Suthep Now Admits What We All Knew Already.

[Specialist]

When you are trying to get a Bad Guy out, you have to be careful not to put a worse one in.

 

At the same time, when the Bad Guy is really bad, lots of people are willing to overlook obvious flaws of the alleged Good Guy. Castro used this to his advantage in his campaign against Batista, and wound up owning Cuba for far longer than Batista lived. (And consider the liberal love affair with "Che" Guevara, who was not a nice or good person no matter how you look at him.)

[jitagawn]

Well it is a cluster-f--- and has been for a good long while.

 

Nonetheless Coup or not things have improved here a bit although

obviously not in a democratic manner..

 

Its not the USA and never will be...and thank Buddha

The USA has sts own special undending nightmares ...

Taaky is gone for good he is not coming back IMHO

[JaiRai]

They neutralized Thaksin. Period. You're right. In the final analysis he was the vapid egomaniac everyone thought he was. They say up until the end he felt certain a deal would be struck where he could be brought back and even his own people thought he was out of touch, he even asked the redshirts to go home after he brought them to Bangkok thinking it would expedite the process - in a recorded video call to the redshirt camp he used the analogy of them being his boat and carrying him across the ocean, and now he had reached the mountain and would have to walk up alone. What an ass. Who knows what the conversation was behind the scenes but we know the junta spoke of seizing the rest of his assets as well as inferred threats towards his son and other family members - none of whom can leave the country.

 

Anyway, we can't go into detail here criticizing events. There's no doubt Suthep and the general were in the same camp pressing for use of force against the redshirts in 2010. And so far the most of the PDRC's goals have been met. It will be a long time before any of us have a good idea of what's actually going down.

 

I'm waiting to see how this pans out. There has not been any mass resistance, but there are some disturbing things being hinted at. We shall see.

[cavanami]

...look at what the military did the last did they staged a coup...says a lot and makes it easy to see the real power(s) behind the smoke and mirrors...

[Flashermac]

I'd love to get a peek at a history of Thailand written 25 years from now.

 

BTW yesterday was the 72nd anniversary of the "revolution" that ended the absolute monarchy. Some of the descendants of the plotters appeared in public to plead for democracy etc etc. What a pile of poop! The 1932 "revolution" was a military coup conducted by little more than 100 junior officers and a handful of civil servants, who quickly decided that the King had been right: the country was in no way ready for democracy. Within a few years, the civil servants had been pushed out and the military took over the government. Since "democracy" began with a military coup, the Thai military was left with a belief that they had the "right" to intervene whenever they thought a civilian government was failing. I was as surprised as anyone by the recent coup, since I thought the country had got over that. Obviously, I was wrong.

[robaus]

I'd love to get a peek at a history of Thailand written 25 years from now.

 

 

Looks like you supporters of the military dictatorship may be on the wrong side of history.

 

US cuts more Thailand aid and may move Cobra Gold exercise to Australia...and Thailand's 2nd biggest investor EU ($41bn) cuts back economic ties.

 

Win, win..I'm in Pattaya consoling the tilaks while the US navy is in Darwin helping out with my taxes.

 

 

https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/world/a/24313206/us-cuts-more-thailand-aid-considers-moving-exercises/

 

US cuts more Thailand aid, considers moving exercises

AFP

June 25, 2014, 6:01 am

 

Washington (AFP) - The United States said Tuesday it has suspended more assistance to Thailand in response to a military coup and was considering moving a major regional exercise out of the kingdom.

 

Washington has blocked $4.7 million in security-related aid to Thailand, which accounts for roughly half of its $10.5 million in annual assistance to the longtime ally, State Department official Scot Marciel said in testimony to Congress.

 

The United States swiftly rebuked Thailand's military after it defied warnings not to intervene in the political chaos. The State Department announced that it had frozen $3.5 million in aid just one day after the May 22 coup.

 

The additionally suspended assistance has included a US-sponsored firearms training program for the Thai police and a study trip to the United States for senior Thai police officers, another US official said.

 

Marciel said that the United States was also considering moving next year's Cobra Gold -- one of the largest US military exercises and a key element in the US strategy of pivoting power to Asia.

 

The United States and Thailand have held the annual exercises together since 1980, this year involving some 13,000 participants from US-friendly nations across the region.

 

"We'll certainly be looking at it very closely. It will depend partly on what happens on the ground there," Marciel said in response to a question.

 

Representative Steve Chabot, the chair of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Asia, said that exercises in Thailand "could clearly send the wrong message" to Thailand and around the world "in light of the repressive nature" of the junta.

 

Chabot called on President Barack Obama's administration to study moving the 2015 exercises, generally held early each year, to Darwin, Australia, where some 2,500 US Marines are deploying as part of the pivot to Asia.

 

- 'Clear' support for democracy -

 

Thailand has been in turmoil since 2006 when the military overthrew elected prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a billionaire turned populist champion of the poor who has shaken Bangkok's elite and its allies in the army.

 

The military has clamped down harder with the latest coup. Army chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha has suspended the constitution, assumed sweeping powers and smothered dissent.

 

While some supporters of the "Yellow Shirt" protest movement have called for changes to dilute the role of elections, Marciel said he believed that Thais broadly supported democracy.

 

If Thailand does not restore freedoms and allow elections, "over time there will be more and more Thai people who will look for opportunities to express their unhappiness," Marciel said.

 

"Can't really put a timeframe on it, but I do think the majority of Thai people have made clear they want democracy and certainly that's our view as well," he said.

 

http://online.wsj.com/articles/eu-scales-back-ties-with-thailand-1403549907

 

EU Scales Back Ties With Thailand

Bloc Will Put Signing of Political Pact on Hold, Suspend Official Visits After Coup

 

LUXEMBOURG—The European Union will scale back political ties with Thailand following the recent coup, putting on hold the signing of a political pact and suspending official visits, the bloc said Monday.

 

At a meeting of foreign ministers in Luxembourg, the EU also signaled it will freeze talks on a possible trade deal and said it could announce further penalties if the situation in Thailand deteriorates.

 

In a statement, the foreign ministers expressed "extreme concern" about the recent developments. The bloc urged Thailand's new authorities to release political detainees and to refrain from further arrests and remove censorship.

 

"Fully functioning democratic institutions must be brought back to ensure the protection and welfare of all citizens," the EU said.

 

Thailand's army chief announced last month that the military had taken power, two days after the army declared martial law amid a political conflict between supporters and opponents of ousted Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

 

Last November, the EU gave initial approval to a political agreement with Thailand that also could have paved the way for a new trade accord. Negotiations on a trade deal had already started.

 

The foreign ministers said "official visits to and from Thailand have been suspended" and that the bloc won't sign the political agreement—the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement—until "a democratically elected government is in place."

 

The bloc said "other agreements will, as appropriate, be affected." Member states have started reviewing their military ties with Thailand, the EU said. An official said no dates are being considered for resuming trade talks.

 

"The EU will keep its relations with Thailand under review and will consider further possible measures, depending on circumstances," the bloc said.

 

The EU is the second-biggest investor in Thailand and the Asian country's third-biggest trade partner, with exports and imports valued at almost €30 billion, or about $41 billion, according to the most recent annual figures.

[cavanami]

No worries...the CIA has money to burn...

[robaus]

Thailand has had more coups than any other country during the last 100 years.

 

According to Channel NewsAsia Thailand has seen at least 19 successful or attempted coups since 1932.

 

Interesting timeline...

 

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/key-dates-in-thailand-s/1117264.html

 

Maybe the military are trying for an entry in the Guinness Book of Records.

 

Maybe this is why Thailand is still in the 3rd world.