THAILAND'S POLITICAL MAZE тАУ A BEGINNERS GUIDE
from MSNBC:
http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/ ... 89630.aspx
"Bangkok's massive multi-million dollar airport terminal tonight resembles a night market.
It's teaming with yellow-clad protesters and lined with make-shift stalls selling badges,
t-shirts, stickers and jewelry, as well as food and drink.
Outside, the passenger drop-off zone is a sea of yellow protesters rattling their
plastic "clappers" as they listen to fiery speeches from the top of truck.
The approach road to the terminal is lined with cars that reflect the largely middle-class
character of the protesters тАУ the SUV is the vehicle of choice.
There are several security checks along the way, where guards wielding metal rods
and golf clubs stop and search approaching cars.
It feels like the anti-government protesters are settling in for the long-haul.
All flights remain suspended, and the estimated 3,000 passengers тАУ
most of them tourists тАУ stranded last night when the airport closed have
been moved to city-center hotels.
But who exactly are these protesters clad in yellow тАУ the color associated
with ThailandтАЩs ....................... тАУ who risk crippling Thailand's lucrative tourist industry?
And what do they want?"
read more...
http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/ ... 89630.aspx
and concludes:
"What do they want?
The PAD's leaders want the government replaced by "new politics,"
effectively doing away with the current democratic system and limiting
the electoral power of poorer voters, who they regard as ill-educated.
Instead, they want 70 percent of parliament to be appointed by worthy people тАУ
such as themselves. The government would be headed by........................
whose ............................. is everywhere at PAD rallies."
read more...
"One seasoned journalist summed it up nicely: "Covering this crisis is like
trying to explain the unexplainable, without mentioning the unmentionable."
for unedited copy:
http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/ ... 89630.aspx
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tj