I went jogging down Vipawadee Rangsit Road, then along Suthisarn and back up Rachada to Lad Prao at about 7am (Bangkok time) this morning. There were soldiers at the Suthisarn/Vipawadee intersection, but no sign of anything else. The continuation of Vipawadee, towards Din Daeng, seemed to have been cordoned off by sodiers, but then there is an army barracks down there. Where on Din Daeng did the clashes take place?
From my own recent observation, Thai sites and blogs have been actively discussing (and vehemently condemning)how certain groups of people/networks have been trying to damage and even abolish ‘the institution’ (in Thai : “Lom Lang Sataban”). Taking into accounts news abt a number of ordinary, relatively powerless Thais being punished for lese majeste, I wonder why no one raises the issue of the ‘instistution’ using its immense power and extended ‘network’ to shut up the people ruthlessly. Well, it’s just a rhetorical question though..the answer is obvious enough. To be honest, I myself am not againt the instituition per se at all if only it could remain neutral, open and refrain from abusing its position (either directly or indirectly) for its own benefits. But this is not the case otherwise how could people are thrown in jail simply because they want to criticize it. The gov could have accepted the recent proposal abt LM reform by academics. “The institution” could have come out to make it clear that it does not want LM law to be used to ‘protect’ its reputation, but all we see is ‘silence’ and more people being jailed for LM.
Yet, I’m not sure if Red-shirted people’s victory (if they really could win) will do good to Thailand’s LM situation. MR T(the big sponsor of Red Shirt Rally this time?) is clearly conservative and does not seem to bother much abt the plight of the underdog or those who are maltreated so I don’t see much hope in Red.
@Jason Geddes: what I meant to say is that although I have no personal malice agaist the King, I’m sick of being told (by mainstream media/discourses)in Thailand abt how great he is. Ben (above me) challenged people to provide a piece of evidence that shows the king as being involved in less than benevolent incidents.
of course, I couldn’t agree with u more abt someone allowing others to use LM in his name is equally ruthless or even more ruthless than those who directly order others to go to jail for no good reason.
re: comment 27
According to Dtv, some 49 people were injured at Ding Daeng and 6 were killed. The bodies were dragged away by security forces. Will the bodies be returned to families or will their families be left to wonder about their whearabouts as in past clashes (’73, ’76 & ’91) with the State?
4.19 am. Soldiers used teargas on red shirt protesters at Dindaeng, Bangkok. News of the crack down started to come in. Supporters of the group, in the chat rooms, talked about the frustration that the media paid little attention to their plight. They said a number of them were injurged and some were dead but that the soldiers took away the bodies. Some women heard crying on the Dstation broadcast, belonging to the Red group, that she saw soldiers killed protesters and urged for retaliation. The Red suporters complained bitterly about media not double checking information from the government and the soldiers that the Red supporters filred tear gas at the soldiers which forced soldiers to use real ammunitions on them. Reuter said the soldiers admitted they did shoot the protesters.
The current events in Thailand hardly relate to Thailand being a fortunate country at all.
The fact that there are people inThai jails under the charge of lèse majesté makes an absolute mockery of what you have just posted Z.Unless of course your claiming that they have been wrongly charged?
And sorry but a king that has influence to remove the charges of lèse majesté against his own people or foreigners but doesn’t, is as guilty as any other person whom uses that law to repress free speech.
Looks like the amry have moved on the Reds… Good about time something happened… Millions of Baht is now lost from tourists leaving the country… Taskin could have picked a a better time … by the way it is the biggest holiday period in the Thai calender…
-Kevin Rudd, who flew back to Australia after he left for only 2 hours, felt disappointed by the incident. He believed that this meeting will be the framework that will help relieve the current world economic crisis. And, hope that the next meeting will be held in a mean time.
– John Key, NZ PM, said that he is not confident that whether or not Thailand can held another meeting in the mean time.
It’s all hard work here in our suburban moobarn. Everyone is busy preparing 5,000 servings of somtam to distribute free to the red shirts tomorrow lunchtime. It wasn’t easy acquiring the necessary quantity of laxatives (we cleaned out every pharmacy for miles around), but we think we may have done enough to secure at least one day relatively peaceful day for the celebration of Songkran.
Yes, you put it beautifully. I say in all sincerity that I really couldn’t agree more! I’ve been in Thailand for many years and never pass up an opportunity to read or listen to authoritative sources on royal doings (the Nation, Bangkok Post, Thai TV, Thai radio). Over the years I’ve been here, I really can’t recall any criticism of substance of his Majesty at all -indeed, I could say the same of the crown prince and princesses. Thailand is a fortunate nation indeed . Long Live the King!
For those like myself who would like to see the Red Movement develop into a real force for change, Taksin’s broadcasts are simply ‘bad news.’ They do nothing but associate the Reds with a flawed personality, at a time when the movement needs to be seen as one with policies and a vision for the future -something the public can relate to and which will elicit support.
So…… now that they’ve got out attention perhaps the Reds cold let us know what they really have to offer. What do they see as a viable alternative to the current political system? What function do they see for the monarchy?
The role for Taksin -if the Reds are to evolve into a real political force- is surely to step aside, offer moral support, and let the identity of this new political movement find its form and direction from the organic support it enjoys amongst so many. If the Reds are just ‘Taksin’s People’ then they are surely going nowhere in the long run.
-Kevin Rudd, who flew back to Australia after he left for only 2 hours, felt disappointed by the incident. He believed that this meeting will be the framework that will help relieve the current world economic crisis. And, hope that
– John Key, NZ PM, said that he is not confident that whether or not Thailand can held another meeting in the mean time.
“…You show me one single incident when the King has ordered, or been seen to be responsible for the distress or harming of a single individual throughout the entire duration of his reign?”
Someone in such a high position of power (and those surrounding him)will certainly be very careful not to leak out any evidence that reveals the discrepencies between reality and carefully constructed images. Despite this, those who spend just a little time researching abt Thailand will find plenty of evidence which suggests that Thai people have been forced to believe in only one side of the story.
I wonder when this website will start reporting on some of the Reds attacking and injuring people at the Thai Ministry of the Interior. Blood was everywhere. One person is said to have been kidnapped by the protesters. Some of them are just as bad as the yellows.
Facebook 
Twitter 
Soundcloud 
Youtube 
Rss
Crackdown on the reds?
Seem like Abhisit and the army willing to do a deja vu this time.
Let’s find out how deep the rabbit hole really is…
Crackdown on the reds?
I went jogging down Vipawadee Rangsit Road, then along Suthisarn and back up Rachada to Lad Prao at about 7am (Bangkok time) this morning. There were soldiers at the Suthisarn/Vipawadee intersection, but no sign of anything else. The continuation of Vipawadee, towards Din Daeng, seemed to have been cordoned off by sodiers, but then there is an army barracks down there. Where on Din Daeng did the clashes take place?
On lèse majesté
From my own recent observation, Thai sites and blogs have been actively discussing (and vehemently condemning)how certain groups of people/networks have been trying to damage and even abolish ‘the institution’ (in Thai : “Lom Lang Sataban”). Taking into accounts news abt a number of ordinary, relatively powerless Thais being punished for lese majeste, I wonder why no one raises the issue of the ‘instistution’ using its immense power and extended ‘network’ to shut up the people ruthlessly. Well, it’s just a rhetorical question though..the answer is obvious enough. To be honest, I myself am not againt the instituition per se at all if only it could remain neutral, open and refrain from abusing its position (either directly or indirectly) for its own benefits. But this is not the case otherwise how could people are thrown in jail simply because they want to criticize it. The gov could have accepted the recent proposal abt LM reform by academics. “The institution” could have come out to make it clear that it does not want LM law to be used to ‘protect’ its reputation, but all we see is ‘silence’ and more people being jailed for LM.
Yet, I’m not sure if Red-shirted people’s victory (if they really could win) will do good to Thailand’s LM situation. MR T(the big sponsor of Red Shirt Rally this time?) is clearly conservative and does not seem to bother much abt the plight of the underdog or those who are maltreated so I don’t see much hope in Red.
On lèse majesté
@Jason Geddes: what I meant to say is that although I have no personal malice agaist the King, I’m sick of being told (by mainstream media/discourses)in Thailand abt how great he is. Ben (above me) challenged people to provide a piece of evidence that shows the king as being involved in less than benevolent incidents.
of course, I couldn’t agree with u more abt someone allowing others to use LM in his name is equally ruthless or even more ruthless than those who directly order others to go to jail for no good reason.
Crackdown on the reds?
re: comment 27
According to Dtv, some 49 people were injured at Ding Daeng and 6 were killed. The bodies were dragged away by security forces. Will the bodies be returned to families or will their families be left to wonder about their whearabouts as in past clashes (’73, ’76 & ’91) with the State?
Crackdown on the reds?
4.19 am. Soldiers used teargas on red shirt protesters at Dindaeng, Bangkok. News of the crack down started to come in. Supporters of the group, in the chat rooms, talked about the frustration that the media paid little attention to their plight. They said a number of them were injurged and some were dead but that the soldiers took away the bodies. Some women heard crying on the Dstation broadcast, belonging to the Red group, that she saw soldiers killed protesters and urged for retaliation. The Red suporters complained bitterly about media not double checking information from the government and the soldiers that the Red supporters filred tear gas at the soldiers which forced soldiers to use real ammunitions on them. Reuter said the soldiers admitted they did shoot the protesters.
On lèse majesté
The current events in Thailand hardly relate to Thailand being a fortunate country at all.
The fact that there are people inThai jails under the charge of lèse majesté makes an absolute mockery of what you have just posted Z.Unless of course your claiming that they have been wrongly charged?
And sorry but a king that has influence to remove the charges of lèse majesté against his own people or foreigners but doesn’t, is as guilty as any other person whom uses that law to repress free speech.
Crackdown on the reds?
Looks like the amry have moved on the Reds… Good about time something happened… Millions of Baht is now lost from tourists leaving the country… Taskin could have picked a a better time … by the way it is the biggest holiday period in the Thai calender…
Crackdown on the reds?
Mariner – Why would Thaksin step aside? It’s his money bankrolling the whole op.
Crackdown on the reds?
announcement at the rally site….
more than 30 redshirt people shot during attack by soldiers (or blueshirts?) on a group of some hundreds of protesters at Din Daeng
tear gas was used, the redshirts resisted, the soldiers started shooting and then retreated and have gone
Crackdown on the reds?
This movement is diferrent from 14 October 1973 , May 1992, and PAD’s movement. Because I have never seen any royal image in Red shirt mob.
Crackdown on the reds?
00:20 Bangkok Local Time
-The protester seized some M-16 and Uzi from arm forces and handed them in to the police.
-There is a minor clash between the protester and arm forces at Din-Dang intersection.
Crackdown on the reds?
Matichon Reports that:-
-Kevin Rudd, who flew back to Australia after he left for only 2 hours, felt disappointed by the incident. He believed that this meeting will be the framework that will help relieve the current world economic crisis. And, hope that the next meeting will be held in a mean time.
– John Key, NZ PM, said that he is not confident that whether or not Thailand can held another meeting in the mean time.
link to the article: http://www.matichon.co.th/news_detail.php?newsid=1239542953&grpid=00&catid=06
East Asia Summit off; what next in Thai drama?
It’s all hard work here in our suburban moobarn. Everyone is busy preparing 5,000 servings of somtam to distribute free to the red shirts tomorrow lunchtime. It wasn’t easy acquiring the necessary quantity of laxatives (we cleaned out every pharmacy for miles around), but we think we may have done enough to secure at least one day relatively peaceful day for the celebration of Songkran.
On lèse majesté
Yes, you put it beautifully. I say in all sincerity that I really couldn’t agree more! I’ve been in Thailand for many years and never pass up an opportunity to read or listen to authoritative sources on royal doings (the Nation, Bangkok Post, Thai TV, Thai radio). Over the years I’ve been here, I really can’t recall any criticism of substance of his Majesty at all -indeed, I could say the same of the crown prince and princesses. Thailand is a fortunate nation indeed . Long Live the King!
Crackdown on the reds?
For those like myself who would like to see the Red Movement develop into a real force for change, Taksin’s broadcasts are simply ‘bad news.’ They do nothing but associate the Reds with a flawed personality, at a time when the movement needs to be seen as one with policies and a vision for the future -something the public can relate to and which will elicit support.
So…… now that they’ve got out attention perhaps the Reds cold let us know what they really have to offer. What do they see as a viable alternative to the current political system? What function do they see for the monarchy?
The role for Taksin -if the Reds are to evolve into a real political force- is surely to step aside, offer moral support, and let the identity of this new political movement find its form and direction from the organic support it enjoys amongst so many. If the Reds are just ‘Taksin’s People’ then they are surely going nowhere in the long run.
Crackdown on the reds?
Matichon Reports that:-
-Kevin Rudd, who flew back to Australia after he left for only 2 hours, felt disappointed by the incident. He believed that this meeting will be the framework that will help relieve the current world economic crisis. And, hope that
– John Key, NZ PM, said that he is not confident that whether or not Thailand can held another meeting in the mean time.
link to the article: http://www.matichon.co.th/news_detail.php?newsid=1239542953&grpid=00&catid=06
Crackdown on the reds?
Police & Military are to use force sometime after 10pm local time according to tv news. That’s about 30 minutes from now.
On lèse majesté
“…You show me one single incident when the King has ordered, or been seen to be responsible for the distress or harming of a single individual throughout the entire duration of his reign?”
Someone in such a high position of power (and those surrounding him)will certainly be very careful not to leak out any evidence that reveals the discrepencies between reality and carefully constructed images. Despite this, those who spend just a little time researching abt Thailand will find plenty of evidence which suggests that Thai people have been forced to believe in only one side of the story.
Crackdown on the reds?
I wonder when this website will start reporting on some of the Reds attacking and injuring people at the Thai Ministry of the Interior. Blood was everywhere. One person is said to have been kidnapped by the protesters. Some of them are just as bad as the yellows.