Bangkok Post tuesday 7 march

[lonelywombat]

from the Bangkok Post website tuesday 0200GMT


PAD readies for showdown
Government House cabinet meet on March 14 targeted

POST REPORTERS

In a direct challenge to caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) last night called for a massive demonstration and a march to Government House next Tuesday when the caretaker cabinet holds its regular meeting.

Anti-Thaksin demonstrators were told to gather at Sanam Luang on the night of Monday, March 13, to "rehearse" for Tuesday's march.

"We wish to make an appointment with you, people from all walks of life, to assemble for a march from Sanam Luang to Government House on the morning of Tuesday, March 14, 2006, which is the day the cabinet meets. We will move out at 7am, which is daytime, as challenged by Pol Lt-Col Thaksin," PDA core member Pibhop Dhongchai told the cheering crowd of about 30,000 people last night.

During the lead-up to the March 14 protest march, the PAD plans to hold activities at Sanam Luang from 4pm to midnight everyday from today until Friday, and from 4pm to 2am on Saturday and Sunday.

In support of the plan, the State Enterprise Relations Confederation, an umbrella group of over 40 state enterprise labour unions, plans to call an assembly on March 13, which will pave the way for a massive work stoppage.

State enterprise workers are not allowed by law to join a general assembly, thus such a gathering is tantamount to a strike.

Union leaders will meet on Thursday to discuss details of a plan that is expected to disrupt the government's move to privatise water and power utilities. They have already agreed to stop collecting water and power fees for two months.

The Network of Power and Water Supplies Protection said it would ask workers of water and electricity agencies to hold a massive strike next week. The work stoppage would delay collection of utility fees and bill-handling for March and April.

"Although private firms are partly responsible for collecting fees, our staff oversee the handling of data and meter checks. When no information is supplied, no bills can be made. Consumers can then use the money to foot other bills instead," network chairman Pian Yongnoo said.

He assured that consumers would not be slapped with late-payment fees or face utility supply cuts.

He said the network has also issued a demand for Mr Thaksin to resign without any conditions.

The network has also called on state enterprise workers to take leave from work and participate in the anti-Thaksin rally at Sanam Luang.

Labour leader Somsak Kosaisuk said the proposal to stop collecting utility fees was a form of protest against Mr Thaksin for his failure to pay taxes on the sale of Shin Corp shares.

Meanwhile, PAD leaders yesterday decided to stick to the strategy of prolonged resistance after considering a few other possibilities, including marching to Government House late at night or moving to Government House today to pressure the cabinet during its meeting.

Maj-Gen Chamlong Srimuang, one of the PAD leaders, said early yesterday that the demonstrators should stay put at Sanam Luang rather than moving to Government House.

"The rally isn't a tipping point. But it will make the public see the truth. Several groups of well-respected people have stepped out against Mr Thaksin. So this is a test of endurance," he said.

Scores of leading academics and members of the social elite have called on Mr Thaksin to resign so as to end the political impasse. The latest call came from senior scholars from the fields of sociology and anthropology including Chalardchai Ramitanondh, Ekawit na Talang and Charnvit Kasetsiri.

Security was stepped up at Government House for fear that the protesters might besiege it during today's cabinet meeting.

A highly-placed source at the Royal Thai Police Office said that besides Special Branch police officers, some 200 border patrol police from Kanchanaburi province and commandos from the Crime Suppression Division have been deployed at Government House.

Another 200 officers are on stand-by at the Border Patrol Police headquarters in the Saphan Kwai area, while some 200 police commandos have been stationed at Lat Phrao.

Meanwhile, Mr Thaksin said in Khon Kaen yesterday that he did not follow the Sanam Luang rally closely on Sunday night, and went to bed around 10pm.

Mr Thaksin said he had no problem with the rally as long as it stayed within legal limits and protesters did not damage state property or breach individual rights.

"But they are wrong for telling me to resign first so they can stop moving. If I quit, both democratic government and people's power would be meaningless and any future prime ministers would have to resign if forced by protesters under the kia sia (trade-off) system. I am adhering to decent democratic principles," Mr Thaksin said. He said he had taken too many steps back already and would stick to his principles now.

He added that the elite group had every right to petition His Majesty the King to install an interim prime minister.

Army HQ primed for any signs of trouble

The army, whose headquarters is in the middle of the route taken by protesters rallying against caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, is preparing for self-defence and peace-keeping operations should anything untoward happen.

Army commander-in-chief Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin has deployed 120 anti-aircraft artillery soldiers and military police as well as trained dogs inside the army headquarters on Ratchadamnoen avenue.

Soldiers stood guard along the fence while all gates were locked as the anti-Thaksin rallygoers were passing by from Sanam Luang to Government House on Sunday night.

Maj-Gen Charay Anuparp, army secretary, explained that the preparations were only defensive and, if anything seemed as if it was going to get out of hand, the army would first negotiate.

According to a source, barbed wire was also prepared to block protesters if they tried to break into the army headquarters.

The army has a live mobile broadcasting unit from its TV Channel 5 inside the headquarters in case of emergency.

Gen Sonthi said yesterday he considered the headquarters to be in a vulnerable position but was relieved and confident of safety as the protesters had proved peaceful on Sunday night.

The protesters were unlikely to get the military involved and the military would not let that happen either, he said.

Another source revealed that Gen Sonthi also ordered his soldiers to be ready for action if a state of emergency was announced. Whenever there was an anti-Thaksin protest, Gen Sonthi and his strategic and intelligence staff monitored the situation at headquarters, the source said.

Similar Threads:

• BIRTHDAY BUFFET PLUS BOY BINGO MARCH 22nd TUESDAY
• Tuesday March 18th Uniform Bar Party & My Club Visit
• Tuesday March 11 - Oscars Quiz night
• Tuesday 14th March: all bars will be closed
• Bangkok Post monday 14 march 0500 GMT

"People's Alliance for Democracy".

What a crock. They are trying to bring down a democratically-elected government by completely non-democratic means. I'm getting sick and tired of these people.

"People's Alliance for Democracy".

What a crock. They are trying to bring down a democratically-elected government by completely non-democratic means. I'm getting sick and tired of these people.

What better example of democracy and free society than the people being able to demonstrate against a governement that they feel has betrayed them? As a citizen of a country where the leaders feel that any action they take, no matter how ill-thought, immoral or illegal, should be accepted with smiles and gratitude I applaud the PAD for trying to make their voices heard. Their voices are crying for the resignation of one man.

Whenever one person feels that they alone are capable of a certain task, they are at the least misguided - and at worst completely delusional. And if this one person does happen to make each and every decision for his party - and that party would be no more than an empty suit without its leader, then we may be looking at a fine line between democracy and dictatorship. If the party itself has a platform crafted by many and is, in fact, serving the best interests of the country, then it can once again sweep the country's election and choose a PM that does not hold him/herself to be a part that is greater than the whole.

All this is said as a generalization - I cannot speak of the political situation in Thailand with any more authority than what I have read in articles posted here and elsewhere.

Perhaps we Americans could tear our eyes away from NASCAR long enough to pry our fat asses out of our la-z-boys and try to reclaim our own democracy some day.

If I quit, both democratic government and people's power would be meaningless

Tell me, BG, how it is that "people power" belongs to Taksin?

It all sounds very arrogant to me. So he will wear everyone out with his billions? Maybe so. But now, finally the middle class is beginning to totter to the anti-Thaksin camp.

If I wanted Thailand to be like the USA I'd just move back there ;-|

Of course people have the right to protest and make their voices heard. But why should a prime minister step down because a group of people asks him too? Taksin was put in place by a democratic election. There are democratic ways to remove him.

Almost every leader of every country on the earth faces opposition. But the only thing that matters is democratic elections. If you don't like 'em, vote 'em out. If your numbers are insufficient to vote him out, well it's too bloody bad, isn't it?

I get the feeling these protesters would rather see a coup d'etat than uphold democracy.

Things sometime get done differently in Thailand. Anything can happen. But don't assume the worst. It could be that mothers will get together and decide someone is a bad example and vote him out.

The damage is done already. A re-election may not solve things, just prolong them.

Nixon knew when it was time to finally step down.

ArNolD is going fishing up to the land of sometimes very slow internet cafes.

[Carnarvon-old]

(...) Taksin was put in place by a democratic election. (...).

Sorry boygenious, he was NOT. He was rightfully declared by the ant-graft commission as NOT fit for being elected for having concealed most of his wealth. According to Thai electoral rules he should not have been elected for the very reason that the (good) laws put in place at that time were to prevent such kind of people to come to powerтАж

Very difficult to pretend he can be forced democratically from power now ; he controls the media and so many opposition MPтАЩs have registered with his TRT party (what a xenophobic nameтАж) in order to be on the right side of the power gameтАж

[Bob]

As a result of democratic (note: democracy doesn't mean what's morally right or what's fair) vote, Thakin became Prime Minister. That's a fact that can't be disputed (although everyone is free to call the voters stupid for voting Thai Rak Thai, I suppose - but remember that about 70% of them did!).
And, yes, he was charged with concealing his assets (that's a fact). And it's also a fact that the the charges were denied/dismissed by the highest court (although a close vote, for sure).
So, go ahead and argue he's a bad Prime Minister and he ought to voluntarily resign because some people would like him to do so. But arguing he isn't the legal Prime Minister is silly.

I, too, am tired of the "anti" people. I don't like Thaksin or Bush but I also am not about to support or vote for people who only espouse an anti-Thaksin/Bush program. I've read a few of Sondhi speeches and I'm still trying to figure out what the hell he stands for (other than he's another extremely rich jerk who happens to truly hate Shinawatra).

Thank you, Bob.

Carnavon: as nice as it is to see you post on a topic other than joiners fees and the Siam Thani, you are dead wrong. You may think the Thai people are children, too naive to pick up a newspaper, too disinterested to find out what is going on, and too prone to give their vote to the candidate that gives them 300 baht for it rather than 200 baht. Even if they are, they have voted Thaksin into power, and the vast majority want him to remain there. That\'s democracy. And in a democracy, the moron\'s vote is worth just as much as the university professor\'s.