Thai Parliament Stormed
 

And so it goes...

Richard

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

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.

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...

THAI PARLIMENT STORMED
 

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

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

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.

Robert- Yep. 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

Knowing what went on in those, You would have had to have sterilized it for a week...

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/...iland_politics

There are some interesting status updates in the following link, so much for Mr. Yon‘s R&R:
http://www.facebook.com/MichaelYonFanPage

http://www1.voanews.com/english/news...-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....

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...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....