Hey Chuck Bao!

[Okla-homey]

...as our correspondent in the wild, wacky Kingdom of Siam, please dish on WTF has the natives stirred-up this time.

[47straight]

Stay safe CB

[bluedogok]

Stay safe CB

+1

[StoopTroup]

dey quazy ober dare.

[olevetonahill]

hes Holed up in his apartment with Lots of whiskey and Food
he aint Skeered .

[Chuck Bao]

Instead of pasting in a news article, I’ll just give you my opinion and an over-simplified version. Bear in mind that I generally side with the Red Shirts.

It is the same old Yellow Shirt (generally royalists/bureaucrats/elitists) versus Red Shirt (generally pro-democracy/provincial) thing. Our main worry – violence spilling out on the street – is finally happening.

Last year, the Yellow Shirts used large street protests, illegal occupation of Government House and Bangkok’s two airports to humiliate and essentially force out the government. The Red Shirts claim that 1) the courts were biased by consistently banning politicians and dissolving their political parties and 2) the ones who staged the 2006 coup were behind arm twisting of politicians and handing power over to the current illegitimate and puppet government.

The Red Shirts were angered by the Yellow Shirts saying that Thailand isn’t ready for democracy and that poor people in the provinces aren’t educated enough to vote properly. They were further angered by the failure of the current government to prosecute the leaders of the Yellow Shirts for their illegal activities last year and have vowed to follow the same tactics.

The situation is further complicated with ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra calling into Red Shirt rallies every day and promising over the weekend to return to Thailand and lead the Red Shirts in a “revolution” if the army cracks down on the protesters.

The Red Shirts are asking for a lot of things and some of it is not going to happen. However, I think they would all go home if the Abhisit government resigns, parliament dissolved and fresh elections called. In my opinion, this is the best solution. Let the people decide.

But, of course, the Yellow Shirts see it differently. So, here we are at a very dangerous crossroad.

[olevetonahill]

See Tole ya he wernt skeered.

[Chuck Bao]

hes Holed up in his apartment with Lots of whiskey and Food
he aint Skeered .

Yeah, what olevet said. As long as I have whiskey and food and no reason to go down the road where all hell broke lose this morning, I ain't skeered.

[Chuck Bao]

I didn’t cut and paste before, but I will now. This is a pretty good article describing the anguish and heartache of the Thai people over this unnecessary violence. It also shows some pretty shocking differences of opinion and why this issue will not easily be resolved.

DAY OF INFAMY
Central Bangkok a war zone
By Pravit Rojanaphruk
The Nation
Published on April 14, 2009

Festive holiday turned into a black nightmare

The bloodstained start to Songkran - which transformed large swathes of downtown Bangkok into urban guerrilla war zones, leaving dozens of people wounded - was marked by the first shots around the Din Daeng triangle before dawn.

Less than an hour later, the crackle of sporadic live gunfire from soldiers could still be heard, alternating with angry shouts from red-shirted, anti-government Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship (DAAD) protesters who refuse to simply retreat.

DAAD leaders claim some red-shirt protesters were killed during the clashes.

The government has denied a report that officials covered up protesters' deaths by removing the bodies in a GMC truck. It cited reports by hospitals that no one receiving treatment for injuries died.

Everyone, including me, has to run for cover every now and then.

"There can be no end if no one wants to admit defeat," says a motorcyclist who volunteered to drop this reporter off at the nearby hotspot. He says he is an off-duty police officer and his wife and children are among the demonstrators.

Protesters curse the military for firing real, not rubber, M16 bullets at them. Some were aimed at the sky, others apparently not.

Not everyone is sympathetic with the pro-Thaksin Shinawatra reds, however.

"They deserve it," says Pairoj Somjaipeng, a cabby in the area who supports the People's Alliance for Democracy, the nemesis of the reds.

"Last night they carried wooden clubs and other weapons. I think what the military did was right. And nobody died," he says.

"I want to ask how the reds love the King ... I think they love Thaksin more," he says, referring to the frequent allegation that the reds are out to destroy the royal institution.

The military side is led by Lt-Colonel Chinnuphan Rodsiri, who commands 200 or so troops dispatched from Aranyaprathet on the Thai-Cambodian border.

A lone monk defies the 200 armed soldiers, stepping out to address them with a loudspeaker at 6.40am, just a few metres away from the troops. He urges the soldiers not to shoot at people.

"This area has become lawless," Chinnuphan complains to me. "They shut the roads down and search people. Even the Asean Summit [last weekend], which was the face of the country, wasn't spared. Everyone demands their rights but do not know their responsibilities."

Soon another monk emerges on the other side of the triangle as the jittery soldiers shout. "How can a monk carry guns" cries one, as the monk slinks away.

Some distance beyond the front line of soldiers, groups of reds sit in front of Santiphab Park, or Peace Park. "We only have rocks, bottles and slingshots," says one. The two bottles nearby are Molotov cocktails, however.

On the other corner of the triangle, protesters claim they saw a driver of a bus full of red protesters get shot and collapse while trying to run over soldiers before dawn.

"Please help us," pleads one lady, in despair. "Please don't allow them to die in vain."

The reds no longer believe in much of what most of the local media report, as they are convinced that the media are anti-Thaksin and conclude that the reports of deaths must have been covered up or censored.

Protesters here and at other locations appear to be acting at least semi-independently of the DAAD leaders who are still holding out at Government House with supporters.

And as the day progresses and more shootings are seen and heard, more Molotov cocktails are being prepared at various spots.

Public buses were set ablaze at several sites, accompanied by the sound of M16s firing. At least three LPG gas tankers were commandeered by protesters by afternoon, but disaster was avoided. The shootings, clashes and burnings were disastrous enough.

A DAAD leader who asked not to be named tells this writer in the afternoon that the torching of Bangkok is virtually inevitable. "They have all the stuff prepared and we can't control them. People died, but the media censored the fact."

Protesters fight and retreat, soldiers shoot and advance. Victory Monument was abandoned, Sri Ayutthaya Road retaken, but the protesters - portrayed by most Thai media as a paid mob - regroup and resist.

Would they have risked their lives for Bt500 or Bt5,000 on Thai New Year's Day

The skirmishes and retreats and regroupings go on well into the evening as protesters scatter to some dozen pockets in the 2 or 3 square kilometres of downtown Bangkok.

Most shopping malls shut down on their own.

"This is guerrilla warfare," one foreign journalist tells me as we watch a scene so surreal, as if it came straight from some apocalyptic movie. But it was all real.

Some children, oblivious to the chaos falling on the city, are still seen splashing water as they would on any Songkran.

For many others it was red blood that had splattered, mixed with tears, irritation, anger, desperation or shock, depending on whom you ask.

[Chuck Bao]

This is long and just more of my own opinions.

I talked with my stock market strategist this afternoon. He is a Yellow Shirt and a very, very stubborn stock market bull. He is writing some stock market report for when the market reopens on Thursday. He hasn’t written it yet, but he was telling me that he wants to compare Thailand to previous political hiccups in Korea and Taiwan and make the point that political development goes hand-in-hand with the emergence of a middle class. In other words, he was telling me that the hope of Thailand is the middle class and not democracy. Be patient and democracy will come in time.

That is typical Yellow Shirt rhetoric.

It is frightening to me is that China is increasingly being seen by these “so-called educated” people as the new economic/political model. My colleague, who is Chinese-Thai is pretty jubilant about China emerging as a world superpower, challenging the US. Democracy isn’t so important to him, or so he thinks, as long as the government is pro business.

Maybe he has a point. I don’t know.

I’ve stated here before that I think this issue playing out in Thailand may play out other places in the world. We may not be just following Korea and Taiwan but setting a new trend that would have very serious consequences. I mean it is previously unheard of for middle class people to riot against democracy, like the Yellow Shirts did last year.

If the global economy continues to tank and more and more people are forced to rely on government handouts and force up tax rates, is a rebellion by the middle class not such a farfetched scenario? Since they won’t win an election, could the middle class elsewhere also turn against democracy?

I have the right to stop my strategist’s report. We may have our own Yellow Shirt versus Red Shirt war. The stock market may have short-term trading opportunities, but investors need to be mindful that this division won’t be resolved easily, especially given the current economic circumstances.

So, are you a Yellow Shirt or a Red Shirt?

[1890MilesToNorman]

The American people are asking for a lot of things and some of it is not going to happen. However, I think they would all go home if the federal government resigns, congress dissolved and fresh elections were called. In my opinion, this is the best solution. Let the people decide.

Thailand ain't alone in this area!

Stay safe Chuck

[TheHumanAlphabet]

Hey Chuck,

Are the yellow shirts pro-King and red shirts anti-King? Or is the King removed from this. How much is the islamic separatists/terrorists in the south working with/for this?

I thought Thaksin was disgraced?

Yellow shirts sound elitist if they are calling red-shirts not smart enough to vote right...Though we have that here is some for - anti-ACORN? This seems more class related. Do the Chinese-Thai tend to be yellow shirts - because they have the money?

[Chuck Bao]

Hey Chuck,

Are the yellow shirts pro-King and red shirts anti-King? Or is the King removed from this. How much is the islamic separatists/terrorists in the south working with/for this?

I thought Thaksin was disgraced?

Yellow shirts sound elitist if they are calling red-shirts not smart enough to vote right...Though we have that here is some for - anti-ACORN? This seems more class related. Do the Chinese-Thai tend to be yellow shirts - because they have the money?

Are the yellow shirts pro-King and red shirts anti-King? Or is the King removed from this. No, all Thais still love HM, the King. Previously, I was trying to say that the Yellow Shirts are first priority protecting the monarchy and second priority democracy and the Red Shirts are reversed in the number one and two priorities. That is still not very accurate. Really, nobody wants it to be choice of the first and second priorities. A constitutional monarchy should never allow the palace to get involved in politics. But, some claim that the privy councilors were involved with the overthrow of the government in the 2006 coup and brought politics to the doorstep of the palace. Others are saying (and this is certainly really, really controversial) is that politics is unfortunately playing a role in a smooth transitition of the crown when something happens to our beloved king. The key point is that the two shouldn't be mixed and they unfortunately are.

How much is the islamic separatists/terrorists in the south working with/for this? Nothing. Not at all. Those people have their own agenda. And nobody, Red Shirts, Yellow Shirts, a Muslim Army Commander has stopped the separatists' terrorists attacks. I would like to think that a more de-centralized Red Shirt administration with its policy of more local autonomy would generally be more acceptable. But, the Red Shirts are not really any more tolerant than the Yellow Shirts. The Red Shirts did stop a Gay Pride Parade in Chiang Mai.

I thought Thaksin was disgraced? For the life of me, I don't get any of the court cases against him. I do get the court case that should have stopped him from being prime minister in the first place because of the disclosure of assets in a previous administration. I do know that I never, ever want to face a court case in Thailand. Is that disgraced? I may be tempting fate here but any criticism of the verdict of a court case is grounds for contempt of court and a jail sentence. I already got a warning once when I was in very, very cautious terms trying to predict the consequences for stock market investors. This is post would put me in jail. Thai judges are above criticism.

Yellow shirts sound elitist if they are calling red-shirts not smart enough to vote right...Though we have that here is some for - anti-ACORN? This seems more class related. Do the Chinese-Thai tend to be yellow shirts - because they have the money? Well, yeah. The Chinese are the merchant class and the native Thais are the famers. That's not completely right because about 50% of Thais have some Chinese heritage. But, throughout Southeast Asia it is. It is also pretty standard in the region that the Chinese merchants were generally considered lower class than the indigenous native farmers, like over the last several hundred years and then they got the wealth and power.

That is playing a part in this drama as well.

Actually, Thaksin is very Chinese and his Chinese family name is Shin.

With any lash, there is a backlash.

Do you remember "The Killing Fields"? Hopefully, it doesn't play a part here, but the whole political setup is city people telling farm people that they aren't smart enough and then the whole backlash.

Would you be satisfied with that?

[olevetonahill]

So its Kinda Like the Big states tellin us Okies we Gonna Have Obama whether we Like it or Not ?

[Chuck Bao]

So its Kinda Like the Big states tellin us Okies we Gonna Have Obama whether we Like it or Not ?

Exactly. But, you Okies are not going to riot or just now, right?

[olevetonahill]

Exactly. But, you Okies are not going to riot or just now, right?

WE thinkin about it . Give us a lil time .

[Curly Bill]

Stay safe CB

Thanks

[Chuck Bao]

Rut Roh!

Troops tighten noose around protesters at Government House

More troops were deployed to surround red-shirted protesters outside the Government House Tuesday morning in what seen as final preparations before a crackdown.

At 8:30 am, about 450 troops armed with batons, shields or teargas launchers and armoured personnel carriers were deployed to the Yommaraj Intersection nearly at the same time when troops were deployed to other intersections, which are Metropolitan Police intersection, Royal Plaza, and Chor Por Ror intersection.

The troops formed lines and advanced from the Yommaraj Intersection at 8:54 am.

At 9:09 am, at least one company of troops were deployed to the Yommaraj Intersection and water trucks were also deployed.

Sources said troops inside the Government House also prepared to fire teargases to prevent protesters from climbing in.

The Nation

This is not good news. There will just be more Red Shirts come into Bangkok.

[Chuck Bao]

I so want to be out there supporting democracy. The facist pigs cannot have their way.

[Chuck Bao]

I'm going out to see, I can't help myself.