Wino Posted February 19, 2010 Report Share Posted February 19, 2010 I am afraid this is one of many protest to come. I hope nobody has a flight around February 26. BANGKOK (AFP) – Thousands of protesters forced Thailand's biggest bank to close its headquarters Friday, raising tensions one week before a court ruling on the fortune of ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra. Bangkok Bank shut its head office for the day and sent 3,000 staff home because of the rally by Thaksin's supporters, who say the bank has links to a royal aide whom they blame for the 2006 coup that toppled their idol. Police said around 1,500 demonstrators had gathered in Bangkok's Silom business district. The protest movement, known as the "Red Shirts" because of their signature clothing, said 10,000 attended. "Bangkok Bank is a capitalist institution which has destroyed our democracy," Red Shirt speaker Worawuth Wichaidit told the crowd from a stage. The Red Shirts said former prime minister Prem Tinsulanonda, who is now the chief adviser to Thailand's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej, used to be Bangkok Bank's chief adviser and continues to have ties to it. They accuse Prem of masterminding the September 2006 putsch. Telecoms tycoon Thaksin is now living abroad to avoid a two-year jail term imposed in absentia in 2008 for corruption relating to a land deal. "Prem is the one who has caused our country to collapse," Worawuth added. More than three years after the coup Thailand remains deeply split between Thaksin's supporters in the country's rural heartland and his foes among the Bangkok-based elites of the palace, military and bureaucracy. Protests by his supporters and the anti-Thaksin "Yellow Shirts" have hurt the kingdom's economy, shutting down Bangkok's airports in late 2008, and sometimes descended into violence. "A turning point is about to be reached in Thai history. We are determined to see democracy, human rights and equal justice," said another key Red Shirt, Sean Boonpracong. Thailand's Supreme Court is due to rule on February 26 on whether the 2.2-billion-dollar fortune of Thaksin, frozen in the months after the coup, can be seized by the authorities. The government has deployed 20,000 extra security forces around the country ahead of the verdict in case protests turn violent. Last weekend a bomb was defused near the court, while a grenade exploded near government offices. The Red Shirts have said they plan to hold further rallies against the government of current Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. Riots by the movement in April last year left two people dead. Thaksin protesters shut down Thailand's largest bank - Yahoo! News Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wino Posted February 19, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2010 British, Australian, and US governments are warning it's citizens to be aware of possible problems in Thailand with the volatile political situation. Essentially warning citizens about the potential for violence around large crowd and demonstrations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyExpat Posted February 21, 2010 Report Share Posted February 21, 2010 BANGKOK -- A court ruling on whether Thailand's deposed leader Thaksin Shinawatra should lose his fortune for alleged corruption could become the latest flash point in four years of sometimes-violent political unrest that has exposed deep divisions in Thai society. The government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is hoping Friday's decision will lead to a return of stability, but it has hedged its bets, imposing a security crackdown around the country and offering safe houses for the court's judges, claiming the pro-Thaksin "Red Shirt" movement may be planning violence. Political passions have led to years of off-and-on street protests, pitting those who view Thaksin as a corrupt demagogue who bought his way to power against those who benefited from his populist policies and see the military coup that ousted him in September 2006 as a grave injustice orchestrated by a ruling elite scared of change. The refusal by Thaksin's opponents to accept the results of post-coup elections that saw his allies return to power led to their occupation of the seat of government for several months and seizure of the capital's two airports for a week in 2008. A court ruling that led to the fall of the pro-Thaksin government and Abhisit taking power through parliamentary maneuverings fueled the ire of the Red Shirts, who last year rioted and disrupted a conference of Asian heads of government. Now, says government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn, "People expect the system to resume functioning normally, the parliamentary system and the economic system. Although we continue to have political differences, the wishes of the people are clear." ad_icon Actual evidence of a return to normalcy is slim. Red Shirt leaders boast of plans for a "million-man march" sometime after the verdict. State television nightly broadcasts dire warnings of the nefarious intentions of Thaksin and his followers, repeatedly showing footage of Red Shirt rioting last April that had to be quashed by the army. Newspapers publish endless speculation about a coup in the offing. The Supreme Court will rule on whether Thaksin, a telecommunications mogul, illegally parked his fortune with family members because he was not allowed to hold company shares while prime minister and whether his 2001-2006 governments implemented policies to benefit his businesses. If it finds Thaksin guilty - the almost universal assumption is that it will - the court will also decide whether to seize some or all of the $2.29 billion chunk of the family fortune frozen in Thai banks. For Thaksin's opponents, says political scientist Thitinan Pongsidhirak of Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, the case marks "the final act of Thaksin's political decapitation, on the premise that the Red Shirts, the instability, are all because of Thaksin, plus his money, his corruption, manipulation and abuses of power." "The bottom line is: Are these Reds really about something more than Thaksin? His opponents will say 'No, They're all because of Thaksin.' Instead of saying that the Red Shirts have genuine grievances. Instead of acknowledging that they exist, listening to them." Such a state of denial, he warns, only intensifies their movement. Thaksin's supporters say the charges against him are an outrage, part of a vendetta carried out by a ruling class that felt threatened by their hero's popularity - he won two landslide election victories - and is determined to prevent his comeback. Thaksin - who denies all the charges against him - fled into exile ahead of a 2008 conflict of interest conviction that resulted in a two-year jail sentence. As he trots the globe cutting business deals, he sends his followers messages - on blogs, through Twitter and by video - bemoaning his fate and exhorting them to keep up the fight. Opponents say Thaksin was a megalomaniacal crook of unbounded greed, who also sought to usurp the power of the country's revered constitutional monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej. His supporters, primarily from the country's poor rural majority, which benefited from Thaksin's innovative social welfare programs, feel robbed of their democratic birthright. But the Red Shirt movement also encompasses many who while not necessarily Thaksin supporters, feel the coup and subsequent court rulings against his allies are symptoms of greater injustices in Thai society, which has long been dominated by those with ties to the military and palace. Friends and foes of Thaksin alike doubt the court verdict will clear the air. The Red Shirts - nicknamed for their attire but formally called the United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship - "have been fighting against dictatorship for three years and we will keep on fighting," says one of their leaders, veteran politician Veera Musigapong. Whether Thaksin's money is seized in whole or in part, or released, is irrelevant to the group, he says. "Our political gatherings will continue, according to our plan to bring back democracy and to overthrow the current government." ad_icon A prominent Thaksin critic thinks a guilty verdict will erode the former prime minister's legitimacy with the public, but not end the schisms in Thai society. "Even if the assets are seized, the conflict will continue," says Suriyasai Katasila of the People's Alliance for Democracy, the group that has been the public face of the anti-Thaksin movement. "Thaksin will carry out his revenge against his opponents. The clashes of opinions will persist and are not likely to cease for the next couple of years." Thaksin ruling could further inflame Thai unrest - washingtonpost.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer Chang Posted February 28, 2010 Report Share Posted February 28, 2010 Was going to go to the redshirt staging area on the outskirts (for me) of Pattaya, and give a report. But none of my friends wanted to join me and many said it was a stupid idea. But wouldn't a redshirt be a more authentic souvenier than a t-Shirt that says Thailand in the western alphabet? Or more authentic than a Che T-shirt? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wino Posted March 1, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2010 I am with your friends. Any sign of trouble and I go the other way. Who needs an authentic red shirt souvenier anyway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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