said that they had a chance to make Thaksin quit tonight. More to follow... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsmedave Posted February 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2006 continued... So then there were some terrible songs sung by a bad band (my personal opinion...but as back up, my lovely wife turned on a cd until they finished) Sondhi returned at about 11:30. There was another mild scuffle but the fireworks were less this time. He explianed what he'd been up to. It was said that the labor minister would decide in the coming days whether to resign, and that Thaksin would dissolve the entire House next week. Several people so far have openly wished for Shinawatra's demise (and not just politically) and he has been called a son of a bitch and other...worse insults. My lovely wife said she's never seen such yelling and name calling in public and can't believe it's happening in her country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gene1944 Posted February 5, 2006 Report Share Posted February 5, 2006 If you are interested in seeing it on your PC, I saw a reference to the following site on Thaivisa: 11news1 home page (Thai language only, picture quality not the best) go to the box under "video clip" where it says News - Live - Click here (about one page down) and click on it and Windows Media Player should come up with a live feed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCgringo Posted February 5, 2006 Report Share Posted February 5, 2006 Well I hope Sondri is not the next PM . He seems to be a little off in the head, I think the "power" of being famous and in the public light is giving him a big head, Thaskin may be the theif , but Sondri is a hot head and from what I see would not be good for Thailand. OC PS.....I do not think that Sondri is an elected official, so maybe he could not be PM if he wanted too...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted February 5, 2006 Report Share Posted February 5, 2006 Thaksin got elected convincingly last year. Sondri and mates didn't. Urban middle class don't like Thaksin. (they can afford health insurance etc) Rural people do. (they are rather keen on 30Baht healthcare). There are a lot more rural people who like Thaksin than there are urban middle class who dislike him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Hippie Posted February 5, 2006 Report Share Posted February 5, 2006 I know Taksin has quite a fan base in Surin, other parts of Issaarn...I wonder if this is a case of the "haves" hating him because he wants to give to the "have nots?" Similar to Kennedy and Clinton being hated by the right because of their domestic policies... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted February 5, 2006 Report Share Posted February 5, 2006 Nail hit right on the head my friend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shygye Posted February 5, 2006 Report Share Posted February 5, 2006 He added great debt to the Thai people. He has not made it easier for the poor to go to school and stay in school. But he has built an airport in the middle of a swamp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Hippie Posted February 5, 2006 Report Share Posted February 5, 2006 O.k. all that aside A lot of rural/working class people seem to love him...while wealthy people seem to hate him...Of course, there are still people who love Bush, so go figure...maybe perception is everything, and the reality of Thaksin's policies hasn'tr caught up with them yet... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Hippie Posted February 5, 2006 Report Share Posted February 5, 2006 shygye said: He added great debt to the Thai people. He has not made it easier for the poor to go to school and stay in school. But he has built an airport in the middle of a swamp. Substitute "Americans" where it says "Thais" and you could be talking about Bush, or any republican president since with Reagan... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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