Dictatorship unrest

The anti-coup protestors finally got their chance to protest outside the house of Prem Tinsulanonda tonight. Why is this old has-been so important for the protesters? Well, he's the #1 man for the King, and perceived as having a hand in organising the coup. You still can't protest against the King, but you can certainly attack his proxies. And I do so hope the old boy had laid on a collection of boys to help see him through those difficult hours -
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/07 ... 041969.php (http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/07/23/headlines/headlines_30041969.php)
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/07 ... 041977.php (http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/07/23/headlines/headlines_30041977.php)

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Yes, I saw this on BBC news this morning. More positive publicity for the Kingdom? I think not!

John,

I feel they have pushed the self destruct button quite a while ago.

And the ICT website got hacked with a pictuire of Thaksin and some scurrilous text replacing the usual crap for a short time. Wish i`d seen it lol

[Wesley]

I tend to like the King, Cronies excluded of course!

Wesley

[Lunchtime O'Booze]

I adored Manilla but when they ran that wacky couple-the Marcos crooks out of town it went right down hill. It certainly gave Bangkok a run for it's money in it's heyday.

I tend to like the King, Cronies excluded of course!

Wesley

Have you read The King Never Smiles? If not, you better reserve your opinion.

I have read "The King Never Smiles" and it would appear that the protester have too. Nothing major and political ever happens in Thailand without the the consent and/or involvement of the King, and Prem, who is gay, has been The King's proxy for decades.

[Marsilius]

I know that it's going over old ground, but reading "The King Never Smiles" certainly removes the rose-tinted spectacles and makes once rethink a few long-held preconceptions...

[bkkguy]

and Prem, who is gay


I didn't think you were allowed to say that?


He was so discreet that no one could ever expose his homosexuality, and so firm and disciplined that almost no one tried to.

bkkguy

Everyone knows that Prem is gay. Lese Majesty laws do not extend to him.

[Marsilius]

Those laws do, however, prevent me from repeating in specific detail a rumour that a friend who lives in Hat Yai tells me is spreading like wildfire in the south at present - that a very prominent Thai personage has actually died of an AIDS-related illness in Germany.

I'm not for a moment suggesting that such a thing might be true but, as an example of tracing how and how far such stories spread, I wonder whether anyone else has heard such a thing about any famous Thai person?

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My staff told me yesterday that a rumour is spreading in Bangkok that a certain regal person has died. Could this be the same person?

Yes. Around here, we call him "junior". No evidence so far that the rumor has any basis in truth. Most Thais I know hope it does, though.

[Marsilius]

Yes, I think that we are all talking about the same person. That person's mother is, I'm told, currently in Germany and that has added to the speculation.

Actually, she is back in Thailand now after a royal visit to Russia.

[Marsilius]

At least one internet source (http://people.monstersandcritics.com/ro ... erman_tour (http://people.monstersandcritics.com/royalwatch/news/article_1331574.php/Thai_Queens_German_tour)) certainly says that she was in Germany from 16 July until 21 before flying back direct to Bangkok... Quotation follows:



"Thailand's Queen Sirikit has met with the wife of the German President.

Sirikit was treated to a high tea with Eva Luise Koehler at Berlin's Bellevue Palace, the German Head of State's official residence.

The two women are both very active in charity work.

Eva is the patron of the German UNICEF committee, while Queen Sirikit recently launched an initiative to rid her country of poverty, the Foundation for the Supplementary Occupation and Related Techniques.

The monarch arrived in Germany on Monday (16.07.07) for a series of private and official engagements.

Today (18.07.07), she is set to be the official guest at a private dinner party hosted by the state premier, Edmund Stoiber.

She is also set to visit many exhibitions and cultural attractions before flying back to Bangkok on Saturday (21.07.07)."



If that is the case, any visit to Russia (from which you say she's now back) must have been very brief indeed!

She made a well-publicized state visit to Russia from July 2-11. I have no idea where she was between July 12-15, before visiting Germany July 16-21. But she arrived back in Thailand on July 22.

I heard the same death rumor early yesterday morning, and I'm half a world away from Thailand.

Boy, this thread is just BEGGING to be shut down, isn't it?

[TrongpaiExpat]

"That" rumor is running rampant in Bangkok. He better show his face on some photo-op and stop this, if he's alive.

[elephantspike]

The monarch arrived in Germany on Monday (16.07.07) for a series of private and official engagements.

Wait a minute, they are refering to HRH Queen Sikirit as "The Monarch"? Or did HMTK go to Germany on the 16th? I'm confused.

Who is rumored to have passed-on? HMTK or The Crown Prince?

The monarch arrived in Germany on Monday (16.07.07) for a series of private and official engagements.Wait a minute, they are refering to HRH Queen Sikirit as "The Monarch"? Or did HMTK go to Germany on the 16th? I'm confused. Who is rumored to have passed-on? HMTK or The Crown Prince?The problem is people are gun-shy of infringing the lese-majeste laws or thinking that posting in this Forum might. And someone mentioned "a regal person" when, arguably, the word "regal" pertains simply to Bhumi or Siri (in this context). The rumour is that the Crown Prince (who from his public pictures for the past few years many assume is HIV+) has died abroad (in Germany) and that while in Germany the Queen (Siri - his mum) visited him on his deathbed. You'd have to ask yourself why, if he's on his deathbed, she returned to Thailand, and if he's already dead you'd expect she'd have accompanied the body with full royal honours, so the rumour doesn't seem to have much internal consistency. That it is so persistent points largely to the real reason why every Monday has a sea of yellow t-shirts and expressions of "Long Live the King" - the underlying hope and real expression is "at least until the Crown Prince is dead"

I tend to like the King, Cronies excluded of course!

Wesley

Have you read The King Never Smiles? If not, you better reserve your opinion.

Yes we have been there before. Pay no heed to Manhole he is an avid reader of the National Enquirer (aren't we all) and other such illuminating publications, the King and I is one of his old American favourites, still fiction is entertaining no doubt about that.

Some irate rice farmers from out of town that Thaksin bought off when still in office for a mere few Baht decided to try and make a bit of noise, more like a stifled grunt. Business as usual.
One good thing Thaksin managed to do, ironically, was to alienate the Muslims in the South from his party, just think what would have been had they also been stupid enough to be bought off during the election.

I wonder when proportional representation will ever hit Asia (or even America)? It might be the saving grace of democracy in this region. Otherwise I tend to think it doesn't work here, as in America.

What are you saying, Ce-dickless, owner of the one-handed tackle? That The King Never Smiles is a work of fiction? Have you even read it?

HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn will tomorrow join his royal consort, HRH Princess Srirasmi, at Kasetsart University where she will receive a masters degree in Home Economics. The royal couple's son, HRH Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti, will also join the party. The university's office of public relations released the schedule yesterday. The crown prince will return from Sweden today. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/07 ... 042518.php (http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/07/26/headlines/headlines_30042518.php)