Rumors Swirl...

Once again, rumors of an imminent counter-coup are a-swirl in the capital. Life in Thailand; gotta love it...what else can you do?

[Sen Yai]

Unsubstantiated gossip.....

More importantly, I heard that Screwboys (X) has relocated from it's new/old Soi Twilight spot back to it's spiritual home on Patpong 2.

Life in Thailand; gotta love it...what else can you do?

[dab69]

do they swirl counter-clockwise south of the equator

[ikarus]

Once again, rumors of an imminent counter-coup are a-swirl in the capital. Life in Thailand; gotta love it...what else can you do?
BG, since you told us you have retired, did you consider to get out of BKK for the summer?
It may prove to be hot in more than one sense of the word...

I did not say I had retired. I said I was thinking about it. SERIOUSLY thinking about it...

I do hope they send troops to Pattaya in case the boys are revolting!

[ikarus]

Thursday June 14, 3:01 PM
Thai PM Dismisses Rumours of New Coup, Emergency Decree
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BANGKOK, June 14 Asia Pulse - Thailand's Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont on Thursday denied rumours of an imminent new coup and a planned enforcement of a state of emergency decree in the capital, dismissing both as groundless.
The rumour swirled throughout the capital on Wednesday, plunging the stock index by 2.26 per cent as some investors sold blue-chip stocks in response to rising political tensions following anti-coup demonstrations by supporters of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

However, senior military leaders and officials also dismissed the rumour.

The premier assured the public that it is unnecessary to extend the state of emergency decree enforced in the south for nearly two years to Bangkok.

"The Decree will be the last resort that this government will implement to resolve the problem," the prime minister said.

He also asked the public not to believe unconfirmed reports but to monitor news disseminated from state media.

Meanwhile, Bangkok police chief Pol. Lt-Gen. Adisorn Nonsi called a meeting of senior police officers from all 88 police stations in the capital to discuss the situation regarding a planned anti-coup mass rally this Saturday.

In addition, Gen. Adisorn said, he had assigned all police stations in Bangkok to set up checkpoints targeting taxis and motorcycles to prevent them from carrying and otherwise mobilising rallygoers to join the demonstration at the capital's traditional protest venue, Sanam Luang.

However, the core protest leaders shunned talks with police on Thursday despite an earlier suggestion by Pol. Gen. Seree Temeeyaves, National Police chief in an attempt to prevent the current demonstration from worsening this weekend.

Police said they preferred not to use force on the demonstrators even though 11 police officers were injured so far during the previous rally.

(TNA-OANA)


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[ikarus]

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Thailand to deploy 13,000 troops at protest
Posted: 15 June 2007 0035 hrs


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A supporter of Thailand's ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra attends a rally.

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тАв Thai PM hopes talks will defuse anti-government demos







BANGKOK : About 13,000 troops will be deployed at a planned anti-government protest, a military spokesman said on Thursday, amid warnings authorities will take a tougher stand than at earlier rallies.

Bangkok's entire 22,000-strong police force will also be on alert during the protest planned for Saturday, said Colonel Thanathip Sawangsaeng, a spokesman for the military's Internal Security Operation Command (ISOC).

"Police will be responsible for the rally site, but at intersections soldiers will be deployed alongside police to prevent a third party from instigating unrest," he said.

Soldiers will also be deployed outside government buildings and other sensitive areas, he added.

He insisted that police and soldiers will avoid using force against the protesters as long as the rally is peaceful and orderly.

Police plan to photograph every protester attending the rally and set up checkpoints across the city to deter people from attending, said Bangkok police chief Lieutenant General Adison Noncie.

The announcement came after a top-level security meeting with military leader General Sonthi Boonyaratglin and his hand-picked Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont.

An official who attended the meeting said the government believed police had been too lenient at earlier protests, which have been staged every night for nearly two weeks.

"Police will arrest them if their march is not orderly," the official said on condition of anonymity.

Some 10,000 protesters rallied in Sanam Luang plaza near the Grand Palace on Thursday night to demand the military-installed government's ouster, police said, adding there were no reports of violence.

Organisers, who include allies of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, deposed in last year's coup, put the number at 20,000.

Organisers said Thaksin, who has remained in exile since the September coup, would speak live to protesters at a rally at the plaza on Friday, via video or audio link.

Thailand has been locked in turmoil for the last 18 months, but political tension rose sharply after an anti-corruption team on Monday froze US$1.5 billion of Thaksin's assets.

The ousted premier responded by threatening to return to Thailand for the first time since the coup, leading Sonthi to warn that Thaksin's life could be in danger if he returned home. - AFP/de







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[ikarus]

Thai protesters in fresh anti-junta rally

Photo: AFP
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BANGKOK (AFP) - Supporters of ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra late Saturday began gathering under an enormous security deployment for what they vowed would be a major protest against the junta that ousted him.

The demonstration comes one day after Thaksin addressed thousands of supporters in a videotaped speech from London, urging the junta to push ahead with elections set for December and calling for reconciliation after months of political turmoil.

More than 10,000 police were mobilised to oversee security for the protest, while 13,000 soldiers were on standby in case of any violence, officials said.

The military also beefed up security around its nearby headquarters, blocking the road with metal barricades and surrounding the compound with barbed wire, said police spokesman Colonel Supisarn Bhakdinarinach.

About 150 police were also guarding the nearby home of the king's top adviser, Prem Tinsulanonda, who is accused of masterminding the coup.

By 6:30 pm (1230 GMT), police said about 2,000 people had gathered for the rally in a plaza near the gilded spires of the Grand Palace, under dark skies that threatened rain.


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Organisers say they expect 50,000 to join the rally, which is due to last late into the night.

Army-installed Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said Saturday he was ready to hold talks with "any parties" to bring an end to the political upheaval that has rocked the country.

"I am always ready to talk to any parties to solve problems," Surayud said on Thai television.

But the protest organisers vowed to press ahead with the rally.

"The junta should get out. Negotiation is good, but as long as the junta remains in power, it is useless," said protest organiser and Thaksin ally Jatuporn Prompan.

Earlier in the week, the junta gave Thaksin approval to return home for the first time since the bloodless September 2006 coup and fight to regain 1.5 billion dollars in assets frozen by Thailand's powerful anti-graft body.

On Friday, the 57-year-old deposed premier called for new polls and vowed to defend himself against allegations of corruption, in only his second address to the Thai people since his ouster.

The assets freeze was just one of several legal blows Thaksin has suffered in recent weeks.

A powerful anti-corruption team set up by the military recommended in May that he and his wife Pojaman face charges over a controversial land purchase.

Also last month, the military-appointed Constitutional Tribunal dissolved his Thai Rak Thai (TRT) and barred Thaksin from politics for five years due to election law violations.

The legal action prompted a diverse group of his supporters, democracy advocates and anti-poverty campaigners to stage nightly rallies in Bangkok against the junta. Saturday's protest is expected to be the largest yet.

The military has justified the coup by saying Thaksin, a self-made billionaire, was corrupt, and promised to investigate alleged graft during his five years in office.

In the weeks after Thaksin's ouster, the military blocked foreign news broadcasts showing him and banned radio stations supportive of him.

The generals also warned the Thai media against reporting about the ex-premier, but some television stations have shown images from the rally Friday and reported on Thaksin's speech.