View Full Version : Thai Parliament Stormed
And so it goes...
Richard
Thai Parliament Stormed; Chopper Rescues Lawmakers
AP, 7 Apr 2010
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva declared a state of emergency in Bangkok on Wednesday, handing the army broad powers to restore order after anti-government protesters broke into Parliament, forcing some lawmakers to flee by helicopter.
Other lawmakers scaled the compound's walls to escape the most chaotic protest in several weeks of demonstrations by a group demanding Abhisit dissolve the government and call immediate elections. He has offered to do so by the end of the year.
"The government has tried its best to implement the law, but violations have increased. Today, Parliament was raided," Abhisit said in a televised statement that interrupted regular programming.
"The Cabinet has decided to declare state of emergency in Bangkok and nearby provinces," Abhisit said, seated at the center of a long table with the members of his Cabinet beside him. "Our goal is to restore normalcy."
The government already had placed Bangkok under the strict Internal Security Act.
But a state of emergency includes more sweeping powers. It gives the military authority to restore order and allows authorities to suspend certain civil liberties and ban all public gatherings of more than five people.
The so-called Red Shirt protesters have been camped in Bangkok since March 12 and have ignored all other decrees for them to stop their demonstrations.
Abhisit has become the target of harsh criticism for failing to take strong measures to end the protests. He has tried negotiations, and has had security forces pull back from possible confrontations.
In a statement broadcast on all television stations Tuesday, he explained that "the current fragile situation demands careful maneuvering."
"We need to plan and implement everything to the last detail and with thorough care. The last thing we want is for the situation to spiral out of control."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2010-04-07-thailand-parliament_N.htm
Team Sergeant
04-07-2010, 07:31
Happens about every 10-20 years. The Thais are right on time.:rolleyes:
That's about right - I was there in '73 when Kitakachorn was overthrown and there was rioting by the universsity students - got to spend a couple of extra days 'holed up' in Bangkok until things quieted down enough for the police to reappear and I could return to camp. ;)
Richard
Team Sergeant
04-07-2010, 20:46
That's about right - I was there in '73 when Kitakachorn was overthrown and there was rioting by the universsity students - got to spend a couple of extra days 'holed up' in Bangkok until things quieted down enough for the police to reappear and I could return to camp. ;)
Richard
I was on Oki when they did it in 92 or 93 (I think)?
"Thailand has suffered nine successful coups, plus 11 failed coups, since 1933. "
Try, try, try and try again.
From my experiences and readings, the Thai's pretty much agree to go about their worldly shenanigans in whatever way they see fit...as long as they leave their two most revered objects - Buddha and the King - alone. Most everything else is fair game.
And so it goes...
Richard's $.02 :munchin
Anyone else ever notice that when the Thai parliament gets attacked, not a single person in the room knows kung fu or any other martial art? From the camera footage it always looks like they were just swinging away at each other.:D
Probably need a Civil War to settle things.
mark46th
04-12-2010, 20:24
I was there when Richard was. Ho-Hum. As long as the khao pat is hot and the Singha is cold. Actually, the start of the Yom Kippur War stirred things up for us more than the coup did. My A team was put on alert to go to the Middle East... I was looking across the Mekong towards Laos when we were told we might be seeing the Jordan...
robert2854
04-12-2010, 20:40
i HOPE THEY DIDN'T MESS WITH THE OPERA HOTEL...I THINK THAT WAS NAME OF THE HOTEL WE SPENT R@R IN, BACK IN 1968. I HOPE THE THAI GOVERNMENT STAYS AS ELECTED. KILL A COMMIE FOR MOMMIE
Slantwire
04-13-2010, 06:20
Anyone else ever notice that when the Thai parliament gets attacked, not a single person in the room knows kung fu or any other martial art? From the camera footage it always looks like they were just swinging away at each other.:D
All Asians are martial artists. Just like all Italians are knife-fighters and all Irish are drunks. Well, let me retract that last part.... :D
From my experiences and readings, the Thai's pretty much agree to go about their worldly shenanigans in whatever way they see fit...as long as they leave their two most revered objects - Buddha and the King - alone. Most everything else is fair game.
And so it goes...
Richard's $.02 :munchin
I don't think the disagreement will end. Every election in Thailand, there's always question if the poll & votes were rigged. The losing side is always a sore loser and demand a new election. I just wish that they could respect the majority's vote just like America. Even if the head of the government is not what they preferred, at least American people put up with it until the new election.
The only way to end this is to put someone that everybody respect as the head of the government..... The King himself.
mark46th
04-26-2010, 21:55
Robert- Yep. It was the Opera. There were rooms that were specially equipped for SF personnel only...
It was the Opera. There were rooms that were specially equipped for SF personnel only...
I always regretted not bringing one of those 'SF chairs' home with me when USASFT was disbanded. ;)
Richard
mark46th
04-29-2010, 15:22
Knowing what went on in those, You would have had to have sterilized it for a week...
incarcerated
05-13-2010, 09:51
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64C0L620100513
Red shirt military adviser wounded in Thai capital
Martin Petty and Chalathip Thirasoonthrakul
BANGKOK
Thu May 13, 2010 10:22am EDT
(Reuters) - The chief military adviser of Thailand's anti-government protesters was injured in the head, after an explosion and bursts of automatic gunfire were heard near Bangkok's business district on Thursday night.
Khattiya Sawasdipol, a suspended army specialist in charge of security at an encampment occupied by thousands of "red shirt" demonstrators, was admitted to an intensive care ward after being shot in the head, the state Narenthorn Emergency Medical Service and medical sources said.
Khattiya, better known as "Seh Daeng" (Commander Red) enjoys a cult following among some red shirts and soldiers, but has been dubbed a "terrorist" by Thailand's government, which accuses him of involvement in dozens of grenade attacks that have injured more than 100 people....
The 22-member red shirt leadership council is an amalgam of radical former communists, academics, regional populists and aspiring lawmakers, making it difficult to reach consensus....
And so it goes...:eek:
Richard
Rogue Thai General Aiding Protesters Shot In Head
AP, 13 May 2010
A rogue army general working with anti-government protesters was shot in the head Thursday while talking to reporters in downtown Bangkok, triggering more clashes that left one demonstrator dead and worsening Thailand's political chaos.
<snip>
Maj. Gen. Khattiya Sawasdiphol...
(cont'd) http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100513/ap_on_re_as/as_thailand_politics
There are some interesting status updates in the following link, so much for Mr. Yon‘s R&R:
http://www.facebook.com/MichaelYonFanPage
incarcerated
05-17-2010, 01:21
http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/asia/Dissident-Thai-General-is-Dead-93911929.html
Dissident Thai General is Dead
VOA News
17 May 2010
The renegade Thai general shot and wounded at an anti-government protest site Thursday has died.
General Khattiya Sawasdiphol, better known as "Seh Daeng," or Commander Red, had enemies in the government he broke rank with and the protest movement he vowed to defend. He was shot in the head while giving an interview to a reporter from The New York Times last week....
incarcerated
05-22-2010, 10:32
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g3j-vAVG1fg3kEfnogTiH8_4EXvwD9FRTL5G0
Thai govt shows Red arsenal, tightens detentions
By ERIC TALMADGE (AP) – 2 hours ago
BANGKOK — Thai officials Saturday displayed the large cache of weapons seized from a stronghold of anti-government protesters in the heart of Bangkok that the military cleared after a violent two-month standoff and 85 deaths.
Police also said eight Red Shirt leaders have now been separated in detention, their phones have been seized and and they are now under armed guard, after police were criticized as treating the protest leaders with leniency.
The weapons — including rifles, bullets, grenades and the components of bombs — were put on display to defend the government's claim that the troops faced a serious threat and exercised appropriate force when they moved in to clear the main protest area.
At least 15 people died in the final offensive Wednesday and more than 100 were wounded.
The Thai capital was gripped with its worst political violence in decades during the so-called Red Shirt occupation of downtown Bangkok, culminating in the military crackdown that sparked a rampage by supporters who launched grenade attacks and set fire to landmark buildings, including the country's stock exchange and biggest shopping mall.
"The fires in many areas in Bangkok were well prepared — step by step," army spokesman Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd said at a news conference where he was flanked by tables covered with the recovered weapons. Officials said 11 soldiers and police officers were among the 85 people killed in the political violence of the past two months....