tartempion Posted August 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2009 I have to laugh when people compare the PAD take over of the airport to a “terrorist attackâ€Â. No matter what you’re political leanings on this, any objective analysis of what happened that evening would show there is no way this could construed as a “terrorist attackâ€Â. By sheer coincidence I happen to witness the PAD caravan on the expressway on its way to the airport. They were accompanied by full police escort that though they did not close the road as with normal VIP caravans, they were leading the way the entire time and did open the toll booths for them to go through (and they didn’t even pay the toll). It should also be noted that there were no incursion into the airside part of the airport which is why it was able to re-open the next day, despite predications it would take weeks to restore it. TH Well, it wasn't "a coup d'etat" but rather "a coup d'aeroport" So what label do you give to a bunch of thugs enjoying police protection holding-up 300.000 passengers against their will?? Sympathisants? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaiHome Posted August 6, 2009 Report Share Posted August 6, 2009 I really didn’t want this to disintegrate into a political discussion, but just thought a photo of the “thugs†that took over the airport might be good at this point. Anyway, I started a long reply to this but I’m not going to post it. I have made my points and those that choose to be objective will see them. For you others, you keep on doing what you do. I suspect it rather therapeutic for you to do so. TH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted August 6, 2009 Report Share Posted August 6, 2009 Thaihome, if another airport, lets say Los Angeles International airport (LAX), got taken over by a really peaceful group, would you feel really secure with that airport's security? Or would one of your eyebrows raise up just a little bit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaiHome Posted August 6, 2009 Report Share Posted August 6, 2009 To my knowledge, demonstrations outside the entrances to airports happen all the time. In most cases, passenger access to the airport is only disrupted for short periods of time or not at all if the demonstration is not large and the authorities manage to head it off. Nevertheless, there have been many cases where the access was shutoff and the airport had to temporally shutdown operations In the case of PAD shutdown (it was not really a takeover), the authorities, for a variety of reasons which have nothing to with this discussion, let the PAD take control of access to the airport. A group of 3 or 4 people were allowed into the control tower and the sympathetic air traffic controllers (as they are also middle class people that make up the core PAD support) agreed to an orderly shutdown of operations. In the ensuing hours, thousands of middle class people headed to the airport and camped out on the road in front of the lobby (see my earlier photo), making it impossible for operations to resume until they left. Assuming I took the time to understand what actually happened and did not take the sensationalist, hysterical media word for what happened; if a similar scenario were to develop at LAX; I would not raise an eyebrow. I would be amazed that such a strong political statement that has widespread support among the middle class was able to be pulled off in such a way that no violence occurred and little or no damage was done to the airport. But then that is just me, and I am not known for making quick or harsh judgments that tend to be clouded by my cultural perspective or ego, but rather to try an see what actually happened, to understand the underlying circumstances that is often not clear if only a superficial evaluation is done and to be sure I am not being subjective in my judgment. Other people make judgments differently, often without even realizing how biased they are being. :content: TH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gadfly Posted August 6, 2009 Report Share Posted August 6, 2009 OK everyone, pause for a moment, close your eyes, picture the image that TH posted above at LAX any other major airport, and imagine the airport is closed for over a week because of this protest. Imagine protestors wondering into the secure area of the airport - because that is what happened, and PAD doesn't deny it. Imagine the authorities are "unable" to recover control of the airport for over a week - because this is also what happened and no one denies. This is not sensationalist - this is a factual account of what actually happened. More, and very damning detail, could easily be added, but for right now, let's just stop here with this undeniable description of what happened. We can layer on more facts later. Now, in that context - a compromised airport (to the point where it was closed for over a full week) - consider the repeated reports from reliable media sources about the extortion scams happening in the secure area of this same airport. Does anyone really believe this doesn't strengthen the already serious, and quite legitimate, concerns about the security of Bangkok's international airport? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamui Posted August 6, 2009 Report Share Posted August 6, 2009 @Gaddy, I guess no one denies the security breach at the airport. The discussion is about the question if (islamist) terrorists would be able to do the same. As I wrote before, I am not sure about this, because - as strange it may sounds - recent breaches were committed by well connected elements of the Thai society. I don't see the terrorists as part of those internal networks. But of course until we have an attack we will never know for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gadfly Posted August 6, 2009 Report Share Posted August 6, 2009 You are right that we don't know. But the security breaches were serious and blatant. I don't think the latest ones - the extortion scams - are political. Assuming they were purely for financial gain, that means they are similar in that respect to what happened in Moscow when terrorists brought down planes. Or, to cut to the chase, I have been at a few of the breakfast briefings on Wireless, and it is clear that the concerns are much more than theoretical. Will anything happen? Who knows. But having this sort of nonsense happen repeatedly at Bangkok's international airport - and the FM saying it was just a big party - is not good for business or Thailand's reputation generally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamui Posted August 6, 2009 Report Share Posted August 6, 2009 But having this sort of nonsense happen repeatedly at Bangkok's international airport - and the FM saying it was just a big party - is not good for business or Thailand's reputation generally. That's out of question. Loss of reputation aside, the number of bookings by tourists went down immediately and I presume other businesses lost as well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TroyinEwa/Perv Posted August 7, 2009 Report Share Posted August 7, 2009 The discussion is about the question if (islamist) terrorists would be able to do the same. I thought the thread was about a scam with King Power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gadfly Posted August 7, 2009 Report Share Posted August 7, 2009 I think its morphed into the consequences of a purported scam at a major international airport - the one for Bangkok. That has always been what the media reports were really about, even though this thread has sometimes circled around (or rather, has been pressed away) that subject. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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