khun_khon_neua Posted September 1, 2008 Report Share Posted September 1, 2008 THAI TALK Thaksin the puppeteer is pulling the strings again By Suthichai Yoon The Nation Published on August 28, 2008 WHATEVER the outcome of the storming of Government House by the People's Alliance for Democracy on Tuesday, Thaksin Shinawatra will plunge back into Thai politics in full force. .... With or without Samak - and whether he will be granted political asylum abroad or not - Thaksin is clearly back in the political game with a vengeance. The creation of a new pro-Thaksin website - www.clubthaksin.com - to replace Hi-Thaksin underlines the fact that the "invisible hand" won't be all that invisible any more. For him, it's a do-or-die decision. For the rest of the country, the nightmare can only get worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentors Posted September 1, 2008 Report Share Posted September 1, 2008 Top Thai union calls for strike to boost protests Thailand's biggest union Monday called for a strike to support anti-government protesters who are squatting in the main government complex to demand the resignation of Premier Samak Sundaravej. The threat came after a small bomb exploded during the night near the Government House compound, causing no injuries but rattling nerves near the site which thousands of protesters stormed seven days ago. The activists accuse Samak of acting as a puppet for ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who now lives in exile in Britain after the same protest group helped topple his government in 2006. The 200,000-strong State Enterprises Workers' Relations Confederation called for a strike Wednesday to add pressure on Samak, saying they would cut power and water supplies to government agencies. more... http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5geZZEDW2jNeJgmRg6JzoAX-xYOyg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted September 1, 2008 Report Share Posted September 1, 2008 It puzzles me that the newpapers and posters too keep talking about the "elite" who compose PAD. I've seen these folks. PAD is overwhelmingly working class, poor, ordinary folks. The fact that the Thai unions are supporting them tells you this is not a proles vs the upper classes situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elef Posted September 1, 2008 Report Share Posted September 1, 2008 I agree, PPP is supported mostly by poor farmers, PAD mostly by poor workers + many from the big cities especially BKK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torneyboy Posted September 1, 2008 Report Share Posted September 1, 2008 Last week, Samak told PPP members that he wouldn't have been able to come so far if Thaksin hadn't played a part. Thaksin himself was said to have called several PPP faction leaders from London to ask them to stay united and, more importantly, to continue to support Samak as the prime minister. According to one source, Thaksin said: "Without Samak, things could have become much messier." How could things get any "messier".. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentors Posted September 1, 2008 Report Share Posted September 1, 2008 More state enterprises threaten to strike The Confederation of State Enterprise Labour Union on Monday announced that about 200,000 workers at 43 state enterprises will jointly go on strike to protest against the government for allegedly using violent measures to disperse the Peopleâ??s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) supporters. According to the confederation, 43 state enterprises will suspend their public utility and assistance operations all together on September 3 at 9am. The confederation claimed that Prime Minister and Defence Minister Samak Sundaravej is damaging the democratic regime. In order to end the problem, the premier and his government have to resign from politics completely. The confederation insisted its potential strike would not trouble the majority of the people. http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=130244 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentors Posted September 1, 2008 Report Share Posted September 1, 2008 PAD take away official documents senior official The People's Alliance for Democracy seized all the documents involving hiring, procurement and purchase of government projects kept inside the Government, PM's Office Permanent Secretary Chulayuth Hiranyawasit said Monday. He added that the officials from his agency went into the Government House to bring some documents out so that they can continue working. They found that those documents had been taken by the PAD. The Nation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fidel Posted September 1, 2008 Report Share Posted September 1, 2008 Yeah guys, I agree. I attended a PAD rally in Sanam Luang before the coup. OK, there were smatterings of upper middle class & academics, but the majority were working class or poor farmers... and exactly the kind of people I find most welcoming in Thailand. They appear to care dearly about their country, they want to be active politically and their core gripe appears to me to be the blatant banditry under TRT and now PPP. Fair play to them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted September 1, 2008 Report Share Posted September 1, 2008 One reason most people are less critical of PAD's behaviour than we might expect is that the PAD are targeting some very corrupt politicians. Some of PAD's signs clearly link Samak and Chalerm. Bringing Chalerm and his sons into the government pissed off a lot of people, especially the reinstating of Duangchalerm after he had been dismissed as an army officer for DESERTION. What on earth was Samak thinking? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fidel Posted September 1, 2008 Report Share Posted September 1, 2008 You know, people who support the PAD and are anti-Thaksin/anti-Corruption are often accused of being elitist because they don't trust the people of the north and north east who put the PPP/TRT into power. In all fairness. How thick would people need to be to vote for a party that puts Chalerm/Samak into prominent positions? The damned executive of the PPP has been tried and convicted of vote buying... and the first thing they did when they got in was to try to amend the constitution to prevent the party the dissolution of their party on the basis of vote buying & electoral rigging. And these people have the cheek to talk about democracy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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