Thai violence spirals as both sides seek reinforcements

Source: Reuters

BANGKOK - Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva vowed on Saturday to stop protesters from toppling his government as fighting in Bangkok spiralled into chaotic urban warfare, with both sides calling for reinforcements.

Soldiers fired live rounds at demonstrators who fought back with petrol bombs, rocks and crude homemade rockets in two major areas of the city as the army tried to enforce a security cordon around a sprawling protest encampment in central Bangkok.

"We will not retreat," Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said in a televised statement. "We cannot allow the country to be in a condition in which people can establish an armed group to topple the government that they are not happy with."

"Red shirt" protestors, made up of the rural and urban poor, accuse Vejjajiva and his royalist urban backers of running the southeast Asian country with impunity by meddling in the judicial system and toppling elected governments.

Read more: http://sg.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20100516/tap-oukwd-uk-thailand-173a892.html

Let's see now ... could it be ... ahhh ... is it ... ?

in Canada. Whats happening here in BC is appalling and people are mad. Its not only the new tax that is just the icing on the cake.

Source: Guardian

As Bangkok suffers its worst political unrest for two decades, the Thai army has declared parts of the city "live-fire zones", warning that anyone found entering certain roads in the capital will be shot on sight.

The move came as one of the leaders of the redshirt protesters said that there would be "civil war" if the army did not pull back and declare a ceasefire.

After two days of conflict, the army stepped up efforts to cut off the redshirts from the rest of the world, sealing off swaths of the city.

Troops have erected signs at Ratchaprarop Road, on the northern edge of the redshirts' camp, warning, in Thai and English: "No Entry, Restricted Area. Live Firing Zone". Protesters still risked their lives to harass troops, drawing fire as they ran across the deserted streets to hurl rocks and bottles. Others, including residents caught out by the army's sudden move, were seen fleeing the area with their hands above their heads.


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Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/15/redshirts-warn-civil-war-thai-troops

Obviously some people are against their gov't, but what happened to trigger this?

Basically, multiple factions are fighting over power, taking it to extremes... seizing buildings by force, throwing out a Prime Minister for going on a TV cooking show (yes, really), possible electoral fraud, accusations by the truckload, street violence by political gangs against rivals, riots, assassinations and assassination attempts, etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008%E2%80%932010_Thai_political_crisis

The Thaksin government was totally corrupt. He was ousted for corruption and found guilty by the Supreme Court but refused to leave. The military took over the government and he fled the country. New elections were held and he used his BILLION of dollars to buy another election and put one of his former cronies into power. That Prime Minister also had a cooking show on TV. He did not just appear on TV, it was his show. The Thai constitution says that the PM cannot have other employment and he refused to give up his show. He was ousted.

The members of parliament chose Abhisit (the current prime minister) and he won a large majority in a coalition.

Thaksin fled the country but the courts froze much of his money. A few months ago the courts found that he had indeed committed fraud against the Thai people and seized 76 Billion baht of his money. That's when the trouble really started.

Thaksin is paying the Red Shirt leaders money in order for them to topple the current government. He is paying money to the rural poor to come to Bangkok and protest. In order to receive the money, they were forced to turn over their I.D. to the Red Shirts and now cannot leave.

Thaksin is a crook, he is buying these people off. He is actively trying to bring down the government of Thailand. He does not care about Thailand, he wants to return to power.

The rural people, especially those in the Northeast are very poor and have valid grievances. However, they are being duped by a corrupt, Bush crony. For every $1 Thaksin put into programs for the rural poor, he stole $10 for himself and his crooked family and cronies.

It is time for the Red Shirts to go home. They have won major concessions from the government. There will be early elections and many of the inequities are going to be addressed.

Don't jump to conclusions. This is no longer an effort to address the inequities in Thai society, it is an attempt by Thaksin and his paid jack booted thugs to overthrow the government. Once again, it is the Thai people who are suffering.

and the one that the official local press keeps pushing.

No way is it that the oppressed are protesting. It has to be Thaksin. It just has to be. The oppressed are really satisfied with their lot.

going on there and what has been going on for years. I sympathize with the poor of Thailand but they are being used. Thaksin could care less about what happens to them. He only cares about money and regaining power. Everything he did for the poor was to boost his own fortunes, not theirs. The Red Shirt leaders that are actual populists have already returned home. It's the Thaksin thugs who remain. People who don't spend time there really shouldn't try to judge the situation, it's very complex.

The government is using the Thaksin story to keep sentiment away from the protesters' plight. "It's okay if we open fire on the protesters, they are only paid thugs of Thaksin." Official news keeps pushing Thaksin as the bogey man behind all its troubles.

There are a couple of bloggers, Andrew Walker and Nicholas Farrelly, over at Asia Pacific which offerd a good description the situation:

http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/newmandala/2010/05/15/reds-fatal-flaw-thailands-fatal-flaw/