News from Thailand – January 2, 2014
Today in News from Thailand:
• Tablet PC program for students may be dropped
• New Year's Day shooting: five killed, six injured
• Happy New Year, says News from Thailand editors
Bangkok Post: Uprising turns 2014 upside down
Insurrection turns 2014 upside down, writes Bangkok Post in an analysis of the current political situation. The battle between the outgoing government and the muan maha prachachon (great mass uprising) will dominate Thai politics for months to come.
Prime Minister Yingluck has asked the army to assist the police in enforcing the law and maintaining public order. "It seems that the country is in a state of lawlessness because people do whatever they want."
News from Thailand – January 1, 2014
Today in News from Thailand:
• Newspaper delivery driver fails to reach editors today
• Bangkok is paralyzed for 10 to 20 days
• After four 'dangerous days': 209 dead, 1.931 injured
New threats to elections
Protesters and government are not bowing; Electoral council and police become difficult. The elections on February 2 are hanging by a thread, the Bangkok Post analyzes.
News from Thailand – December 30, 2013
Today in News from Thailand:
• After two of the 'seven dangerous days' 86 killed and 885 injured
• Demonstrators are still blocking registration in the South
• Another attack on guards protest location, now with fireworks
Registration blocked in eight provinces; guard shot
District candidates for the February 2 elections failed to register in eight southern provinces yesterday. Registration went smoothly in the other 69 provinces. A security guard at the Chamai Maruchet Bridge protest site in Bangkok was shot dead Friday night.
News from Thailand – December 28, 2013
Today in News from Thailand:
• 'Police Commissioner Adul gave bad leadership on Thursday'
• Auction of digital TV channels generates 50,9 billion baht
• SET index minus 1,8 pc; baht continues to fall in value
Army Commander: Coup is a 'possibility', if necessary
A military coup cannot be ruled out, army commander Prayuth Chan-ocha said after Thursday's chaos at the Thai-Japan stadium. "It is clear that a certain group of people do not shy away from violence, as they did in 2010, but the military will do everything possible to prevent violence."
News from Thailand – December 27, 2013
Today in News from Thailand:
• Desperate rice farmers will receive their money no later than 15 January
• BRT and MRT (metro) gain from demonstrations
• Another demonstration at the (empty) home of Prime Minister Yingluck
Electoral Council calls for postponement of elections after riots with dead and injured
• The Electoral Council wants the government to postpone the elections
• Fourteen demonstrators arrested
• Riots at stadium: one officer killed, 96 injured
And again the stadium was besieged, this time by 'students'
Protesters tied a long national flag around gym 2 of the Thai-Japan Sports Center yesterday. They blocked access to candidates who wanted to register for the February 2 elections.
Bangkok Post fiercely opposes illegal methods of action
"Protesters have no right to force their views on others," the Bangkok Post wrote in its editorial today. The newspaper vehemently criticizes some methods of action of the anti-government protest movement.
News from Thailand – December 24, 2013
Today in News from Thailand:
• Angry rice farmers block highway; when do we get our money?
• Raped student (15) succumbed to head injuries
• Mysteriously dead 13 rare gaurs in Kui Buri National Park
Analysis: The thorny path to the election
The path to the elections is littered with obstacles, the Bangkok Post notes in an analysis today. Not only did the protest movement succeed in disrupting the registration of candidates yesterday, but the elections themselves can also be sabotaged in many ways.
It's getting exciting: Protest movement is going to sabotage registration candidates
It will be tense today at the Thai-Japan stadium where election candidates must register. Can the protesters boycott the registration? Action leader Suthep Thaugsuban thinks so. "Anyone who wants to register will have to sneak between our legs to get in."
Bangkok Mass Rally: Top or Flop?
The elections on February 2 will go ahead, opposition party Democrats will not participate, opposition party Matubhum calls for a postponement, Prime Minister Yingluck proposes a conciliation council and the protest movement continues to insist on her resignation. That, in a nutshell, is the political situation on the eve of what should be a mass rally in Bangkok.