Do you agree with the Thai governments decision?

[Blitz187]

Being half Thai myself ive been closely following the political situation in the capital of Thailand. Over the weekend it got worse and all hell broke loose. Up to now more than 50 people have lost their lives and hundreds have been injured in the process. Today the military managed to infiltrate the red shirts camp and have cleared it out, while also capturing the leaders. After that the left over protestors started rioting and set the center of Bangkok ablaze... My question to you is... Do you think the government acted correctly by instating the army to clear out the barracaded camp the red shirts setup, after trying to resolve the situation peacefully without violence?

I have also included a link with pictures and background info to give you an impression of the chaos.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/05/protests_turn_deadly_in_thaila.html

Edit- another link: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/05/19/thailand.protests/index.html?hpt=T1

Edit2- I realized that I didnt give my view of the situation at all in my inrotduction above. (Thanks Omnis )

I agree and understand the decision of the Thai government. These protestors have been shacked up in downtown Bangkok for 6 weeks now and even though the protesting started out "peaceful," it got worse as time passed. The red shirts as they are called demanded that the present government be dissolved and that there should be new elections. The Prime Minister of Thailand didnt want this and wanted to negotiate terms so that all other parties involved would have a say in what is to happen. The red shirts did not want to participate in this and kept on insisting the government needs to be dissolved. While this was going on the Ex-Prime Minister Shinawatra was funding the operations of the red shirts. He provided everyone with money, food and shelter. Now you have to realize that these people are from the rural areas of Thailand or in other words most of them are very poor and have nothing to lose. They thought they came in to some utopian world, all of a sudden they had food and money. So of course you can imagine that these people didnt want to leave.

There was also a retired army general who joined the ranks of the red shirts and taught them some army tactics. He also presuaded the protesters present that they should stay 'til the end and not leave until the government is gone. This mindset was kept from this point on and led to what happend a couple of days ago... The general was killed by the way, they assume it was done by a sniper since he got shot in the head from a high position. There are many more sides to the story, but the BASIS of it all and the reason Thailand has been in political turmoil for quite a while now is the ever growing divide between rich and poor in Thailand. Bangkok is a thriving city with huge economic growth, however, the rest of Thailand is not. Regions like Northeast Thailand are very poor and that is also where most of these red shirt protestors come from. The situation is very complicated and I hope they get things back to normal again soon. I dont think this is the end of it, however, seeing the circumstances surrounding this whole ordeal.

Edit3- Link with more background info and underlying details!
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/BUSINESS/05/19/economy.thai.conflict/index.html

 

[lpb-nissan-gt-r]

Yes it has had to come to a stop sooner rather than later as it's costing them millions.

 

[DK]

Ever thought of putting up a poll? And BTW, I'm sad to see this protest had to end in such a violent way. I think the leaders didn't intend for the protests to turn nasty. I think it's only a matter of time before Thailand (if it hasn't already done so) becomes ruled by a military dictatorship just like Burma.

 

[Mark T]

As long as the protests were peaceful then I can't agree with excessive force from the government. However, as soon as those protestors start rioting or causing damage to government and public property then they have to step in to ensure the safety of the general public.

It happened in Greece a few weeks back where people were breaking into buildings and setting them on fire. A few people got trapped in one building and died.

There was also a protest in London a few months back and people were smashing bank windows and trying to loot the buildings. I think that half the people that were supposedly "protesting" were just up for a ruck and were hoping to get some free stuff. In fact, most of them looked like a bunch of cracked out hippies.

 

[viejaloca]

So how come are they protesting? It must be a war-zone there now. I have to agree with the government's decision because things got too violent. I know that you have rights to protest but, some people are just stupid turning it into an all-out raid! But I guess it all depends.

 

[Omnis]

Next time, it would be nice to introduce the situation in your own words while providing links before asking what we think.

 

[lbsf1]

I think it is competley discracefull what the Thai government have done. If this happen in any active eu or un country there would be a huge world reaction to this. The Thai government have turned what originaly was a peaceful protest into blood shed. I saw a video on bbc news where a man was hiding petrified of the soldiers. He was behind a huge material wall and he was then shot right through the head and was killed instantly. That guy showed no agression towards the soldiers they just killed him. I think in someways other countries should get involved and tell the government to stop however if that happened then I could see the possibility of a new Iraq.

Makes me feel lucky I live in such a free country.

 

[Keef]

Ever wonder where the hell these people get all those tires from in downtown Big City, Whatever country? Last time I was in Cincinnati I don't recall seeing stacks of thousands of used tires laying out in front of Chase bank.

 

[Omnis]

I know Thai food is awful, but who would have thought it would lead to such violence?

 

[Blitz187]

Ever thought of putting up a poll? And BTW, I'm sad to see this protest had to end in such a violent way. I think the leaders didn't intend for the protests to turn nasty. I think it's only a matter of time before Thailand (if it hasn't already done so) becomes ruled by a military dictatorship just like Burma.

This would be the worst case scenario... but I dont think it will get this far. Thailand is developed enough to avoid turning into a military dictatorship... Ive been to Burma or Myanmar as it is called now and that country is very very poor. Can't really compare it to Thailand...

As long as the protests were peaceful then I can't agree with excessive force from the government. However, as soon as those protestors start rioting or causing damage to government and public property then they have to step in to ensure the safety of the general public.

The protestors have been in Bangkok for 6 weeks now. It started out "peaceful" but up to last week they made a fortified base in the middle of downtown, in a business district of Bangkok. This paralyzed the commercial activities of the city and blocked off major roads. All the office buildings and shopping centers were closed as well. The government tried to sit down with the leaders of the protestors on numerous occassions before this, but it lead to nothing since all the red shirts wanted was to have the government dissolved and have new elections so they can try to bring back the corrupt ex-Prime Minister. They didnt want to negotiate any terms or conditions at all. So the Prime Minsiter decided to clear out the camp with military force since there was no way to discuss anything with them anyway. What they didnt forsee though was that after they cleared out the camp the left over protestors started looting and rioting, setting the whole city center ablaze... So seen the circumstances I can understand the decision to use military force.

So how come are they protesting? It must be a war-zone there now. I have to agree with the government's decision because things got too violent. I know that you have rights to protest but, some people are just stupid turning it into an all-out raid! But I guess it all depends.

I explained some background info above your quote ^^

Next time, it would be nice to introduce the situation in your own words while providing links before asking what we think.

If I had to explain the whole situation I would fill up many pages since its more complicated then you would initially think... That would be boring to read... I assumed most people follow the news here and just wanted to know what people thought about the whole ordeal. But next time I'll try to explain a bit more for lil ole Omnis

Ever wonder where the hell these people get all those tires from in downtown Big City, Whatever country? Last time I was in Cincinnati I don't recall seeing stacks of thousands of used tires laying out in front of Chase bank.

I wondered about that as well... but still a mystery to me too...

 

[Vince_Fiero]

I know Thai food is awful, but who would have thought it would lead to such violence?

I think the statement above is very personal.

Living near France and knowing quite well some of the better food regions there (Burgondy, Champagne, South-East), I do not place French "cuisine" in my personal top 3, where Thai is!
And oh yeah I like it hot ...

=============================================

I did not follow the events, but expected from a Buddhist community to more use the right talk, the right action, the right mind, ...

Isolate the trouble zones, let anybody out if they want to, let nothing in, ...

It is sad to see that people do not trust the democratic and justice system, it is the basis of a stable society.
All believe in the Thai Royal house, at least that unites the people.

 

[Scaff]

What they didnt forsee though was that after they cleared out the camp the left over protestors started looting and rioting, setting the whole city center ablaze... So seen the circumstances I can understand the decision to use military force.

I very much doudht they didn't forsee this happening, in fact I find it quite likely they did and relied on it occuring to help in the justification of their actions.

Scaff

 

[nk4e]

How did the redshirt leader die?( just putting the word dye made me chuckle a bit).

 

[Blitz187]

I very much doudht they didn't forsee this happening, in fact I find it quite likely they did and relied on it occuring to help in the justification of their actions.

Scaff

Well maybe it was in the back of their minds... but I would imagine that if they DID forsee it then they wouldve taken extra measures to make sure all those buildings didnt burn down. The biggest shopping center in Bangkok got burned down and trust me that place is HUGE!!!! Atleast a city block in size... They couldve had fire brigades ans such ready at hand to tackle those fires imo...

How did the redshirt leader die?( just putting the word dye made me chuckle a bit).

One of the leaders died and he happend to be a retired army general. He solely retired because he forsaw this and refused to shoot at his own people. So he retired and joined the ranks of the red shirts. It is believed he was taken out by a sniper, but its not official... he got shot in the head before last weekend...

 

[Omnis]

No, someone walked up and shot him in the head while he was doing an interview. There are before and after pics from a Boston newspaper or some kind of journalism outlet.

 

[Scaff]

Well maybe it was in the back of their minds... but I would imagine that if they DID forsee it then they wouldve taken extra measures to make sure all those buildings didnt burn down. The biggest shopping center in Bangkok got burned down and trust me that place is HUGE!!!! Atleast a city block in size... They couldve had fire brigades ans such ready at hand to tackle those fires imo...

So you can accept that the government would assassinate one of the Red Shirt leaders, but not that they would foresee rioting, looting and damage following the break-up of the camp?

While I agree that they may not have forseen the exact scale of it, I certainly do not accept that they did not forsee it at all (as you stated).

Simply put, the damage caused makes the Red-Shirt look like bad and helps justify the governemnt action (which may or may not have been legal under Thai law).

Personally I think they relied on a degree of trouble to occur after the camp break-up to help bias public perception in favour of themselves. Hell to not do so would have been strange.

That the scale may have been more than they anticapated is neither here nor there, at the end of the day they didn't bear the brunt of the blame for it and used it to paint the exact picture they wanted.


Scaff

 

[Blitz187]

No, someone walked up and shot him in the head while he was doing an interview. There are before and after pics from a Boston newspaper or some kind of journalism outlet.

Then its even worse than I expected... You have a link? I couldnt find the exact reason anywhere in all my reading... I thought it was a sniper because I read this...

BANGKOK -- A renegade army general accused of leading a paramilitary force among Thailand's Red Shirt protesters was shot in the head Thursday, apparently by a sniper, an aide said, after the government warned it would shoot “terrorists.”

link: http://www.chinapost.com.tw/asia/thailand/2010/05/14/256413/Red-Shirts.htm

So you can accept that the government would assassinate one of the Red Shirt leaders, but not that they would foresee rioting, looting and damage following the break-up of the camp?

While I agree that they may not have forseen the exact scale of it, I certainly do not accept that they did not forsee it at all (as you stated).

Simply put, the damage caused makes the Red-Shirt look like bad and helps justify the governemnt action (which may or may not have been legal under Thai law).

Personally I think they relied on a degree of trouble to occur after the camp break-up to help bias public perception in favour of themselves. Hell to not do so would have been strange.

That the scale may have been more than they anticapated is neither here nor there, at the end of the day they didn't bear the brunt of the blame for it and used it to paint the exact picture they wanted.


Scaff

Dont get me wrong here Scaff, Im not a supporter of killing people. BUT under the circumstances I can understand the reason they did it. I would have been more for a peaceful solution, maybe even a bloodless military coup like they did with Thaksin to get him out of office. The point you bring up of painting a certain picture to justify their actions to the public does make a lot of sense I admit. It would explain the motives behind their decisions.. The only problem now is that the Red Shirt followers believe they have been treated wrong now and the other factions across the country are now also making trouble. So I dare to say that this is just the tip of the iceberg.... I fear more turmoil will come after these actions...

 

[Sureboss]

I've got a friend in Bangkok, well was, he's escaped with his family to a seaside "paradise" 160km away, also the residence of the King.

The underlying problem is that the red shirts are comprised of more than just one group and none of the leaders can agree with each other. Just over a week ago, the PM handed them victory. They got exactly what they wanted. The moderate leadership of the red shirts accepted the PM's offer. Then, the hard liners started to disagree. Suddenly there were demands from the red shirts. One of them was that the Deputy PM turn himself in to authorities over the April 10th fighting. He did so, then the red shirts said it was the "wrong authorities". Then they started to make new demands and it became clear that there were enough people within the red shirt leadership who didn't want a peaceful solution and that discussions would never work. Worth noting that on Saturday, the moderate leadership of the red shirts resigned.

Since the start of this occupation 2 months ago, the hard liner element has made unprovoked attacks, have launched grenades into populated areas, etc. These guys seem to want a fight. Can't figure it out but it could be that they see the strong potential for an outright revolution (and they would be correct) and are hoping that this will serve as the flashpoint.

Last night they hijacked an oil tanker and tried to blow it up by shooting bullets at it.

Now, if only they had watched the Mythbusters episode where they debunked the myth that a bullet can blow up a car or an oil tanker.

Pretty quiet day today. We seem to have reached a bit of a stand off here. The red shirts are asking for negotiations but want the government to back off first. The government is saying it won't negotiate until the protesters return home. Skirmishes here and there but both sides largely staying away from each other. I'm guessing this kind of stalemate could last a few weeks possibly.

Biggest news of the day was that the red shirts admitted that Thaksin is funding the whole rally, which came as a surprise to absolutely nobody.

Things getting a bit more serious now. Despite the fact that the Government supposedly has the red shirts surrounded, there is a battle going on at Asoke intersection about 2km from us. One of my colleagues who was evacuated from inside the hot zone to a hotel at Asoke is now trying to get his family out. Reports a fire in the Asoke train station and fighting. Last time we spoke about 15 min ago I could hear gunfire in the background.

Anarchy seems to be breaking out. Fires all over central Bangkok including around us. We've heard gunshots in our vicinity. Power is out now. Hunkering down for now as concerned that being out on the street could be dangerous.

We would have left days ago but had the small problem of my brother and sister arriving tomorrow night (Thursday). We've now made arrangements for them to be met at the airport and taken straight to Hua Hin.

My guess is Thailand starts to look like Sri Lanka. A central government, but one that lacks real control over a chunk of the country. Within Bangkok, security checks all over the place to deal with the real risk of terrorist like attacks.

Already, the militant arm of the red shirts have had their impact. They burned down the biggest mall in Thailand, and the only one that had an actual store location for my favorite place to buy clothes. Bloody bastards!

He's now in...

Bit different to...

The morning after, it is really disappointing to see the chaos that reigned in the aftermath of the protest. I have read that 27 buildings were burned. This includes the Tesco around the corner from us (not Carrefour - guess they prefer French to British). Central World, one of the biggest malls in the region, which resembled the Twin Towers yesterday afternoon in the way it was burning and the amount of smoke, is apparently on the verge of collapse.

Just hope things calm down now so we can get back and resume semi-normal life by next week.

He's currently getting drunk...

Moving on from the quotes and pictures. It's such a volatile place right now, it is very reminiscent of what's happened in Sri Lanka. They're talking of re-locating to Singapore or Kuala Lumpur, they only move their in Feb, setting up a new business (Energy Advisory), not only this but when a big quake hit China last month, they were down at the sea and a small series of strong waves hit the beach almost taking the youngest son. Quite harrowing.

 

[Blitz187]

^^^ Thanks for that Sureboss... Nice little summary of events there.... My parents left the country as well... They live about 0.5 km from where all the action took place and Central World shopping center... They left JUST in time as well because they arrived in Holland last week Thursday and all hell broke loose over the weekend... Glad they made that decision, otherwise it would have been a difficult week for me here...

Edit: Found a very good article about the background of the whole situation...

Link:

Explainer: Thailand's political crisis

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/05/17/thailand.crisis.explainer/index.html

(CNN) -- Days of violent unrest in the Thai capital have left dozens dead and hundreds injured as security forces clash with anti-government protesters.

The latest victims include a key opposition leader, Maj. Gen. Khattiya Sawasdipol -- a renegade general better known as Seh Daeng -- who died days after being critically wounded by a sniper's bullet.

But the current crisis follows a months-long standoff between Thai authorities and protesters opposed to the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. The protesters -- known as the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) -- support Thaksin Shinawatra, who was prime minister from 2001 to 2006, before he was ousted in a bloodless coup.

What is happening now?

The latest violence follows a government pledge to hold an election in November in an attempt to halt the protests. However, amid ongoing anger over a crackdown by security forces last month and a refusal by the protesters to comply with a deadline to vacate the district of Bangkok they have been occupying for weeks, authorities say the election date is now under threat.

Prime Minister Abhisit declared a state of emergency April 7, hours after anti-government demonstrators (known as "Red Shirts" for the clothes they wear) stormed the country's parliament.

Three days later, the deadliest clash in more than a decade between protesters (in this case the Red Shirts) and the military erupted, leading to the deaths of more than two dozen demonstrators and military forces.

Violence erupted again last week when protesters once again ignored an ultimatum to end their occupation in downtown Bangkok by Wednesday. Seh Daeng's subsequent shooting by an unknown assailant raised tensions further and at least 35 people have been killed and 240 wounded in the latest wave of unrest. The government has imposed a state of emergency in 22 provinces and metropolitan Bangkok.

What happens next?

Authorities have urged protesters to evacuate the protest area by Monday afternoon or face up to two years in prison for violating the order. But around 5,000 protesters remained on the streets in defiance of the authorities.

On Sunday protest leaders offered to resume talks with the government in U.N.-mediated negotiations if security forces were withdrawn from the streets. But the government has not accepted the offer. A senior official told CNN that authorities were under pressure to be more decisive in taking action to end the protests and claimed the government had been showing patience and restraint.

Media and analysts in Thailand say civil war may be looming, between the Red Shirts and the so-called "multi-colored shirts" (who support Abhisit). They are displeased with the disruption caused by the protests. They are generally middle-class city dwellers. They are not pro- or anti-government, they simply want the government to shut down the Reds to end the violence and interruptions to daily life. The red and multi-colored shirts have clashed in Silom Road, Bangkok's business and financial district.

How will Seh Daeng's death affect the protest movement?

CNN's Sara Sidner said it was unclear what the immediate impact of Seh Daeng's death would be. "Not all the protesters followed him as some thought he was too much of a hardliner," Sidner said. Some protesters argue that the Red Shirt movement should negotiate with the government to reach a settlement. But militant armed factions loyal to Seh Daeng and known as "Black Shirts" reject negotiation and appear ready to use violence to achieve their goals.

Haven't these protests been going on for a long time?

Yes, Thailand has been embroiled in political chaos for years and many here are growing weary with the instability. Ever since Thaksin came to power, there have been protesters opposing his allegedly corrupt and autocratic rule. Those protesters donned yellow shirts (the color of the king) and occupied the two main airports in Bangkok, until finally the pro-Thaksin government was brought down by a court ruling. In revenge Thaksin's supporters copied the yellow shirt tactics and took to the streets in red shirts.

Why do the sides divide on colors?

It's an easy way for them to create an identity. It all started with the Yellow Shirts wearing a color associated with Monday, the day of the week that Thailand's revered king was born on. That was designed to show their allegiance to the king, and more broadly the traditional elite which has dominated Thai politics for years. Thaksin's supporters then picked a color to distinguish themselves from the Yellow Shirts.

Why are they arguing?

Essentially this is a classic power struggle. It's easy to portray this as simply rich against poor, but it is much more complicated than that, as illustrated by the fact that the Reds' leader is in fact a multi-billionaire. Thaksin rode to power by enacting populist policies which gained huge support from the rural poor. His radical approach ruffled a lot of feathers among the elite, who felt he was in danger of becoming too big for his boots, and could erode their position.

The "civil society" also become concerned over allegations of corruption and his brutal war on drugs, which saw summary executions. He was also criticized for his heavy handed response to violence in the Muslim-dominated south.

Finally the army decided to oust him in a coup, which had the backing of the aristocratic elite and much of the middle class, who were becoming uneasy with the cult of personality growing around Thaksin. That set the stage for an embittered power struggle, between Thaksin loyalists and those loyal to the army, aristocracy and their traditional Democrat Party.

So who is Thaksin?

Visionary leader or venal despot: Opinions vary, like the color of the shirts his supporters and detractors wear. If you sport red, you think Thaksin was the only prime minister to offer the rural poor a voice and real benefits; if you wear yellow, you view him as akin to Ferdinand Marcos: greedy, self-serving and dangerous.

What is not in dispute is that he won two elections, was the only Thai prime minister to serve a full-term in office and is still hugely popular. But critics say he bought his support and was only in politics to help himself.

As a businessman, Thaksin made billions of dollars from his communications company Shin Corporation. In 2008 he was found guilty and sentenced in absentia to two years in prison for a land deal that enabled his wife to buy a valuable city plot for a fraction of its true value and he faces other corruption charges. More than $2 billion in Thaksin's family assets are currently frozen in Thailand but there is speculation he has a great deal more money elsewhere.

What are the wider implications of the protests?

If the divisions in Thailand can't be healed it could lead to a deteriorating security situation which would have wider implications for the region. Thailand's relations with Cambodia are especially frosty since Thaksin was appointed economic adviser to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. The worst case scenario would see Cambodia drawn into the dispute, with Thaksin using the country as a political base, adding to the already considerable tensions on the border.

Is Thailand safe for visitors?

Many western embassies have shut their doors and are warning their citizens against travel to Bangkok as violence in the city continues. "Due to escalating violence in central Bangkok, including gunfire near the U.S. Embassy, demonstrations in Chiang Mai, and other incidents throughout Thailand, U.S. citizens should defer all travel to Bangkok and defer all non-essential travel to the rest of Thailand," the U.S. State Department has warned.

As well as advising against travel to Bangkok, the UK Foreign Office warned of protests and violent incidents in popular tourist destinations such as Pattaya, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Ayutthaya. But Bangkok's main Suvarnabhumi airport is operating as normal it said.

 

[nk4e]

No, someone walked up and shot him in the head while he was doing an interview. There are before and after pics from a Boston newspaper or some kind of journalism outlet.

I was hoping for your reply for some odd reason.

 

[Sureboss]

The remnants of Centre World, a shopping mall.

 

[Omnis]

Here's the link with the pictures. When Journalism sucks, at least we still have photojournalism. The pictures speak for themselves.

Most of these pics are very violent... the ones that are extremely graphic have been automatically censored by the site and require you to click an approval button. Such pictures include the dying/dead general just after suffering the GSW, and a dead Thai man in the street who bled out from a sniper GSW.

www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/05/protests_turn_deadly_in_thaila.html

 

[Neal]

Firstly I'm glad that your parents are OK Blitz, hopefully any other family and friends are OK too.

I've been following the unrest in Thailand in passing but haven't seen any news in the last couple of weeks so wasn't aware it had escalated to this level. It's pretty shocking, especially the Boston.com photos, so it's difficult to be philosophical about the actions taken by the protesters and government and the resulting consequences but something needed to be done to resolve the protest.

If the financial district in London was overrun and locked down by protesters I am certain the UK government would taken action before 6 weeks had passed. Even if the protest is not physically violent it is a very serious attack to paralyse the financial system and the costs of this are enormous so it had to be resolved.

In answer to the question on the Thai governments decision I would say they were right to clear the protest but it does appear they used excessive force and the death toll could have been much lower but it’s difficult to make judgements about what happened in a country I’ve never visited and a situation I’m not involved in.

 

[Blitz187]

Thats the best pic Ive seen up to now of that Shopping center Sureboss.... That place is HUGE by the way... had eight floors and was about 1 maybe even two city blocks wide.....

Also thanks for the link Omnis... going to have a look at that after work!

Firstly I'm glad that your parents are OK Blitz, hopefully any other family and friends are OK too.

I've been following the unrest in Thailand in passing but haven't seen any news in the last couple of weeks so wasn't aware it had escalated to this level. It's pretty shocking, especially the Boston.com photos, so it's difficult to be philosophical about the actions taken by the protesters and government and the resulting consequences but something needed to be done to resolve the protest.

If the financial district in London was overrun and locked down by protesters I am certain the UK government would taken action before 6 weeks had passed. Even if the protest is not physically violent it is a very serious attack to paralyse the financial system and the costs of this are enormous so it had to be resolved.

In answer to the question on the Thai governments decision I would say they were right to clear the protest but it does appear they used excessive force and the death toll could have been much lower but it’s difficult to make judgements about what happened in a country I’ve never visited and a situation I’m not involved in.

Yup, parents are ok and here in Holland now... I also talked to family in Chiang Mai and they are well too. They said they only have the occassional crazy red shirt running through the village but nothing crazy like Bangkok... Thanks for you concern. 👍

BTW, if you want some background info on the whole ordeal I posted an article from CNN explaining everything which led up to this. It's on post #19...

So far the battle has calmed down now and the city has been cleaned up a bit... There are still however stray protesters causing problems here and there in the city... The city-wide curfew will probably run until May 31st to try and keep everything under control... I guess turning a once feudel society into a morden one is harder than they expected...

 

[Sureboss]

That picture does indeed take your breath away, especially when you look at the size of that scaffolding in the middle, gives some perspective.

He's back now, and says everything seems to be back to normal, barring the destruction, obviously.

 

[lpb-nissan-gt-r]

Is there any more pictures of that place?

 

[Blitz187]

^^^ There are more pics... but this one by far shows the destruction best... I'll try to show you a pic of what it usually looks like...

Here in these pics you can see the part that is burned away and how it normally SHOULD look there...

 

[niky]

My opinion of the whole thing is pretty neutral.

The Thai government may have waited for the Red Shirts to cause enough damage that their armed clearing of their camp would not cause too much uproar in the international community once they did do this... but make no mistake... this was a huge tactical / financial / political loss for the Thai government. They've probably lost tens (if not hundreds) of millions of dollars in terms of tourism and possible investment... multinational companies will now be looking elsewhere to set up shop...

While Southeast Asia is seen as a huge growth area by foreign investors, there aren't very many stable places to pick from amongst the "tiger" economies. Indonesia has had those political and military issues in the provinces... the Philippines still harbors quite a few independent warlords and militias (and has corruption up the wazoo, to boot), Vietnam is still too poor, Burma still too fascist, and now Thailand has the beginnings of a possible armed insurrection.

That leaves Malaysia (already very rich) and Singapore (even more so) as investment hubs.

I guess it's time for me to learn some Chinese and move.

 

[Omnis]

My opinion of the whole thing is pretty neutral.

The Thai government may have waited for the Red Shirts to cause enough damage that their armed clearing of their camp would not cause too much uproar in the international community once they did do this... but make no mistake... this was a huge tactical / financial / political loss for the Thai government. They've probably lost tens (if not hundreds) of millions of dollars in terms of tourism and possible investment... multinational companies will now be looking elsewhere to set up shop...

While Southeast Asia is seen as a huge growth area by foreign investors, there aren't very many stable places to pick from amongst the "tiger" economies. Indonesia has had those political and military issues in the provinces... the Philippines still harbors quite a few independent warlords and militias (and has corruption up the wazoo, to boot), Vietnam is still too poor, Burma still too fascist, and now Thailand has the beginnings of a possible armed insurrection.

That leaves Malaysia (already very rich) and Singapore (even more so) as investment hubs.

I guess it's time for me to learn some Chinese and move.

Gotta learn that Singlish first.

 

[niky]

I can fake it. Have a lot of friends who've moved there with no issues. Chinese gives me more options.