Stuck in Bangkok

[anakot]

Extract from this morning's Bangkok Post On Line

"ANALYSIS By Thitinan Pongsudhirak - The PAD is bent on creating the conditions of ungovernability and then to demand the ouster of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat on grounds that Thailand is ungovernable. Its tactics have warped into a blatant street campaign of intimidation and fear, of coercion and force. That the PAD has come this far in its thuggish ways is attributable to its powerful backing, without which its relative impunity in the face of flagrant violations of the law can hardly be explained. The PAD's latest antic at Suvarnabhumi airport will likely narrow its support base, especially in Bangkok as the capital reels from the longer-term impact of the airport closure to business confidence, but its remaining columns will still be deep in their resolve to get their way. "

Flight cancelled today. I suppose there are worse fates but being stuck here is still a piss off when you want to get back to work.

If I see one more picture of smirking PAD on screen I will scream. Can't wait to get out of LOS (Land of Smirks)

[Beachlover]

It's hard to see the logic behind the decision to blockade both airports.

I think either:

(A) It's a last ditch attempt... make or break. If it fails, they are finished. They know this and decided to take a huge gamble... we're yet to see if it will pay off.

or

(B) They simply don't realise the scale of the damage their actions are causing... and how much it has pissed people off and disrupted the activities of people and businesses. And how badly it will affect Bangkok.

Even if they win... the damage done to their organisation and to Thailand as a country is immense... Thailand's neighbours must be watching in glee at the self-destructive actions of the Thais... and waiting to accept the foreign investment and tourists they so badly want to take from Thailand.

I see Americans on CNN bitching quite heavily about how they are missing Thanksgiving Day because of this. I'd be surprised if some of the tourists/visitors haven't started to become violent or verbally abusive towards protesters.

Apparently foreigners are being bussed out of the airport now... what a frustrating experience... lining for hours with your bags for a bus and not knowing where you are being taken.

[Wazza]

Ian Williams of NBC (US):

None of this is openly discussed by the Thai media, which is shackled by strict l├иse-majest├й laws which make it a crime to offend the monarchy, but the future of the Chakri Dynasty goes to the heart of the current power struggle.

One seasoned journalist summed it up nicely: "Covering this crisis is like trying to explain the unexplainable, without mentioning the unmentionable."


And this is at the heart of this continuing dispute this is not only a country riven with factions

I think it's safe to say that India won't be taken up the tourist slack for a while.

[Beachlover]

I don't think that PAD care much about tourists, foreign investment, or the economic damage. They appear to have a single ambition to impose their own peculiar view of 'democracy' on Thailand. And while closing the airport may have been a serious miscalculation, I think this well financed and well organised movement are far from finished.

You may be right about that. I was trying to find a theory to explain the logic behind their decision making.

I just can't see how... after such an extraordinarily disruptive, unlawful, destructive action... PAD will continue to operate or wield much support at all.

But then again, this is Thailand where things are commonly "unexplainable".

Whilst their actions are not physically destructive, it's easy to see that the economic destruction goes into the tens of billions of baht. And the result will be businesses going belly up and massive loss of jobs and income for ordinary Thais.

I heard tourism accounts for 6% of the GDP. The TAT says this action will reduce visits by around 30%. Based on these assumptions we can predict that this single action, taken a few thousand people, has single handedly reduced Thailand's GDP by 2%.

This doesn't even account for the larger and more long-term effects like loss of business confidence, decrease in airline traffic, decreased foreign investment etc etc.

YEAH (right!) I agree with ALL of you ...

...NOT

Let's bring back democracy as soon as possible. purachai! close tourist hangouts. raid bars

let's bring back democracy, free speech, and TOXIN

TOXIN will straighten out all the problems in the rest of the world with thoise democratic governemnts,

see what he has to say about comparing HIS democracy with that of the UK's democracy ...


Thaksin hits back at UK: report

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has lashed out at the UK for revoking his visa -and vowed to return to Thailand as prime minister, Arabian Business reported on its website.

Arabian Business said Thaksin gave an exclusive interview, which will be published next Sunday, as UK would "feel sorrow" for revoking his visa.

Thasksin also accused the British government of not respecting its own democratic values.

The Nation

do any Brits in here wish to comment?

see what toxin is doing right now ...
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?fi ... sec=nation (http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/11/26/nation/2646001&sec=nation)

I beg to differ with you all. It's too obvious to me. I won't argue it except to say that the blame, IMHO, is, as Gordon Brown might say "CLEARLY" on the brother-in-law for refusing to negotiate the legitimate concerns of the protesters.

My opinion will not be changed. It is senseless to argue with me.

[fedssocr]

I am stuck here too. Was supposed to fly out tonight, am now booked for Monday morning. We'll see. We're all being held hostage by this mob of thugs. Thailand is finished as a tourist destination, at least in the near term.

I won't be back. Do you think Sondhi will pay my hotel bill for all the extra days I have to stay here? Or the thousands of other people who have no option to get away from this place? I am supposed to be at work Monday.

I am also a bit surprised the people stuck at the airport took it as well as they did. Maybe it's time for George Bush to send in some Marines to liberate us.

The word democratic to some means only an election. I think it is important to see that every advanced major democratic country has a balance of power and laws that forbid what happens here in Thailand. Look haw many relatives are appointed to positions of power. Illegal in most democracy. The military which is Not elected is very powerful politically.

In the USA when the President is elected, it is not popular vote. It is a electoral college which limits the states of great population.

In my view, the system used in Thailand is very corrupt and not really along democratic principles that work. To succeed there needs to have corruption eliminated and government be transparency. I think the PAD sees that something must change, but how to do it will be very difficult without struggle.

I think the PAD is looking long term.

How else can the government change and become effective for all Thais not just the rich government families?

[fedssocr]

I am stuck here too. Was supposed to fly out tonight, am now booked for Monday morning. We'll see. We're all being held hostage by this mob of thugs. Thailand is finished as a tourist destination, at least in the near term.

I won't be back. Do you think Sondhi will pay my hotel bill for all the extra days I have to stay here? Or the thousands of other people who have no option to get away from this place? I am supposed to be at work Monday.

I am also a bit surprised the people stuck at the airport took it as well as they did. Maybe it's time for George Bush to send in some Marines to liberate us.

what was the main reason you here ...1st time or 2nd in los ....

This is my 3rd time here. I was here on holiday including a week in Laos and 4-5 days in Cambodia. And altogether supposed to be 1.5 weeks in Thailand. Will now be 2 weeks in Thailand at least.

Thaksin is always right, just ask him!

[fedssocr]

sure I enjoy the sex aspects, but I spend my time doing mainly tourist things and shopping.

Next time maybe Vietnam. Or back to Europe, I haven't been there in a while.

The situation here is ridiculous and doesn't seem to be likely to reach a resolution any time soon. Maybe you can afford to lose your job. I can't.

[anakot]

This is about freedom of movement and has nothing to do with sex tourism so go and wash your mouth out and put a decent size dick in it and suck. AND ENJOY!

These Pricks Against Democracy (PAD) have hopefully signed their own death warrants and I look forward to seeing the piss weak military show some spine and throw them out so we can all go home.

Of course I'll be back and I won't be waiting for a 'stable Thai government' (oxymoron or real contradiction?)

Maybe I am wrong, but my theory is this:
The whole thing is caused by Taksin.
Taksin has been proven of curruption and conducting bussiness with conflicts of interest. However, he has this huge ego that he will never give in.
Taksin's supporters are largely uneducated farmers and lower class population in the north and rural areas. When Taksin was in power, he poured government money into these areas in order to gain popularity. However, the money spent might not be effective in helping these poor community due to curruption and lack of planning/supervision. Of course, these farmers don't understand what's going on.
The educated upper and middle class Thais know what Taksin is doing, but this class of people are in the minority and can never win the majority votes in a general election. This is why they are pushing this political movement to the extreme. Yes, sometimes a revolution is needed for the society to progress.

Pattaya Male, get real!

Thailand also has laws forbidding what is happening here - they are useless if the police refuse to enforce them and the military refuse to do their job.

Cronyism? Look at your own country and Haliburton. Who do you think Hamid Karzai worked for?

The electoral college? Look who they chose, against the wishes of the majority! And if that system was followed here, it would mean more votes to the outlying (PPP) areas and less to the urban (PAD) areas. Look at what the PAD has actually said it wants: the end of democracy, in any form, and a one party government - theirs.

[Davey612]

We all seem to talk as if we know what this is about.

But do we? To me, it is obvious in front of us: Take a look at what the color of the shirts imply. A simple power struggle between... Democracy? Maybe some roots before the last pre-Asian economic crisis (remember when they had to bent down and say sorry in front of...). But it is now back to the good old ways.

[Beachlover]

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/strand ... 72435.html (http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/stranded-australian-tourists-in-bangkok-urged-to-be-patient/2008/11/28/1227491772435.html)

Could be good news:

"Thailand's Tourism Minister Weerasak Kohsurat said on Thursday the government hoped it could begin flying thousands of stranded tourists home from military bases near the capital within 48 hours."


This is a bit of a joke:

"We are trying to do the best we can to resolve that inconvenience but I am much more concerned about their safety and security.

"They should stay in their hotel rooms and as best they can patiently await an improvement in their travel arrangements."

If you're stuck in Bangkok and as long as there aren't major riots on the streets, as if you would stay in your hotel room!

And apparently TAT has been putting people up in hotel rooms... so those of you who had to stay extra nights... are you able to claim the cost from TAT?