Mentors Posted April 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2009 Off to Phuket tomorrow, barring incidents/blockades/coups.... if the situation would not be so serious - i would say that you will find yourself in the role of Chuck Norris tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torneyboy Posted April 11, 2009 Report Share Posted April 11, 2009 Yeah that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shygye Posted April 11, 2009 Report Share Posted April 11, 2009 Off to Phuket tomorrow, barring incidents/blockades/coups.... Better go shirtless! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentors Posted April 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2009 Off to Phuket tomorrow' date=' barring incidents/blockades/coups....[/quote'] Better go shirtless! then his skin could turn RED after 30 minutes in the sun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samak Posted April 11, 2009 Report Share Posted April 11, 2009 i am off for abroad tonight! i have seen enough; see my post in the other thread: i just drove from Sri Racha area (close to Pattaya) to Bangkok; i had to pass 4 police check points; 2 on the motorway, the other two on side roads. the checkpoints on the motorway were very amateurish organized. but of course the slowed down the traffic; at one near Chachoengsao waiting time was 30 minutes. They managed to take out a dozen taxis full of red shirts, which had to wait on the side of the road. not clear what the police had in mind with them. there was heave traffic towards Bangkok as everybody wanted to get away from the state of emergency area; nearly no car in the opposite direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted April 11, 2009 Report Share Posted April 11, 2009 Bangkok Post 11 Apr 2009 PAD tells government to muscle up People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) leaders called on the government to exercise its full authority against the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) protesters who forced the government to call off the 14th Asean Summit and related summits in Pattaya. PAD leaders Somkiat Pongpaiboon and Somsak Kosaisuk, together with alliance spokesman Panthep Puapongpan, made the comments at a press conference on Saturday afternoon. Mr Panthep said the five PAD leaders expressed concern over the unrest in Pattaya. They want the government to exercise greater control over the Red Shirt protesters to protect the country's honour as it is hosting the summits. The PAD leaders said the group was ready to organise a gathering to protect the country's reputation, but the government told them on Friday that some high-ranking police and military officials might use force to disperse the protesters. The PAD did not want people to get hurt, Mr Panthep said. [color:red]The Yellow Shirt leaders asked their followers to be prepared, should they decide to rally again. [/color] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentors Posted April 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2009 The dinner must go on Just because the Asean summit was cancelled on Saturday after anti-government protesters stormed the conference venue didn't mean a gourmet feast planned for delegates had to go to waste. In a surreal scene, female servers in traditional Thai dress offered a four-course meal to dozens of soldiers in uniform - some of whom had watched as the protesters gleefully entered the venue. They were joined in the 700-seat ballroom by reporters, Ministry of Foreign Affairs staffers and technical workers who helped set up the summit. There was no sign of the red-shirted protesters who had run amok several hours earlier, demanding Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's resignation. As soft piano music drifted through the hall, the casually dressed diners sipped red and white wine and enjoyed a meal that included shrimp sate, lobster, chicken with cashews and a desert of candied water chestnuts in coconut milk. 'The hotel charged us. We have to pay anyway,' said Suhat Sungchaya, who was tasked with helping organise the dinner for the ministry. 'So that is why we decided to invite the people behind the scenes.' Munching on a catfish salad, ministry intern Suthanthip Sararith said the delegates from 16 countries, including China, South Korea and Japan, missed out on a chance to enjoy some traditional Thai delicacies. Most of the delegates were evacuated by helicopter or naval ship hours before the dinner began. 'I'm sorry for the leaders. Thailand is famous for its food,' she said. 'They can't eat all this great food. At least we get the chance to see how it tastes.' The diners, however, didn't get the full treatment intended for the delegates. The Thai classical dancers scheduled to perform had already fled to Bangkok, leaving behind an empty stage. http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/SE%2BAsia/Story/STIStory_362503.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentors Posted April 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2009 Thailand's Shattered Image A security bill costing Bt100 million (RM10.14 million) was incurred by the Thai Government for the 14th Asean Summit. Unfortunately for Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his government, the returns were nothing short of a national embarassment leading to a shattered image, with him labelling the Red Shirt protesters as 'Public Enemy'. For the first time in the history of the 40-year-old Asean regional grouping, its Summit with some of the world's most powerful nations were cancelled even after 14 of the 16 leaders had already set foot in the Kingdom. "Don't worry, they will come to paint the town red, have some good free food and probably go back with some extra cash in hand," a senior editor with a leading newspaper had told his foreign correspondent friends on April 7. A day later, over 100,000 people swarmed the Government House, the seat of the Prime Minister's Office, and paralysed the capital's traffic the following day before a smaller crowd backed by taxi drivers headed to this resort city on Friday and Saturday to bring what has now become a national embarassment. With its front-page headline, 'SHATTERED', the Bangkok Post said Saturday's chaos was a truly shameful day for the country, which had its international image destroyed by the siege of the Asean+6 summit venue and the embarassing postponement of the forum. "As His Majesty the King has said: What is the use of claiming victory when the nation is in ruins. In such a case, nobody triumphs, and it's only the nation that has lost," the paper said, blaming ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra for the mayhem. It even claimed that about Bt100 million was spent on the ludicrous security measures to protect the venue from the Red Shirt protesters, including Bt37 million a day for food and accommodation for almost 8,000 police and soldiers assigned to protect the meeting venue and the 16 leaders from Asean, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India. Despite the major failure, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his deputy in-charge of security, Suthep Thaugsuban, refused to step down to take responsibility. Abhisit's spokesman Panithan Wattanayagorn said the premier still commanded support from the majority of the people while Suthep said he had some work to finish. Ironically, the current Asean secretary-general is Surin Pitsuwan, a former Thai foreign minister and ex-deputy leader of Democrat headed by Abhisit. But the 44-year-old premier, who was accused of quietly supporting the Yellow Shirt protesters -- who seized the Government House and Bangkok's two major airports late last year that brought down two prime ministers alligned to Thaksin -- vowed to take stern action to strengthen the rule of the law. In an immediate response, the police arrested a former popular singer and ex-lawmaker Arisamun Pongruengrong on Sunday, for leading the protest in Pattaya. With a battered image coming just five months after the airport closure that stranded over 350,000 travellers, business and tourism leaders are fearing the worst, on top of the world economy crisis and projection of one million job losses this year. Tourism Council of Thailand chairman Kongkrit Hiranyakit said the Kingdom's tourism industry could lose at least Bt200 billion in revenue as a result of the Summit cancellation, with impact already felt by the resort city where many hotels reported cancellations, despite it being the long Songkran holiday period. The Royal Cliff Resorts where leaders were staying was almost deserted Sunday, as most of the Thai officials and foreign delegates left Saturday, some evacuated by helicopters and boats to flee the angry crowd who were bent on overthrowing Abhisit. There were no x-ray machines to scan for weapons, or well-dressed security personnel and shield and baton wielding soldiers. Instead, a handful of hotel security guards were manning the gates as remaining officials and media personnel packed their belongings and waited for transport to take them home. Some of the officials, especially the women, rushed to their rooms when the protesters came running with sticks. I doubt the soldiers could have stopped them from entering the hotel...I just cannot imagine this happening in other countries," an Asean Secretariat official said, while waiting for a van to take him to the Suvarnabhumi Airport. "Business is very bad since the Red Shirts came to Pattaya on Friday. By this time last time, the city was packed by both local and farang (foreign) tourists but the street is empty now," said Kassie, a waitress at an Italian pizza restaurant in Jomtien beach, whose view was echoed by Tor, a foot masseur operating besides her premises. But the most frustrating people were officials from the Prime Minister's Office and the Thai Foreign Ministry, who had sleepless nights since last November's domestic political crisis beginning with the Yellow Shirt protesters affecting every stage of their preparation for the 14th Asean Summit. "First, the venue was Bangkok, then Chiang Mai but after the airports were closed, we picked Hua Hin. But since China could not come, only Asean members met there, and we have to work again to host another Summit in a space of just two months, even then there were plans to go to Phuket first," said a foreign ministry official who almost cried after seeing hundreds of Red Shirt protesters breaking into the meeting venue and shattering the hard work put in place. The failure of the security forces to prevent the protesters armed with just sticks and umbrella did not came as a surprise to many, with many blaming the over-zealous emphasise on human rights, the right to assemble and lack of protection for man in uniform. In March, the National Anti-Corruption Commission ruled that former prime minister and Thaksin's brother-in-law Somchai Wongsawat, former deputy prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh and four senior police officers had abused their authority during the Oct 7 demonstration in front of the Parliament which led to two deaths and hundreds of injuries. "Our hands are tied. We were told not to use force by government leaders. They are more concerned with their image and underestimated the protesters...it's too late now and wonder if any country wants to come for any Summit in Thailand," a police official said. [color:red]The only solution, even if it's for a temporary period only, is for Abhisit to dissolve parliament.[/color] http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsgeneral.php?id=403564 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted April 12, 2009 Report Share Posted April 12, 2009 WTF Reports THE NATION: << The protesters have instigated chaos in the city on Sunday including road blockings and seizing [color:red]armoured vehicles[/color] and buses. >> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentors Posted April 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2009 Thai PM warns of tougher action unless protest ends Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told anti-government demonstrators on Sunday to end their protests or face tough measures allowed under a state of emergency that he declared earlier in the capital. "We want to ask you to stop such action. "It is necessary for the government to adopt the measures allowed in the emergency decree, in order to get the nation back to peace," he said in a televised statement, hours after his car was attacked by demonstrators at the Interior Ministry. Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, who oversees security matters, also made a statement on television. "Police and military officers must fully and forcefully carry out their jobs lest more damage is done. Actions must be taken promptly and order be restored as soon as possible. Your superiors and I will take responsibility for all your actions," he said. http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSBKK54454 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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