Traffic in Bangkok in a knot due to road closures
A student from the Mattayom Wat Makutkasat school in Phra Nakhon was late for school yesterday. It took Raweewan Cherdsukjai three hours to reach her workplace at Bangkok City Hall. The bus stopped for an hour, she got off and took a taxi, then transferred to a ferry and then took another taxi.
Students and workers have struggled to get to school or work since yesterday as traffic police closed five roads leading to Parliament and Government House. Seven other roads are also scheduled to be closed.
The reason? Fearing disturbances, the cabinet has declared security law applicable in three districts of Bangkok. From Thursday to Saturday, the Internal Security Act is in effect in Dusit, Phra Nakhon and Pomprap Sattruphai.
Traffic jams are the result, taxis refuse to drive to those districts and buses have to take other routes. For many Bangkokians, this means getting up early to arrive at your destination on time, if at all possible.
The measures come in connection with demonstrations against the Yingluck government and parliament's consideration of the first of six proposals to grant amnesty to anyone accused of or imprisoned for political offenses since the 2006 military coup. The proposals differ in scope.
For a long time there was talk that only the proposal of Pheu Thai MP Worachai Hema would be discussed on August 7 and 8, but now the proposal of Chalerm Yubamrung, formerly Deputy Prime Minister and 'demoted' at the last change of cabinet, is also included. as Minister of Employment, on the agenda of the parliament. Chalerm's version, called 'national reconciliation law', would thus exempt the opposition former prime minister Thaksin from the 2-year prison sentence he was sentenced to in 2008 for abuse of power.
On Sunday, the first protesters gathered at the statue of King Rama VI at Lumpini park. For the time being, the demonstration looks more like a picnic than a demonstration that has to be crushed with water cannons and tear gas. Police have taken up positions in various places in the city. In the photo on the homepage riot police at one of the roadblocks.
(Source: Bangkok Post, August 6, 2013)
Typical of this government and the position of the police apparatus. During the two-month siege by the Red Shirts that involved large-scale arson, intimidation of innocent bystanders, siege of a hospital, the use of M79 (grenade launchers) by the Red Shirts, the police did not lift a finger. These demonstrators have never used violence - it is usually amicable - and yet the riot police are summoned.
Facts and rumors at a glance:
1. next Wednesday and Thursday, two amnesty laws will be discussed in parliament. Chalerm's initiative law (added to the agenda today; coincidence?) is assumed to mean that Thaksin will be amnestied and - very likely - return to Thailand;
2. Perhaps Thaksin's opponents are trying to sabotage the discussion of the (discussion of) the law;
3. According to leader Juthaporn, a million red shirts are ready to advance to parliament if the talks are sabotaged;
4. If this 'fight' gets out of hand, the leaders of the protest movement and all others who are and were against Thaksin must watch their step;
5. There are already troop movements in the night (tanks in the streets; see the Thai TV news broadcasts);
6. The military ultimately listens to the big boss and not the boss.
I would like to highlight a few points that I think are being overlooked.
1. the demonstration has been peaceful so far;
2. Prevention is better than cure;
3. the police are also present to make it clear to the redhsirts that they will not get a free job now;
4. The red shirts movement may be behind the proposal to bring back Thaksin. The leadership has also made it clear that other issues have more priority for them than amnesty and constitutional amendment. (Thaksin does not need to return to rule the country because he already does)
5. The cause of the unrest is not only the rolling around of amnesty legislation, but a series of small and large incidents such as the guaranteed rice price, the rotting rice (because the sale does not go smoothly), the analysis that this policy affects even the small farmers not achieved, the investment plans in water management and high-speed rail, the oil spill in Koh Samed, the rising corruption, the failing education policy, the unrelenting unrest in the south, the just keeping promises to keep the cost of living low, the floods in the whole country…..All symptoms of a failing government. Investors are getting nervous.
Chris, you are absolutely right.
As for the police "presence", you might wonder if the T-family doesn't fully trust the changes they've made to the military after all.
In other words, T cs are thinning their pants for the military.
Now let me consider that a good thing!
Thai soldiers swear allegiance to the king and take that promise seriously (especially in the last say 60 years to this day). Thailand is not a democracy but an oligarchy with a democratic show-off. As soon as social shit is at stake, the army does not care about the show-off defense minister or the prime minister, but follows the king's orders. Democracy is a joke here, the army is not. And the king does not like red, not yellow, not pickpocketing, not corruption, not incompetence, not squandering tax money, not drugs. Still not.
Dear Tjamuk,
“Chris puts everything in perfect order. In my opinion too. Not a good portrait of the current government, do you think? And then you come up with a story about a ruling by the judge who found the army guilty (indirectly Abhisit) of shooting 6 people during the violent occupation of a city district of two square kilometers in May 2010. Your comment is completely wrong. -or actually has nothing to do with what Chris has just listed “in perfect detail” according to you. Actually, your response is as contradictory as it can be, because judging by your response, you are actually a Thaksin sympathizer and in your same response to that of Chris, who is burning down the current government led by Thaksin to the laces, you have nothing then praise for Chris's response. Strange...
Tjamuk,
You might wonder if the court might not be a little bit influenced by politics?
The retired army officers are very dangerous, according to you.
But also, I read in your words, the yellow shirts and/or the multicoloreds.
Will we get to hear if you also think the red shirts are dangerous?
There is plenty of evidence that the Red Shirts played with fire, captured and used weapons, and did inflict considerable material damage, incited to do so by their leaders.
What about the yellow shirts?
Did they also start fires, shoot, etc.?
Tjamuk, if the "democratic" forces in a country are abused, you can expect counteractions at some point.
And in a country where the army is indeed obliged to monitor and / or maintain national security, it can just happen that the army intervenes if the police fail to do so, and shoots and / or shoots back when amok is going on by protesters.
And you know very well that many groups within the red shirts were hired to "pump shit", and many were incited by leaders to make fires, so to speak.
Yes, the ordinary demonstrators within the red shirts were not really happy about that either.
I was amazed at a recent demonstration in Khon Kaen.
The “masked” were gathered at Central World, speeches were made, discussions were held, all very peacefully.
But of course against the government.
This small group of demonstrators was completely surrounded by a police cordon.
And around that again red shirts…..
Attack, kill them, get rid of the masks were pretty much the sounds you could hear from the redshirts.
It was just a pack of wolves….
If that's an expression of the way redshirts act, then I can well imagine shooting from that mob, shooting back.
Too bad I can't give 10 thumbs up for this comment.