Red Letdown

Well either it was too hot or their numbers just didn’t cut it yet, but a few hundred red shirts marching along selected locations in Bangkok called it a day after the widely announced start of the government’s end this Friday, March 12th. Was day 1 just a teaser?

Or has the number of protesters fallen way short of expectation? “They expected thousands at each gathering point,” tweeted The Nation’s Tulsathit Taptim, “but protest leaders only managed to gather hundreds at each spot,” said his government intelligence source.

Much too early to call it a bust. They gave a foretaste of what is possible. The reds spread. Still, not enough funds from Dubai? If we’d known this Bangkok wouldn’t have had to cancel so many events. But now all hopes and fears have been postponed to Sunday, and no one knows how many red shirts will make use of the army’s park-and-ride service with bus transport.

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March 12, 2010 | Filed Under News & Media, Politics, Society | 2 Comments 

The Great Uncertainty

Can’t count the cancellations of events for this weekend anymore. Everyone’s postponing. Parties, receptions, trips, they have to wait. The Thai capital is in the grip of the red shirts without them yet being here. Parts of Bangkok will be deserted, others rather not. Speculation is the government will issue a curfew from Friday onwards, but that would show that they don’t have the ability to control the masses.

The red protest is no longer a protest. It’s a mobilization of hope for some, victory seems near, of utter discomfort for others. Maybe we have never seen as many reds united, but they’re not here to make new friends. Make no mistake. This is no protest per se. The Shinawatras have fled the country already – flown out for business as papa Thaksin’s said on Twitter -, and Newin’s in London to see his kids.

Thaksin’s foot soldiers – how many?! – are marching, some of them unsure and scared themselves, while many people’s color of the day is no longer red or yellow, but white, the color of peace, purity and cleanness – illusory concepts in current Thailand. There is so much rumor, speculation and uncertainty all around, nobody has a clue what’s going on and what will happen. If this confusion is an intention of the red shirts, then well done, you won your first battle.

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March 10, 2010 | Filed Under News & Media, Politics | 15 Comments 

A Pointless Reminder

This is a blog. This is no newspaper. This site does not pretend to know the truth. And OMG it’s wrong so often. This site was born with the aim of sharing information, encouraging debate and enhancing dialog on Thai matters. This site does not know more than anyone else nor does it pretend to know better. Reading not only anti-yellow and pro-red stuff lately? Well hopefully so.

It’s all an opinion. This site is not written by martyrs and if you’re looking for ideological reactionary stuff you may find it in here or not. If you’re afraid Thai politics are a clear-cut game, if you want to cheer one party and denounce the other, then good night and please apply for the Nobel Prize in Physics as you just inverted basic laws of not only Thai nature.

This site may also criticize the truthful and praise the dishonest. This site may surprise and offend and offers left and right and center and way out-of-line news sources in its News Feed. Because this site trusts the reader is old enough to read and judge content. But guess what, this site is not unbiased. Red may look promising. Depending on the contextual light it looks unnatural the very next second.

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March 8, 2010 | Filed Under On Our Own | 30 Comments 

The Vongthip Letter Mar ‘10

Beyond reasonable doubts: Thaksin’s “Judgment Day” has become another unforgettable event in the Thai political history. After weeks of being second guessed by academics and political pundits, nine judges of the Supreme Court spent almost eight hours reading their historical verdict which was broadcasted nationwide.

Thaksin was found guilty on all five cases for hiding his family shareholdings behind onshore and offshore nominees during his premiership, for conflict of interest, for abusing his power as head of the government, and for becoming unusually rich as the result of ruthless changes in policies, laws and regulations to benefit his family businesses.

The court ruled that the excess amount of THB 46 billion (out of THB 76 billion that had been frozen since 2006) was to be confiscated by the state. The remaining THB 30 billion would be returned after deduction of related income taxes, fines and other charges due.

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March 5, 2010 | Filed Under Business & Economics, Politics, Property & Investment, The Vongthip Letters | 7 Comments 

Reds’ One Big Bang? – Or: Civil War? We’ll See

Doomsday is the word of the day again with the reds’ million-man march in Bangkok approaching on March 14th. Well, they’re lucky if they get a 100,000 people, a seasoned observer told aB.come after the FCCT’s recent press conference of the red shirts’ United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship UDD.

Red leader Jaran Ditthapichai assured us they’ll get half a million or more people from mainly the north and northeast, assuming their pick-up trucks get gas – didn’t you hear the rumor about a government-sponsored closure of gas stations? And assuming they can pass security checkpoints.

That’s right, the reds claim that the government instructed bus companies to not transport red shirts to Bangkok. With tens of thousands of red shirts and their thousands of pick-ups soon stretching all the way from Sanam Luang to Rama V expect some major traffic nuisance. Well the red shirts are giving the prime minister a choice. Dissolve the house. Or suppress us.

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March 3, 2010 | Filed Under Politics | 44 Comments 

Mean Thai Resistance Tactics

Yes, some people here are very upset. Another shit tosser has been arrested. Human waste attacks against our dear ruling Democrats are on the rise. They’re a distinctively Thai way of saying: “Hey, you’re shit.”

Human feces as a political statement is nothing new in Thai politics. Excrement tossers hit the headlines all the time in times of political divide. Sometimes there are groups of them. The practice is as old as Thai politics.

But there is much more to the quirky ways and means of opposition politics, of uniquely Thai ways to show utter disgust. Yes, creative cursing can be an act of self-defence.

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March 2, 2010 | Filed Under Culture Shock, Politics, Society, The Thai Mind | 5 Comments 

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