Thai government feels fallout from deadly clashes

BBC News ^ | April 11, 2010 | Vaudine England

[myknowledge]

A month ago, Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva might have felt relatively secure, despite the opposition's anger at his government.

A court had just confiscated two-thirds of the private assets of the former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra.

Local newspapers were firmly on the government's side, predicting some days of angry ranting by an uneducated rabble from the countryside which would soon peter out.

But then the anti-government protesters, the red-shirts, began their protests in the old heart of Bangkok, to press for new elections, and Mr Abhisit has spent the following weeks under military protection, unable to go home or to his office.

He had to beg generals to implement emergency laws intended to clear the demonstrations once and for all.

[myknowledge]

The red-shirt protesters are demanding new elections.

Again, it's the deposed former PM Thaksin Shinawatra who engineered the riotous demonstrations behind the scenes.

The rabble of UDD red shirts from the countryside are either angry poor farmers or just useful idiots of Thaksin.

[headsonpikes]

Well, isn’t that just like those dumb as dirt farmers - getting angry because the current unelected government doesn’t want an election!

Farmers are always angry about some damn thing!

Screw ‘em, eh, myknowledge?

[bluejay]

The report I saw from Bloomberg said that a grenade thrown from the protesters into police initiated the violence. Does any one know if that is correct?

[myknowledge]

Uh, no, I meant either the unelected government or Thaksin supporters, but not the farmers.

[Aussiebabe]

You are on the right track. Thaksin was removed by influence of the Army when he was getting too powerful and democracy was being established in Thailand too much to the military’s liking. There are two sides to this story.

[ASA Vet]

Thai Ping

[killjoy]

The report I saw from Bloomberg said that a grenade thrown from the protesters into police initiated the violence. Does any one know if that is correct?

No it is not correct.

[killjoy]

Again, it's the deposed former PM Thaksin Shinawatra who engineered the riotous demonstrations behind the scenes.

Read the Nation much? It isn't about Thaksin. It is about 20 people dead and 800 injured because of calls for elections. The same thing PM Abhisit was calling for until he was nominated for the PM position. Still no elections.

[jedi150]

The red-shirt protesters are demanding new elections. Again, it's the deposed former PM Thaksin Shinawatra who engineered the riotous demonstrations behind the scenes. The rabble of UDD red shirts from the countryside are either angry poor farmers or just useful idiots of Thaksin.

Try and get your facts right, Thaksin is a posterboy that the Yellows use to belittle the, as they say IGNORANT Country folk. This movement is a bunch more than just the former PM.