Bangkok Post Today Analysis [-Re. PAD Thai noodle]

17/02/2011
Bangkok Post

Having lost its political appeal, the People's Alliance for Democracy may soon have to call off its anti-government rally in Bangkok.

Since it launched the protest late last month, the PAD has been facing strong pressure from the Abhisit government, while the public at large views its nationalistic campaign against Cambodia as counter-productive.

PAD members charged with terrorism in connection with the seizure of Bangkok's airports in 2008, were also summoned by the Royal Thai Police Office which had earlier been reluctant to take strong action against them. The latest police action has sent a strong signal to the PAD that it will no longer be treated leniently. The enforcement of the Internal Security Act has also made it difficult for the PAD to take disruptive action against the government.

"get out, get out Abhisit": Thai protesters

Thai protesters demand prime minister's ouster

February 11, 2011
From Kocha Olarn
CNN

Bangkok, Thailand (CNN) -- Thai yellow shirt protesters on Friday demanded the prime minister's resignation over what they say is his failure to protect the interests of the nation.

Hundreds chanted "get out, get out Abhisit" as they marched toward the statue of the late King Rama V in Bangkok. The king is a legendary figure in the history of the nation's monarchy.

About 1,000 protesters took part, said Prawut Thavornsiri, a police spokesman.

"It was generally peaceful and the march ended quickly," he said.

The nationalist yellow shirts have been demonstrating at major streets and monuments in the capital for more than two weeks. They have criticized the handling of the long-running border dispute with Cambodia that has led to deadly clashes recently. Protesters have vowed to retake Thai's land, which they say is lost to Cambodia.

Thai premier rejects PAD demand that he resign

Mon, Feb 07, 2011
The Nation/Asia News Network

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has poured cold water on demands for his exit, while the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) has upped the ante by threatening to march if he refuses to step down by Friday.

PAD leader Chamlong Srimuang yesterday refused to disclose the destination of the yellow-shirt march, though the date will coincide with the parliamentary vote on charter amendments.

"I am utterly surprised why the PAD wants to oust me when my government has opposed the listing of Preah Vihear Temple as a World Heritage Site and refused to accept the 1:200,000 scale map on the Thai-Cambodian boundary," the prime minister said in reference to the PAD's concern that territory is being lost to Cambodia.

Abhisit's Worst Nightmare Rings True

BANGKOK, Feb 6 (Bernama) -- Two weeks ago, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva feared that his former ally, the Yellow Shirts protesters' main aim of rallying in the capital was to oust the government.

At that time, the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) which led the Yellow Shirts protesters, made only three demands:

The government must revoke the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the Thai-Cambodia border signed in 2000, pull Thailand out of the Unescco World Heritage Committee, and expel Cambodians from the disputed area.

"Their intention is not to push for the revocation of the memorandum. Their intention is to oust the present government," Abhisit said on Jan 24.

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: PAD Thai noodle

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

"If we can join forces, it would be easier to for us to deal with Cambodia": Abishit to PAD Thai

PM pleads for talks with PAD

4/02/2011
Bangkok Post

The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) should resort to holding talks with the government to promote understanding instead of only mounting attacks, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Friday.

Mr Abhisit said if the government and the PAD could exchange opinions and giving help to each other, he believed it would be much easier for the ongoing disputes with Cambodia to be solved.

The PAD has planned to hold a major rally on Saturday to mount pressure on the government to do whatever it can to secure the release of Veera Somkwamkid, a Thai Patriots Network coordinator, and his secretary Ratree Pipatanapaiboon, who were sentenced to eight and six years imprisonment by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court for illegal entry and espionage.

[PAD] Protestors set deadline for securing release of Thais in Cambodia

Feb 2, 2011
DPA

Bangkok - A nationalist protest movement on Wednesday gave the government a three-day deadline to secure the release of two Thais imprisoned in Cambodia for spying.

People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) leader Chamlong Srimuang threatened to intensify the group's street protests in Bangkok if the government failed to have Veera Somkwamkid and Ratree Pipatanapaibul released by Friday.

The PAD, also known as the yellow shirts for their preferred protest garb, have been occupying a section of Ratchadamnoen Nok Road near the government's office compound since January 25.

PAD followers Veera and Ratree were sentenced Tuesday by a Cambodian court to eight and six years in prison, respectively.

PAD: 2 Thais must be freed in 3 days [-Threat to burn down the Cambodian embassy in Bangkok?]

2/02/2011
Bangkok Post

The government must help free the two Thais being detained in Cambodia prison and bring them home within three days, or face more pressure from yellow-shirt protesters, core leader of the People’s Alliance for Democracy Maj Gen Chamlong Srimuang said on Wednesday.

“We will give the government until Feb 5 to comply with the demand.

'If it fails to do so, PAD will call a mass street rally of yellow-shirts to pressure the government to take responsibility for such a failure,” Maj Gen Chamlong said.

The retired army general denied reports that the yellow-shirt people group is planning to set fire to the Cambodian embassy in Bangkok, in revenge for the jail sentences handed down by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court.

PAD protest: Just who is benefiting from rally?

February 2, 2011
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation

Prime Minister Hun Sen should be grateful to the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) and the Thai Patriots' Network (TPN) for rallying against the Thai government, because their arguments and demands could be very useful for Cambodia.

The two groups have been camping outside the Prime Minister's Office for a week to pressure the government into taking tougher action over border conflicts with Cambodia. They have demanded that the government scrap the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on boundary demarcation, use military force to kick Cambodian communities out of disputed areas near Preah Vihear Temple and quit the World Heritage Committee.

The MoU, signed in 2000 under the Democrat-led government of Chuan Leekpai, is a legal instrument meant to set up a joint boundary committee, to help survey and demarcate the border.

The key point of concern in the MoU is Article 1 (c), which says "maps which are the result of demarcation works of the Commission of Delimitation of the Boundary between Indochina and Siam set up under the Convention of 1904 and the Treaty of 1907 between France and Siam, and other documents relating to the application of the Convention of 1904 and the Treaty of 1907 between France and Siam".

Like Cambodia, the PAD believes that the "maps" mentioned in this Article include the 1:200,000 scale one, which is part of a series of maps made by France that show the Preah Vihear Temple and its adjacent area being in Cambodia.

'Plan to disperse rally' revealed

People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) co-leader Chamlong Srimuang read a sign criticising Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

1/02/2011
Bangkok Post

The government has a three-stage plan to disband the yellow-shirt protest outside Government House, People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) co-leader Chamlong Srimuang said on Tuesday.

Maj Gen Chamlong said the government would send senior police officers to ask the yellow-shirt protesters to unblock roads when there is little traffic in actuality.

The police had intentionally turned on the red lights longer, causing people to be frustrated with the rally.

PAD files suit against four ministers

31/01/2011
Bangkok Post

Yellow-shirt activists went to the Criminal Court on Monday morning and filed a suit against Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and three other ministers, accusing them of causing Thailand a loss of sovereignty, People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) spokesman Panthep Puapongpan said.

Mr Panthep said the lawsuit filed by Samdin Lertbutr and Tainae Mungmajon, representatives of the PAD, accused the prime minister, his deputy Suthep Thaugsuban, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon of violating Articles 119 and 120 of the Criminal Code, for which the maximum penalty is capital punishment.

The spokesman said the four cabinet ministers were responsible for protecting Thailand's sovereignty, but the country had lost some sovereignty to Cambodia.

Mr Samdin and Mr Tainae are two of the seven Thais arrested for illegally entering Cambodia on Dec 29 last year. They were subsequently sentenced to nine months in jail and then released and allowed to return to Thailand.

Suthep: Border situation normal

31/01/2011
Bangkok Post

The situation at the Thai-Cambodian border is not worrying and Thai authorities are working hard to get Cambodia to quickly remove its national flag flying over the disputed area near Preah Vihear temple, Deputy Prime Minister in charge of security affairs Suthep Thaugsuban said on Monday.

"There are people making up stories about the border situation, but I assure you that the situation is not tense," Mr Suthep said.

As for Cambodia's refusal to remove its national flag hoisted near Kaew Sikha Khiri Sawara temple in the disputed 4.6-square-kilometre area, Mr Suthep said the Foreign Ministry and the army are dealing with the issue as a matter of urgency.

'Yellows' return to Thai street politics

Sunday, January 30, 2011
By Amelie Bottollier-Depois (AFP)

BANGKOK — With neatly spaced tents, massages, free vegetarian meals and a heavy dose of nationalist rhetoric, Thailand's powerful royalist "Yellow Shirts" are back on the streets of Bangkok.

More than a thousand people have camped out around the government's compound since Tuesday, demonstrating against its handling of a border dispute with neighbouring Cambodia.

Despite relatively small numbers compared to their arch enemies -- the anti-government "Red Shirts" whose most recent rally attracted nearly 30,000 people -- the group has managed to choke off streets around Government House.

Yellow Shirts are a force to be reckoned with in Thailand's colour-coded politics and have helped to claim the scalps of three governments in under five years, including that of fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

Frenemies in the streets

Sat, Jan 29, 2011
The Nation/Asia News Network

Chaiwat Sinsuwong appears to be a lonely man lately, though his ambition is to bring together a million people - both yellow and red - to bring Abhisit Vejjajiva down.

Leading a splinter group of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), Chaiwat approached some of the red-shirt leaders in jail to sound them out on the idea of a yellow-red merger against the prime minister.

"Their response was positive," said Chaiwat, who was granted bail on Thursday after being detained in connection to the infamous 2008 Suvarnabhumi Airport seizure by the yellow shirts.

"We need an uprising of a million people of both colours, making it the biggest political rally in Thai history, which will put Abhisit away," he said.

Protesters reassert three demands to Thai government on temple disputed with Cambodia

BANGKOK, Jan 29 (MCOT online news) -- Activists of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) encamped near Thailand's Government House for the fifth day Saturday stressed their demands that the government must take action to resolve the dispute over an ancient temple which sits on the border with Cambodia, as well as scrapping three agreements signed by the two countries, threatening that the administration of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva must consider its future if it fails to resolve the problem.

The ‘Yellow Shirt’ activists of the PAD continued to occupy Ratchadamnoen Nok Avenue Saturday afternoon with no sign that they would disperse unless Thailand withdraws from the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, revoke three memorandums of understanding signed by Thai-Cambodian Joint Boundary Commission (JBC), and eject Cambodian soldiers and villagers in border areas the group claims belong to Thailand.

The protesters have become enfuriated when a Cambodian national flag was flying above the entrance of Kaew Sikha Khiri Sawara temple near historic Preah Vihear temple, charging that the former is situated well within Thai territory.

Kasit's remarks on border unconvincing

January 30, 2011
Opinion by M Johnson, Bangkok
The Nation

Dear Sir:

Regarding "PAD acting like a cry baby: Kasit" (January 27, 2011) Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya criticises his former allies the PAD yellow shirts for their calling for a tougher line by the government on the Preah Vihear border dispute with Cambodia and claims that he hasn't changed his position since the time before he became a minister. He also says it is "inappropriate to invoke international relations as a bargaining leverage to advance a domestic political agenda". He also calls for common development of "rich resources in the sea," presumably referring to oil and gas deals.

Actually, your story is an example of the reason why the PAD has been criticising Mr Kasit and the Abhisit government.

Mr Kasit says that he has not changed and that "The Abhisit Vejjajiva government is not prone to use force nor to insult the neighbouring country" but in 2009, he himself was quoted as calling Hun Sen "a nakleng." In 2008, he was quoted as calling him a "thug" on the rally stage of the PAD.

Suthep urges caution amid 'troop boost'

BORN TO BE WILD: People’s Alliance for Democracy co-leader Chamlong Srimuang patrols on a scooter as the PAD rally enters its fifth day at Makkhawan Rangsan bridge on Ratchadamnoen Nok Avenue to protest the government’s approach to the Thai-Cambodian border dispute. PHOTO: JETJARAS NA RANONG

CAMBODIA SAYS THAI DEMANDS 'PROVOCATIVE'

30/01/2011
Bangkok Post and AP

The government is appealing to yellow shirt protesters to show restraint amid reports that Cambodia is boosting troops at the border.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban yesterday called on People's Alliance for Democracy protesters to tone down their attacks on Cambodia and be mindful of what they say during their rally near Government House.

He was speaking amid unconfirmed news agency reports that the Cambodian Ministry of Defence on Friday sent dozens of tanks and fighting vehicles, missiles and ammunition to the Preah Vihear temple area at the disputed border.

On its website, the Cambodian newspaper Duem Ampil quoted Information Minister Khieu Kanharith as saying that the Cambodian army had ordered its forces to be on a full alert to prevent any Thai attempt to enter Cambodian territory, while the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said a recent Thai military exercise at the border was provocative and could set off a war.

Yellows may join up with reds to topple the [Thai] govt

January 29, 2011
By Pravit Rojanaphruk
The Nation

Members of the yellow-shirt People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) interviewed yesterday said they were willing to fight temporarily alongside the red shirts if that is what it takes to topple the Abhisit Vejjajiva administration and reclaim "lost territory" from Cambodia.

"I guess that can be done, because it's our country. We don't even use our [political] colour at this rally," said Boonthai Sirichoke, a PAD member from Samut Prakarn, adding that this government would definitely be removed if the red and yellow shirts joined forces. However, he said he believed the yellow shirts alone could topple the government.

Waen, a 47-year-old yellow-shirt from Chiang Mai, said she would not speculate but would follow instructions from PAD leaders, even if it meant joining forces with the red shirts. "We are just the mass, we don't have the right to question it."

Thai PM tells AP: I'll do what's right for my country over Cambodia border

Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva speaks during a session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Friday, Jan. 28, 2011. In a nod to the post-crisis atmosphere, the World Economic Forum shifts its attention on Friday to austerity measures and priorities for improving the economy. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Friday, January 28, 2011
By Matt Moore (CP)

DAVOS, Switzerland — Thailand's prime minister told The Associated Press on Friday that protesters demanding it revoke its pact with Cambodia over a border dispute have a right to make they're demands, but he will do what is best for the country.

Speaking Friday at the World Economic Forum, Abhisit Vejjajiva said that since both nations are part of ASEAN any resolution must be done in a peaceful manner yet protect Thai interests, too.

"You know, they can make their demands. They have the right to do so. We have to do what is the best for the country," he told AP. "We feel that the way we approach the border problems, and the problems — as far as the relationship with Cambodia is concerned — is best for the country, which is that we try to resolve whatever issues come up in a peaceful manner."

PAD severs ties with 'fake' Kasit

Just pretending:
A Chinook helicopter from the Lop Buri-based General Support Aviation Battalion takes part in an artillery air transport exercise at Surathampitak army camp in Nakhon Ratchasima. PRASIT TANGPRASERT

Former bedfellows fall out over Cambodia

28/01/2011
Bangkok Post

Unity in the People's Alliance for Democracy has taken a further blow after a messy parting of the ways with its former champion, Foreign Affairs Minister Kasit Piromya.

Mr Kasit was attacked by the PAD yesterday after he refused to accept the group's demands that the government revoke a 2000 border agreement with Cambodia and withdraw from the World Heritage Committee.

The alliance also demands that the government use force to expel Cambodian soldiers and villagers from the 4.6-square-kilometre disputed area on the border.