Thaksin Steps Down

Apr 5, 03:36 pm

Boy he looks sad.

The election turned up some pretty interesting results. “No Votes” outnumbered votes for TRT, Thaksin’s party, in 28 of 36 central seats, while TRT romped it in throughout the provinces, excluding the south. While he probably could have led a new government pending upcoming bi-elections, Thaksin didn’t have a mandate in Bangkok, where the power and money resides.

On Monday Thaksin declared victory. On Tuesday he met with HM the King, then announced he was stepping down as the Prime Minister, though not resigning.

IMHO, Thaksin has done a lot for democracy by taking the election path rather than bowing to the protestor’s demands.

As usual, there are better places than Something Changed to get your news.

Here are some key quotes:

“My reason for not accepting the post of prime minister is because this year is an auspicious year for the King, whose 60th anniversary on the throne is just 60 days away. I want all Thais to reunite.” (The Nation)

“I want to see Thais love each other, be united and let bygones be bygones. I would like to thank PAD members and beg them to join us in pushing for political reform to ensure the best politics for Thailand and for all the Thais.” (Bangkok Post)

Now, if only he’d stepped down a bit earlier and saved me those two bottles of beer.

We have ways to make you talk.

Photos from Bangkok

Apr 1, 12:25 pm

I took some non-protest pics while in Bangkok, which you can find here .

I’ve got to find an album-generator that makes it easy to add comments. In the mean time, here’s how the photos pan out:

  • A pic from the hotel room in Ladpraow
  • Pictures around the very ritzy Siam Paragon shopping centre. That’s my new Lamborghini (still deciding on the colour).
    I met up with Dusida, a fellow Frente fan after something like five years.
  • Pictures on the way to, and around Government House. I still don’t know which building Government House actually is. Maybe the one with the tuk-tuk in front?.
  • A couple of pics at Siam Ocean World. The lighting made it next-to-impossible to get decent shots.
  • ?, Michael, Yok and Dave on Soi Hotel 27 in Sukumvit
  • Cousin Tim, Tris and Xavier in Singapore the next day

Comment [1]

Streets of Colour

Mar 29, 02:27 am

By virtue of good timing, I was lucky to catch the most-recent anti-Thaksin protests in Bangkok. I chased the protests for two days.

On Saturday the evening protests were held at the regular venue outside Government House (though I still don’t know which building Government House actually is!)

Taksin Awk Pai

Sunday’s protests took a turn of events, by passing right through the centre of Bangkok, from the National Stadium, past Siam BTS Station, onto the World Trade Center, then finally ending at The Emporium.

I’ll refrain from making political comments right now; Thailand is not my country, so while I have a stance on the situation and took photos, as a foreigner I don’t have any right to push my point of view. You might also notice some controversial photos, and I am plainly hesitant to include them in the albums. The issue is however integral to the demonstrations, and that’s where the story ends.

The elections are due to be held on Sunday April 2nd. It looks likely that there will won’t be a significant turnout. The proportion of legitimate votes is crucial for Thaksin to maintain his leadership.

Comment [2]

Nobody loves you when you're down and out

Mar 17, 02:00 am

I might have lost myself two bottles of beer; it doesn’t look like Thaksin will be giving up any power in the coming days. He has a point in not resigning: mob rule isn’t democracy, as much as the protestors state that it is so. It may be freedom of speech, but the disruption by a couple of hundred thousand people shouldn’t by itself overthrow the votes of millions. Of course I’m giving Thaksin the benefit of the doubt. He probably doesn’t want to lose face, or to be stripped of his assets under popular furore if he’s deposed.

These demonstrations are like an encore of those held in 1992. The stage is the same, and the determination the same. What differs is that those in 1992 ended in many killed at the hands of the military. That was the birth of true democracy in Thailand.

Thaksin has done well to become the complementary book-end of 1992, by undermining the institutions put in place after the 1992 demonstrations. (By Anand, the only Thai politician I’ve come across who seems to be an all-round good-guy). All involved are determined that the current situation remains peaceful. Paradoxically, the demonstrations in 1992 were to bring about democracy after a coup that the public would not accept, whilst current demonstrations are an undemocratic force trying to bring down the most democratic government that Thailand has seen.

The Devils and Angels of 1992 were brought to task by the revered King of Thailand, to whom they cowered. Thaksin recently stated (perhaps disrespectfully) that he would resign if the King so much as whispered to him. On Sunday night, on Royal command, the footage of that meeting was shown across all television networks. Did the King just whisper to Thaksin? Here ’s the Nation’s story about it. As far as I’m concerned the King did whisper, and Thaksin owes me two bottles of beer, Chang at that.

As before, the best up-to-date news on this ongoing 24-hour-a-day standoff can be found at The Nation

Comment

How will it all end?

Mar 14, 12:19 pm

Following on from my photos from Sanam Luang, it seems like today is the final countdown for Mr Thaksin. All-night protests which have arrived at Government House, talk of a State of Emergency, the Prime Minister skulking to Ubon Ratchatani and talk of a way out of politics for Thaksin. My 64 Baht bet is that he won’t be the effective Prime Minister by the end of the week, and will be out before a new government convenes. I used to think that Thai politics was boring, but this is as good as it gets. Take a look at the links below to discover the colour and drama. © The Nation

Read up-to-date reports at The Nation (© photo above) ( Yesterday’s reports here ) and catch up with wider reports at 2Bangkok.com.

What are your thoughts?

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