Quote:
Originally Posted by Oliver
Not exactly; I wonder what the junta's response would be to a few thousand Red Shirts behaving like the Suthep mob did in Bangkok?
It's no use running away from the fact that Thailand is now a military dictatorship, whatever the perceived shortcomings of previous governments. There is imprisonment without trial, torture and media censorship on an unprecedented scale....and who believes that the junta will ever willingly allow free and fair elections?
And no, as I said in my post, I don't blame GB for being nervous. If my boyfriend weren't a Thai, I'd stay clear of the place entirely. Tourist boycotts would bring the junta to its senses....but I'm not holding my breath.
We saw Red Shirt mobs in Bangkok before, so we know exactly what the response was and don't need to speculate. In my opinion, the initial leniency shown back then was part of the problem, for if you let a mob entrench (literally) itself in the heart of your capital city, you'll ultimately need deadly force to expel them. That's exactly what happened in 2010, law enforcement was too lenient in the beginning and then weren't able to break up the occupation without bloodshed.
The PDRC protests were much different, at least from my personal impressions: They didn't entrench themselves, they didn't intimidate people living or working in the areas they occupied, they didn't loot any shops and there was a street carnival atmosphere more than anything else. Without the cowardly grenade attacks on harmless protesters including little children, all this would have been a very peaceful affair, although "bad for business" because it did cause quite some inconvenience to many residents.
There won't be any tourist boycott and you know it. Even if the lies you're spreading were true, which they aren't, most people wouldn't give a damn as long as they can still go about their holiday unharmed. Most Thai people don't want democracy and their wish has been granted. Get over it.