Let’s just hope hypocrites don’t get sick

While partisan Thai journalists have few, if any, ethics, doctors are supposed to.

Yet back in 2008, Thai doctors forgot their Hippocratic oath and refused to treat patients:

Reuters on October 8 2008:

Doctors at Bangkok's main state hospitals said they would not treat police or politicians involved in Tuesday's clashes.

"No treatment for police and wicked politicians in this room," said a sign posted outside an exam room at Chulalongkorn Hospital, although hospital officials said they did not endorse the boycott. 

Of course, such a disgraceful episode is conveniently forgotten in the acerbic hypocrisy of the partisan Thai press as the Bangkok Post's hate-filled opinion piece demonstrates: 

Let's just hope the reds don't ever fall sick

I felt a sting in my eyes and a peppery taste of tears welling up in my throat the minute I saw the photo of an elderly woman being wheeled out of Chulalongkorn Hospital to be put in a taxi so that she could go and receive medical treatment at a ``safer'' hospital.

Chulalongkorn Hospital had no choice but to shut its doors to new out-patients except emergency cases, and evacuate its in-patients to other hospitals after red shirt leader Payap Panket led a number of guards and protesters in storming the hospital on Thursday night, citing their fear - later proven unfounded - that the hospital was housing soldiers.

Let's just hope that ethics, one day in the future, return to the Thai press. 

Scenes from Silom April 22

Blood stained stairs on Silom where one of the M79 grenades landed, the sticker reads: "we love the king"

Briefly, as I am on the way to Silom again tonight, I am posting some images from last night's violence on Silom road.

I arrived after the M79 grenades had exploded. For comments on such violence and the general state of ungovernability in Thailand see M79's and Ungovernability.

When I arrived, mob violence by PAD (yellow shirts, multicolored shirts, or whatever name they are using today) was in full swing and they were again setting upon people they suspected were reds.

Yet violence mostly raged between the PAD and the red frontline. Both sides fought spiritedly and the sound of breaking bottles, breaking windows, vulgar insults, and thousands of metal pieces of debris ricocheting off walls, cars, and signs was non-stop.  

Police were doing nothing.

At one point, some police tried to clear the PAD but were violently rebuffed by the mob.

PAD members complained bitterly that the police were not protecting them from the reds. This was also in relation to the M79 attacks which had caused the PAD to scream and hiss at the police while cheering when military troops moved through the lines.

Things further degenerated with skirmishes raging between the PAD and the reds and between the PAD and the police.

While police tried to hold their lines, the PAD pelted them with bottles and rocks launched from slingshots.

The whole time, rocks and other metal objects were being launched at the PAD from the red's fortified barrier. Reds also launch a number of fireworks at the PAD and there were many loud explosions that were likely fireworks.

While tensions were high, a moment of levity came when a PAD member with a slingshot ran up to a couple of journalists taking shelter behind a firetruck, and while scanning the ground, ask if anyone had a flashlight to help him find rocks or other ammunition for his slingshot. We all laughed, wished him luck, but we would be somewhat compromised to help in the fray.

At about 11:40 pm, the police were either ordered to clear the PAD or had simply had enough of being at the receiving end of the hostility.

Police formed a line at the end of Silom road, started thumbing their truncheons against their shields, and then began moving into the PAD.

The PAD threw rocks, bottles, sticks, metal barriers, and tried to drag razor wire in front of the police as they retreated down the street. One guy even swung a large fire extinguisher at the police (see bellow).

Once under the Sala Deang BTS station, the PAD were trapped by lines of military couched bellow their riot shields.

It was chaos as they funneled into the few spaces between troops as they were running in an open sprint with the cops right behind.

When the police caught them it was violent retribution. Those that struggled were beaten.

It was another ugly night of violence on Silom road and likely not the last.

Note the small boy firing the sling shot, this is the second night he has been there. He is about 12 years old. 

Yellow lynch mob

All photos taken last night (April 21) at the intersection of Silom road and Rama 4. 

Clashes erupted between yellows and reds on Silom road last night.

The red shirts were set up behind their formidable tire and bamboo wall on one side and riot control police were stationed on the opposite side. Also facing the red shirt frontline was the military who were perched up in the pedestrian walkway with a large number of well armed troops with M16s trained on the reds.

Amongst the police, the so-called "multicolored" protesters had gathered. But make no mistake, they are yellow shirts or People's Alliance for Democracy simply re-branded.

Their name may change, but what remains the same is their violence, anger, and intolerance.

The yellow mob (and i do mean to use the word mob rather than protesters) had worked themselves up into a frothing anger while their leaders were exchanging taunts over loudspeakers with the opposing red camp.

Pitched battles broke out in which both reds and yellows threw bottles and traded sling-shot rounds. Ball bearings, marbles, and other metal objects caused a number of injuries. I was hit in the forehead by a piece of metal while walk back towards the yellow shirts but it could just as well have been a ricochet fired by the reds.   

Then the situation became more violent and truly ugly.

The yellows began attacking people near them they suspected of being red shirts. An older motorcycle taxi driver, a young man claiming to be a off-duty soldier, a Thai journalist caught carrying a UDD membership card, and a somewhat ignorant Western tourist who was on the way the the Sala Deang BTS station.

It was true mob violence with no rationale.

The yellows punched, kicked, spit, scratched, and broke bottles over their victims heads.

They also threatened the press who were filming their violence. They accused us of not filming the 'right' violence and aggressively tried to tell us to stop filming them and go to the other side to film the reds.

At one point, the lynch mob stormed the police barrier at the swank Dusit Thani Hotel and tried to get inside. They were demanding the police handover a victim the police had previously saved.

While the police and military were unresponsive to the point of being implicit, they did help those being lynched and this did prevent anyone from being killed.

Now that yellows and reds are fighting, it would be logical to assume that more clashes and mob violence will take place on Bangkok's streets in the coming days.

Warring Colours

Ultranationalist PAD

* All images copyright *
PAD supporters in Sanam Luang on Sunday November 15, 2009.

I have been going to the street protests in Bangkok for about four years now and think I am used to the acerbic nationalism used to stoke the crowds.

Both Yellow (PAD) and Red (UDD) are guilty of this.

Yet PAD's rally on Sunday in Sanam Luang ratcheted up the nationalist nonsense into nothing short of a rallying cry for war.

War with both Cambodia and a civil war within Thailand.

Over at Prachatai they have a summery of the some of the comments on stage:

"Prasert Lertyaso called for the beheading of Hun Sen, General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, and Thaksin Shinawatra, alluding to an old Thai saying of shedding blood to wash royal feet. He banished Thaksin’s supporters to Phnom Penh and Dubai."

"Saken Sutthiwong said that Cambodia was afraid that [Thai] F16 fighter jets would miss their targets and bomb Angkor Wat and Prear Vihear instead, because they earn their living from those ‘old stones’."
"Then some students came up to condemn Hun Sen and Thaksin, the traitor. They vowed to fight to the death to protect the Nation, Religion and King. "

"...Gen Preecha Iamsuphan, who had led yellow shirts in raucous protests near the Prear Vihear site in September, spoke to the crowd that it was time to get rid of traitors, as they all had appeared before their eyes. ‘We have to quickly finish them off for the sake of our beloved King and ancestors, so that Thais stop quarrelling with one another because of these scoundrels.’"

"Sondhi Limthongkul said the nation was important because it was composed of religion and the King. When people have faith in religion, religion is strengthened and so is the monarchy. Religion and the King will never be separable."

While such rhetoric sounds bad, some of the songs they sang might have been worse:

"Two royally-penned songs, ‘The Highest Dream’ and ‘Scum of the Earth’, were played"

Hobby, commenting at Prachatai, notes that New Mandala has an interesting write up on the song 'Scum of the Earth'.

From Ben Anderson writing about the slaughter of students at Thammasat University in 1976:

"Radio stations controlled by rightists, and especially the extremist Armored Division Radio, commissioned and played incessantly violent songs such as “Nak Phaendin” (Heavy on the Earth) and “Rok Phaendin” (Scum of the Earth)."

And Thongchai Winichakul writing about the same tragic events:

"Meanwhile military propaganda had dehumanized the radical students, labeling them ‘scum of the earth’ (nak phaendin), the enemy of the “Nation, Religion and the Monarchy”"

This ultra-nationalist vitriol is dangerous on its own but it comes just before the Red Shirt announcement that they will "will make the war against the government" and plan to bring up to a million supporters on the streets during Nov 29 to Dec 3.

While it is doubtful that they will actually get a million supporters (although Nick N did give a rather high estimate of 50,000 to 60,000 at their Saturday Khao Yai gathering which he also blogged about here) it is still a highly combustible scenario.

With PAD calling for blood and the Reds about to pour into Bangkok, Thailand's national political conflict is likely to grow more and more violent over the next few weeks.

Moments of nationalist stupidity

* All images copyright *
Red shirts at Government House February 24th 2009.

From the Bangkok Post titled Govt launches Thai Unity project:

"The government has organised activities to promote unity and patriotism among Thai people, and one of them is to sing the national anthem together," Mr Abhisit said.

I was going to write a post questioning what depths of nationalist stupidity that would envision that the promotion of an increasingly Orwellian nationalism would actually solve Thailand's political turmoil.

Thankfully, Political Prisoners in Thailand has already blogged on this:

"PPT doesn’t think that Abhisit is as naive and as stupid as this all sounds. Rather, we feel that the emphasis on right-wing, conservative and nationalist strategies of the dark past is a reflection of the views of his strongest backers. His position as prime minister, and within the Democrat Party, is insecure. Hence, Abhisit has fallen back on the support of important and highly conservative and royalist backers within the party and at higher levels and they urge these measures that they believe have been successful in the past."

It is hard to fathom how the use of nationalism or even ISOC's bizarrely dumb "moso" campaign or the comically futile peace activist campaign to 'Stop Hurting the Country' are all raised as solutions to the country's political impasse.

When something is broken, it is better to address the problem rather than to preach about 'loving the nation', practicing moderation, or the waste-of-a-white-shirt campaign to 'stop hurting the country".

While 'moso' and the peace activists are simply wasting their own time and performing something akin to victimless crime, howling for increased nationalism is certainly more worrying.

PAD's violent antics at Preah Vihear are a prime example of the danger of nationalism.

Nationalism simply sharpens distinctions between opposing groups into a justification for violence.

As the government and its right-wing conservative backers sharpen their version of nationalism to exclude those who oppose them, the justification for violence moves ever closer.

So, at 8am and 6pm, the following blood thirsty lyrics in the national anthem will by passionately sung:

Thailand is the unity of Thai blood and body,
The whole country belongs to the Thai people,
Maintaining thus far for the Thai,
All Thais intend to unite together,
Thais love peace, but do not fear to fight,
They will never let anyone threaten their independence,
They will sacrifice every drop of their blood to contribute to the nation,
Will serve their country with pride and prestige-full of victory.
Chai Yo (Cheers)

Understanding middle class disdain for democracy

*All Photos Copyright*
PAD thug at Government House, September 2008.

From Foreign Policy titled the Bourgeois Revolution:

"The middle class's newfound disdain for democracy is counterintuitive. After all, as political and economic freedoms increase, its members often prosper because they are allowed more freedom to do business. But, paradoxically, as democracy gets stronger and the middle class grows richer, it can realize it has more to lose than gain from a real enfranchisement of society.

Soon after acquiring democracy, urban middle classes often grasp the frustrating reality that political change costs them power. Outnumbered at the ballot box, the middle class cannot stop populists such as Thaksin or Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. Once the middle class realizes it cannot stop the elected tyrants, it also comes to another, shattering realization: If urban elites can no longer control elections, all of their privileges -- social, economic, cultural -- could be threatened.

... And once they turn against elected leaders, angry middle classes, convinced they are right, seem willing to use any means to topple presidents, with catastrophic results."

The author puts forth the argument that traditional champions of democracy - the middle classes - are now turning anti-democratic in a number of fragile democracies around the world.

This is being caused by elected leaders, specifically like Thaksin who had formulated winning democratic electoral strategies, paradoxically showing flagrant disdain for democratic institutions and ruling like autocrats.

Thaksin's impressive electoral success is only matched in the profound disappointment of an opportunity lost.

A strong electoral mandate, sound economic and pro-poor policies, and the 1997 constitution seemed like a golden opportunity for the country.

Yet Thaksin failed, even attacked, democratic institutions like a free press, independent judiciary, transparent election monitoring, and civil society leaving the foundation of a stable democracy in peril.

And as the urban middle classes grew progressively uncomfortable with costly rural development and were impotent at the polls to stop it, the previously unthinkable, a new coup, became a reality.

The leap from opposing military interference in the democratic process to Bangkok residents offering flowers to coup-making soldiers had turned the middle-class-as-democratic-champion paradigm on its head.

(For myself, the most memorable label for such middle class democratic-turncoats was 'tank liberals' as offered by one predominant Thai academic who has now fled Thailand.)

And currently, the democratic institutions that might have served as a means of mitigating the downward spiral of national political conflict have been weakened and delegitimized by Thaksin's misrule.

Now the class divide is coming to an impasse with neither the elites nor the poor willing to negotiate a compromise.

Should the elites proceed on their anti-democratic path, the rural poor will be enraged and increasingly understand their cause as noble and just.

Yet currently, it seems the middle class understands this conflict in zero-sum terms. Everything to lose from one-person-one-vote democracy and very little, if anything, to gain.

So it is likely, in the absence of a creative solution in electoral reform or decentralizing power, that the urban middle classes, represented by PAD, will likely continue with their anti-democratic campaign.

* Hats of to the Bangkok Pundit for pointing out the Foreign Policy article.

Word of the Day: Amartayatipatai (อมาตยาธิปไตย)

*All Photos Copyright*
Red Shirt protester in Royal Plaza April 13th.

According to thai-language.com:

Amartayatipatai (อมาตยาธิปไตย) is: government by bureaucracy; government by civil servants; bureaucratic polity.

"The political system called “government by bureaucrats” is a Thai system which is largely controlled by the permanent bureaucracy."

Nick Noztitz writing about the Red Shirt protests in the New Mandala as:

"All speeches on the stage revolved around the term “Amartayatipatai” - the most suitable definition may be “the rule of the traditional elites”, attacking the Democrat government, the military, and members of the Privy Council."

The old is dying and the new cannot be born

*All Photos Copyright*
Thai troops clearing the city of Red Shirt protesters on Tuesday morning (April 14th) about two blocks from Government House.

Tyrell Haberkorn, at Open Democracy writes:

"Thailand's disorder might be seen in terms of a longer view, where many of its people - under great economic pressures, and amid rooted structures of power - are seeking a transformation in the underlying social and political relations of rule."

She also quotes Antonio Gramsci's Prison Notebooks:

"The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appears."

Not only are the week's violent clashes between soldiers and Red Shirts - or the violence unleashed 4 months ago by the Yellow Shirts - morbid symptoms of this crisis but the real morbidity has been the ugly politics that have been used to justify the violent trajectories that both Reds and Yellows are on.

Ugly symptoms like the Yellow Shirts bigoted suggestion that the rural poor should be disenfranchised of their democratic rights because they 'to stupid' or too 'easily bought'.

Or the complete lack of journalistic impartiality that not only spawned the vile propaganda machine ASTV but also infects the whole profession. The English language papers, and in particular The Nation, which have long given up professional ethics are now moving into dangerous territory in which they are have not simply taken sides but are inciting hatred and fanning the flames of violence.

Or, and most importantly, the break down of the rule of law. Not only is it being applied unevenly - leaving Yellow Shirt criminals free to further incite violence - but it has failed to draw a clear distinction between legitimate democratic protest and mob violence. Both Red and Yellow are guilty but the state is at fault. Applying the law evenly is essential but so is dealing with every criminal trespass upon the law. Go to a protest fine - carry a weapon, attack the Prime Minister, or take over government buildings and you should get arrested.

But these morbid symptoms, as Gramsci suggests, are the ugly manifestations of an epic struggle playing itself out on the streets of Bangkok, across the provinces, and dividing the nation which is at the precipice of change.

While Abhisit has pulled his government back from the brink of collapse and the Red Shirts have been cleared from the streets, Pandora's box has been opened.

The old power structures that have created one of the highest Gini coefficients, that is often simplified as a discrepancy between the largely urban rich and the largely rural poor, have been dragged out into the harsh light of day and publicly challenged.

There is no going back from this. Change - in the form of a full blown revolution, in a negotiated settlement, or in a myriad of forms - now has momentum.

Calm has returned, but this is an interregnum and no one knows how long it will last.

This week - in photos

*All Photos Copyright*

This is more of the 'cutting room floor' in which a number of interesting images that have no general purpose other than illustrating the chaotic week will be posted.

Unfortunately, do to blogger's inability to utilize many images and format them with captions, there will not be captions explaining the context of the photos.

Protesters put royal picture in wrong spot

*Image captured from Thai PBS showing PAD thugs firing a handgun while one hoists a picture of the King. Vibhavadi Road November 25, 2008. The video can be seen here. *

From the Bangkok Post:

The United Front of Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) has been condemned for placing a picture of Their Majesties the King and the Queen alongside an offensive slogan.

Its leaders could be charged with lese majeste.

The picture was placed next to a slogan reading "Privileged People ... Thief" in the background on the UDD's rally stage outside parliament yesterday.However, it was later removed from the stage.

Suriyasai Katasila, a coordinator of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), deplored their action as disturbingly inappropriate.

I guess the above picture of a PAD thug shooting at people on the streets of Bangkok while a picture of the king is held behind him is not disturbingly inappropriate?

More lese majeste charges

* all photos copyright*

Royal propaganda posted by the PAD mob during their siege of Government House November 23rd, 2008.

More lese majeste charges are being launched against the foreign media.

Such archaic laws keep Thailand proudly in league with beacons of freedom like Egypt, Kazakhstan, Zimbabwe, and Belarus.

From the CPJ:

The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the ongoing legal harassment of BBC correspondent Jonathan Head. Police Lt. Col. Wattanasak Mungkandee filed a third criminal complaint this year against Head on December 23, alleging he had insulted the Thai monarchy in his reporting.

And an email from the Foreign Correspondents Club Thailand:

Suspension of DVD sales of Dec 9 event

The FCCT regrets to announce that since the Dec 9, 2008 event ''The State of Politics and the Way Forward for Thailand '' is apparently the subject of a police inquiry, the Executive Committee deems it appropriate to suspend the further distribution of the DVD recording of the event with immediate effect.

We would like to take this opportunity to inform members that DVD recordings of Club events have been misused by certain individuals with their own agendas, in a way that compromises the free speech values the media community and the FCCT stand for. Members are advised to be cautious in and if possible refrain from, sharing or lending DVDs of Club events.

And an example of a BBC article that inspired lese majeste:

"The PAD has justified its actions as being in defence of the monarchy, and the king's portrait has been displayed prominently during all its protests.

Senior figures close to the palace have openly supported the movement.

When the queen offered to preside over the funeral last month of a PAD protestor killed during clashes with the police, it appeared to be a tacit blessing for the movement.

Some in the government even believe the revered king may be backing the movement, although at the age of almost 81 this seems unlikely.

Hard evidence is difficult to come by. But people's actions in Thailand are now being driven as much by what they believe as what they know to be true.

The government and its rural followers believe there is a palace-army-elite conspiracy to rob them of their electoral mandate."

And some comments from the Bangkok Pundit on these recent charges:

"The thing with lese majeste complaints is that someone makes a complaint against you, no matter how flimsly the charges, any prudent person has to hire a lawyer (when the offence carries a jail sentence of 3-15 years do you really want to dismiss it?). You'll have to go to the police station, be interviewed etc. If you are unlucky enough you might not even get bail pending trial. These are all risks. What about the complaint? It costs them nothing. They are free to go on their merry way to think up more ways to lay charges.

Curiously, the BBC doesnt report this story. Do their editors think that one of their correspondents being charged with a law that contradicts freedom of speech is not a story?

Nice Mr. Abhisit

Abhisit Vejjajiva during and interview I had with him (edited myself out of course) at Parliament in August 27th 2008.

I personally have more hope in Abhisit's ability to navigate the rats-nest of Thai politics but there are some serious questions over the Democrat's cozy relationship with PAD and General Anupong.

When I ask Abhisit about PAD and the Democrats I got a standard, well rehearsed, and essentially useless answer. (In my defense, my focus had been about the southern conflict and I just added the question on a whim.)

C: That is all the questions I had regarding the south (southern border provinces) but I would like to ask a couple questions about the current situation with the People’s Alliance for Democracy. What is the Democrat Party’s stance on the current conflict?

Abhisit: At the moment we are very concerned with the confrontation that is taking place and we urge restraint on all sides. Particularly, we do not want to see an outbreak of violence and eventually this issue has to be resolved through legal and democratic means.

But more critical and deserving questions could have been formed such as these over at Thai Politico:

"Take the violent and fascist fanatics of the PAD - while they were illegally occupying Government House and Bangkok's airports; while they were shooting at people on the streets of the Thai capital; while they were attacking the police; while they were kidnapping and beating people; while they were dumping bodies in back alleys; while they were running roughshod over every single law they could get away with, Abhisit said nothing. Such is Abhisit's highly educated 'belief' in 'democracy' and 'clean' politics he failed to open his mouth once and condemn the acts of the PAD. In fact, he allowed Democrat MPs to openly attend, speak at and support the PAD's completely illegal acts, something which he still hasn't censured. The upshot is, like a Mafia Don, Abhisit was happy for a gang of heavies to do his dirty work while he hid in his mansion drinking tea in the effete manner he learnt in the hallowed halls of the Britain's most elite private school.
....

"Anupong has gone on record as stating he 'advised' Abhisit's coalition partners what to do. In any functioning democracy such intervention by the head of the army would demolish, in one single moment, the claims of the existing government's legitimacy."

The effete swipe is funny, but as a character trait, effete certainly is preferable to blustering and pugnacious.

Yet PAD's and Anupong's relationship with the Democrats is much more serious and casts very real doubt over this current government and Abhisit's fluff answer of resolving the political crisis through 'legal and democratic means'.

PAD's Foreign Minister Update

Bangkok Post Cartoon, July 31, 2008.

More non-sense from the PAD Foreign Minister.

From the Bangkok Post:

"Prime Minister Abhsit Vejjajiva said he will not remove Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya from post, after foreign media quoted him saying the closure of Bangkok's two airports by anti-government protesters was fun.
...
Mr Kasit, meanwhile, insisted it was impossible for him to give out comments that may damage the country.
...
He said he believed the foreign press could misinterpret his statements, adding that they may have ill intentions against him."

Nice touch, the Foreign Minister caught with his foot in his mouth and he blames the foreigners.

Maybe next he will blame the 11th century Khmer's for having ill intentions to Thailand for building Preah Vihear in 'Thai territory'.

PAD's Foreign Minister

Bangkok Post Cartoon, July 31, 2008.

Isn't one of PAD's ultranationalist goals to reclaim the Preah Vihear temple?!

From the Bangkok Post titled: "Kasit defends his support for PAD protests"

Kasit Piromya, former Thai ambassador to Washington DC who is poised to be foreign minister in the Democrat-led government, yesterday defended his participation in People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) street protests, saying his actions were based on his democratic convictions.
...

Mr Kasit said joining the PAD protests was a democratic expression of opinion as provided in the constitution and that the PAD was not a criminal organisation.

"Joining PAD was not a sin because millions of people had also joined it to help uproot corruption," Mr Kasit said. "When I retired, I still fought in order to help society to have good governance. That's just it."

...

He said his first job as foreign minister, after being endorsed by His Majesty the King, would be to restore Thailand's image. He said he was confident that other countries had faith in the new government's capability to run the country.

...

He said he would visit Cambodia soon to build more trust in order to resolve major problems including the borderline conflict, drugs, illegal goods and human trafficking."

This is utter non-sense. Its not just that PAD committed countless crimes - including acts of terrorism and murder - while running amok in Bangkok but its simply non-sense that a PAD member could be foreign minister.

PAD is an ultra nationalist organization that has been saber rattling over Preah Vihear and has pushed Thailand and Cambodia to the brink of war.

Mr Kasit might claim to be working to improve Thailand's reputation and ease relations with its neighbors but this is hard to believe.

Thailand's international reputation was dragged through the mud because of PAD's violent and anit-democratic antics and now the new foreign minister is a PAD member? How could any foreign government trust someone who's organization seized international airports and promotes military action against Cambodia?

Even more worrying are the rumors that Pasit's primary goal is actually to pursue PAD's goal of reclaiming Preah Vihear rather that ease strained relationships and Thailand's international image.

From PAD's recent demands and 13 point warning to the new government:

7. Announce the cancellation of the Joint Communique between Thai and Cambodia which give away the Prea Vihear temple and the surrounding lands to Cambodia.

Although the above statement is much more moderate than PAD's acerbic propaganda on ASTV, the Manager newspaper, and on the their protest stages it should be a serious concern that PAD, through Kasit, will be in a position to further push Thailand towards conflict with Cambodia.

I am still a little optimistic PM Abhisit but, with PAD influencing foreign affairs, such optimism will not last long.

PAD Payback: Making Yellow Bleed Red

* all photos copyright*

PAD 'handclapper' at Government House November 23rd, 2008.

Although the foreign media has taken up the task of asking where the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) money comes from, there has been very limited coverage of PAD's questionable financial sources.

But, there is this curious local site - PAD Payback: Making Yellow Bleed Red

As the site author notes about the name: The tagline of this web site, “Making Yellow Bleed Red” refers only to the common English idiom “to bleed red ink”; that is, to suffer financial losses. We do not encourage or condone physical violence of any sort against any person or property.

Unfortunately it does not seem to get update often, but it is a good example of naming and shaming that should have been done along time ago with the financial backers who supported PAD's crazed seizing of Government House and the airports.

From the site:

The purposes of this web site are very simple:

• To expose the known business interests of the senior leadership of the PAD
• To consolidate this information in a concise and easily read format
• To call for a general boycott of all businesses and endeavours in which PAD leaders are involved
• To bring to light the names of business associates of the PAD leadership and through these same mechanisms encourage them to disavow and sever their relationships with the PAD leaders.

Boycott List 001 (CURRENT)

December 5, 2008

Altra Travel Co., Ltd.
(อัลตร้า แทรเวิล)
99/18-19 Langsuan Rd.
Lumphini, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330

Asia Broadcasting & Communication Network Co., Ltd.
(เอเชีย บรอดคาสติ้ง แอนด์ คอมมูนิเคชั่นส์ เน็ทเวิร์ค)
1193 Boonphong Building, Phahonyothin Rd.
Sam Sen Nai, Phaya Thai, Bangkok 10400

The M. Group Public Company Limited
(เดอะ เอ็ม. กรุ๊ป)
1041, 1043 & 1045 Phahonyothin Rd.
Sam Sen Nai, Phaya Thai, Bangkok 10400

Manager Monthly Magazine Co., Ltd.
(ผู้จัดการ)
98/3-10 Phra Athit Rd.
Chana Songkhram, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok 10200

Muse Cable TV Co., Ltd.
(มิวส์ เคเบิลทีว)
1045 Phahonyothin Rd.
Sam Sen Nai, Phaya Thai, Bangkok 10400

S. Property Co., Ltd.
(เอส.พรอพเพอร์ตี้)
1041 Phahonyothin Rd.
Sam Sen Nai, Phaya Thai, Bangkok 10400

Technology Application (Thailand) Co., Ltd.
เทคโนโลยี แอพพลิเคชั่นส์ (ประเทศไทย)
19/1 Lat Phrao Rd.
Wang Thonglang, Wang Thonglang, Bangkok 10310

Mob rule tramples democracy in Thailand

* all photos copyright*
Smiling protesters hide a grim reality of propaganda and murderous violence

Special to Times Colonist

Published: Thursday, December 11, 2008

Last week, Thailand's worsening political crisis seemed to ease due to two key issues being resolved.

The Constitutional Court dissolved the controversial, yet democratically elected, Somchai Wongsawat government. This, in turn, caused protesters to end their weeklong siege of Bangkok's international airport. After months of growing violence, calm has returned to Bangkok.

Yet calm is likely to be fleeting at best. This is because the protesters, rallying under the People's Alliance for Democracy flag, have proved not only to be a challenge to the government but have threatened the country's democratic institutions.

The complete article can be found here.

Politics or Cults are Addictive?

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People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) sling shot maker at Government House October 26 2008.

From the pro-PAD Nation newspaper:

Political protest is addictive, say the PAD supporters suffering cold turkey for Christmas

"I miss my friends from the Bangkok protests so much," says Nam (not her real name), a 56-year-old government official from Nakhon Ratchasima province and veteran of the PAD demonstrations. "At the moment I'm monitoring the political situation round the clock via the anti-government ASTV."

Nam is just one of many PAD supporters who miss the camaraderie of protests that lasted a record-breaking 193 days, from the second-largest PAD rally on May 25 to the end of the Suvarnabhumi Airport siege on December 3.

"I'm probably addicted to the mob," she says, adding that she follows ASTV news on the Internet when she works, on the car radio while driving, on TV at home and even via mobile-phone alerts when she's in a meeting.

Another veteran of the protests, 55-year-old businesswoman "Koi", says she also tunes in regularly to get her "fix" from ASTV.

"I used to leave my office every evening and go straight to the demonstration at Government House," she says. "Now I have no idea where to go in the evenings after work."

All three would like to see PAD leaders organise a big get-together for protest regulars. It would help fill the hole in their lives, they say, as well as keeping up morale for future action if the next government tries to amend the 2007 Constitution.

I guess it would be a stretch for such indoctrinated sheep to investigate their news from multiple sources?

But ultimately what this means is that PAD's flock of blind sheep and their violent henchmen are already teething at the bit and will be ready to unleash their lawless fury on the streets of Bangkok very soon.

For the complete article, click here.

People who leave cults are often subjected to beatings and attacks...

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The bizarre rice farm planted on the grounds of Government House.

From the prolific Bangkok Pundit:

People who leave cults are often subjected to beatings and attacks...

Remember the Insurgency?

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Soldier guarding a rural school in Yala province August 2008.

With the dissolution of the government, the anti-democratic People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) releasing the airport, and the fugitive Pojaman returning to Thailand it is easy to forget the southern insurgency.

This is, of course, a disaster for the country. With a body count over 3500 people it is simply shocking that a country struggling with one of Asia's most violent conflicts can simply forget.

More interesting though is that the nine killed today were killed on the King's Birthday and that The Nation and the Bangkok Post reported these serious incidents of violence as minor news.

It is understandable that since Bangkok has been held hostage by PAD's fascist and militant actions that the focus has shifted, but it is simply shameful that newspapers will avoid reporting the news for fear of reporting something bad on the King's birthday.

It is tempting to comment on why self-censorship is important to narrow-minded nationalists and staunch monarchists because it is a challenge to the Chakri Dynasty but, honestly, I am as scared as everyone else in Thailand about archaic and draconian lese majesty laws.

So lets just say, this post is a reminder that Thailand still must come to grips with its southern insurgency.