The Blood on Thaksin’s Hands

Violent protests in Bangkok

Picture Courtesy EPA/NARONG SANGNAK

Make no mistake that what you are witnessing now in Bangkok is directly related to and funded by Thaksin Shinawatra.  I had said weeks ago that this protest would not remain peaceful and that blood would be shed. The Red shirts have now taken this beyond the realm of the Yellow shirt protests and all of Thailand suffers for it.

For those of you siding with the red shirts at this point I can only say that you need to buy a clue because you obviously can’t find one. The Red shirt leaders have been the sole cause of this bloodshed and they have now kidnapped the CEO of CAT Telecom in hopes that he can be lead to the Nonthanburi offices to have the Red shirts TV station put back on the air.

The government pulled the plug on their TV station because commentators and reporters were calling for violence and blood in the streets. Half of the Red shirt leaders already have arrest warrants out on them and hopefully all of the Red shirt leaders are arrested soon and tried under the highest penalty of law.

What began as a peaceful protest has turned into mob rule and the Red shirt leaders are fanning those flames higher. What do they expect to gain now? Do they think the government will cave into their demands so then any large group can bully their way into the government in the future?  There are already over 20 dead in Bangkok and you can look for that number to rise as the Army, Police and Red shirts clash further.

Don’t be fooled either as some would have you believe that only the Army has fired shots. Many small arms and shotguns have been confiscated from the crowds and Army personnel have been killed and taken hostage. The Red shirts can no longer claim they are peaceful protesters. While they did have cause to protest they have lost all ground they had gained and any sympathy from Bangkok residents. The symbolic blood letting of a few weeks ago will pale in comparison to the blood that will be spilled and there will be no one to blame but the Red shirt leaders and Thaksin Shinawatra.

Thailand is not a democracy, has never been a democracy and will never be a democracy. Thailand will always be ruled by the elite or those with enough muscle to to make things happen…democracy is not on the menu. Thailand is a Constitutional Monarchy that will soon be replaced by another Military Junta  As the bloodshed and violence gets worse there will be another coup but this time the military won’t relinquish power easily, you can bet on it.

Thai’s killing Thai’s will not solve Thailand’s problems it will only serve to open a darker chapter in the long sordid political history of Thailand. Thaksin, for his part, has made sure that his legacy of corrupt politics can now be amended to add murder, because his actions have directly led to the blood being spilled now.

Long Live the King, the one constant in every Thai mind, without him at the helm Thailand will become a very dark place indeed.

talensig
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31 Comment(s)

  1. I hate to say it, but I’d be surprised if there isn’t an assassination waiting to happen. I think King Bhumibol is a very astute guy, and can probably see the options narrowing. What the hell is he supposed to do? Let the redshirts tear the whole country down?

    That having been said, I hope that whatever happens happens quickly and nobody else gets hurt.

    Dave | Apr 13, 2010 | Reply

  2. Can anyone in the Red Shirt movement understand they have no credibility? They have been brainwashed from stage shows, they have a criminal as a leader and now they have murdered. And this is the ‘party’ who you think Thai’s can respect?

    Karma will handle it all. A thousand curses on you all, poor uneducated pawns of a monster.

    Asiawatcher | Apr 13, 2010 | Reply

  3. Talen, whilst I agree with the sentiment of your post, there are other sides to this.

    Why only yesterday, the Foreign Minister of Thailand was speaking in your country berating the West for not doing anything about Mr T.

    Sorry but that is Thailand’s problem.

    You may remember that the same guy (FM) was seen on the stage at the BKK airport seizure by yellows saying what good fun it was.

    In the same speech(yesterday) he talked about Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini, saying they were all elected. Not sure how he came to that conclusion, perhaps he should look nearer to home and ask himself whether he is part of an elected government that truly represents the people of Thailand.

    Whatever colour their politics might be I personally feel sorry for ordinary Thais and yes that includes some of the reds.
    .-= Mike´s last blog ..Cultural Divide. =-.

    Mike | Apr 13, 2010 | Reply

  4. Now they found out that the amazing “Yellow Shirt” Governement is criminal because of the took money in the past. I think a criminal element is in all of the thai people.
    .-= Don Kong´s last blog ..Wohnungsmieten in Kambodscha sind gefallen =-.

    Don Kong | Apr 13, 2010 | Reply

  5. Talen, I’m not sure what to think at the moment because right now, there is too much dust blowing around.

    For instance, one minute twitter, blogs, and websites are awash with stories of Red Shirts kidnapping the CEO of CAT (just like you mentioned). But later in the Bangkok Post, the CEO is saying no.

    Mr Jirayuth accompanied the red-shirts to the CAT’s telecom network centre in Nonthaburi to prove that CAT did not do anything to disrupt the signal.

    He denied reports that he was abducted by the protesters and said he was not taken to their rally stage at Phan Fa Bridge.

    http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/thaksin-judgement-update/174514/reds-go-to-cat-office

    So, did he get kidnapped, or not? I don’t know, as anything is possible (threats against my family would work for me).

    The Reds are accusing the Thai government of killing the supporters. The Thai government is saying that they only used rubber bullets. And videos (most taken by amateurs) show a variation of goodness knows what.

    And now we have rumours of snipers being responsible, who do not belong to either side… (?)

    I believe that I’ll wait this one out. At least until the dust settles…
    .-= Catherine´s last blog ..FuKDuK.tv + ALG = Speed Metal Thai?!?! =-.

    Catherine | Apr 13, 2010 | Reply

  6. Cat, The CEO may have denied reports but he can’t deny that he was accompanied to Nonthanburi by some 300 red shirted motorcy riders who just an hour before broke into his offices.

    I think there are truths on both sides. I fully believe that the government troops did fire on the Red shirts just as I believe that the Red shirts have also fired on government troops…seems like a lose lose situation.

    Talen | Apr 13, 2010 | Reply

  7. Don, I don’t believe for a second that there is a criminal element in all Thai people. I think Thai politics are as corrupt as any other countries politics but the majority of Thai people I have met don’t like what is going on on either side.

    Talen | Apr 13, 2010 | Reply

  8. Mike, as with every story there are multiple sides…unfortunately for Thailand all sides are Thai and it only serves to hurt the entire country and it’s people.

    Talen | Apr 13, 2010 | Reply

  9. Asiawatcher, While I agree that the Red shirts that have been involved with the protests have been led astray in the name of Thaksin by their leaders I think the vast majority of Red shirts have stayed home and most don’t subscribe to the violence being used on either side.

    The Red shirts do have credibility in their concerns and they had good reason to protest but how they are handling themselves now will not help their cause one bit.

    Talen | Apr 13, 2010 | Reply

  10. Wow, Talen, where to start?

    Agree with Cat that there are so many rumours out there it is difficult to see the wood from the trees.

    It is tragic to go from a situation where there were negotiations to such loss of life in the streets of Bangkok, which now resembles a war zone.

    Blaming Thaksin is just one side of the coin – I’m not pro red, or yellow for that matter – but Thaksin himself was ousted by a coup, so you could relate all this back to then and blame the coup conspirators. Which is why I am more concerned with finding a solution over apportioning blame.
    .-= Jon´s last blog ..Don’t dump me =-.

    Jon | Apr 14, 2010 | Reply

  11. I don’t know where to start with this abject piece of garbage.

    Clearly another farang with an over-romanticised view of everything Thai who is desperate to hang onto a status quo that preserves their privilege as much as the Thai elite.

    You seem to know nothing of Thai history, mentality or the plight of millions of Thais who have lived in poverty for generations.

    What do you know about the massacres of 1973, 1976 and 1992?

    About the endless coups and the billions and billions of dollars stashed away by the Thai elite?

    The grinding poverty, the lack of democracy, the lack of representation, the lack of simple basic dignity?

    Thais are meant to accept their fate – karma. They are not meant to question the conditions that they live under.

    They are not meant to question the corruption, the lies and that the only way their poverty can be alleviated is from charitible donations from the richest elements in Thai society.

    And when they do go on the streets to protest even for the most basic right of an election they better be prepared to be shot down in the street like dogs.

    What sickens me most about this blog is not the complete lack of any political analytical skills (stick to food and beaches if i was you) but the fact it’s written by a westerner who has benifited from most of the rights that he feels should be denied to Thais.

    Thaksin? Yeah, the guy was and is a nasty piece of work. Pretending he is responsible for all the violence just reveals your lack of understanding of the situation.

    I personally know poor Thais who’ve donated money to the Reds – a few hundred baht here and there. Why? Cos they want their vote respected. Cos they are fed up of being poor. Of being looked down upon by wealthy Thais. Of the only option for many of them being prostitution, working as labourers or bowing and scraping to tourists.

    And what’s wrong with donating money to a cause? Millions upon millions of Westerners, from the very rich to the very poor, donate to Greenpeace, political parties, causes on the left and the right.

    Are Thais now forbidden by Westerners from doing that as well?

    A final point – I’d stop reading The Nation everyday. It’s had to apologise so many times for fabricating stories everyone’s lost count.

    Nowt taken out | Apr 14, 2010 | Reply

  12. John, The reds have real grievances and they should be heard but Thaksin has funded and whipped up the red leaders, there is no denying that and he is a very large part of the problem.

    If the Reds would walk away from Thaksin and their leaders they would stand a chance.

    Talen | Apr 14, 2010 | Reply

  13. Nowt, Obviously you didn’t read or comprehend the article and you have never read anything else I have ever written. If you would have taken the time you would have known that I am for the Red shirts and their cause.

    What I am not for is the Red shirts cause being used by Thaksin and his cronies to bring him back into power. The fact remains that this is Thaksin’s goal and this is why the protests in Bangkok are really happening.

    The Reds were making progress until grenades and gun shots starting going off and what is happening now is detrimental to what they want and what they deserve.

    I personally know poor Thais as well …and while they believe in the cause they don’t believe in the violence associated with it and that is why they refused to go to Bangkok to be a pawn in someone else’s game.

    Thaksin is pulling the strings but he has duped the Reds shirts into thinking it is for their best interests when it is only for his own.

    As for the rest of what you wrote I can only conclude that you live in a hole and don’t get any real news.

    Talen | Apr 14, 2010 | Reply

  14. Talen I think Jon got it right with ‘Wow’ at the start of his comment, this is one well written, strong post and the comments dropped in the box are proof of that.

    The one thing that sticks in my mind concerning this is the Thai governments claims of hired terrorists amongst the red shirt protesters. Surely a couple of thousand people all dressed in the same yellow uniforms who take over and close down an international airport must surely have been terrorists as well. How else would you label them and yet none of their leaders have been brought to justice. I think this is the type of double standards that is really pis*ing the red shirts off. How can the Thai prime minister stand there and spout this and that when he is only in office by the virtue of a terrorist act. That’s beyond me.

    Anyhow I’m moving out before Nowt taken out takes me out with a snipers bullet. Cover me back, HD is heading for higher and safer ground.
    .-= Martyn´s last blog ..Village Life – Holding Back the Years =-.

    Martyn | Apr 14, 2010 | Reply

  15. Martyn, I wholeheartedly agree that the Yellow shirts should have been brought to justice…the difference being the yellows really had no cause they were just throwing toys out of the pram but because the government backed them all was ok.

    The Reds have a legitimate cause and they had all the momentum going their way…hell, they got the government to actually sit down to talks. But the violence and bloodshed on both sides will now negate that as the army starts to eye up Thailand again. This came out of Bangkok today:

    “Army chief General Anupong Paochinda turned the screw further on Mr Abhisit when he said that Parliament might need to be dissolved if a solution could not be found to the stand-off.”

    This will lead to another military Junta and quite a few provinces being on lockdown yet again…There is still a military control point going in to Mukdahan.

    If the king were only younger and healthier I would love to see him say that this experiment is no longer working and we are going back to a full fledged Monarchy…it would make all Thai’s happy.

    Talen | Apr 14, 2010 | Reply

  16. Interesting article; Thai military divisions spilling dangerously into open:

    http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE63C34020100413

    Oneditorial | Apr 14, 2010 | Reply

  17. I have no desire to read a single word you write.

    Please carry on with your “Thaksin did this” idiocy and your complete adoration of the Thai elite.

    I mean that’s just what Thailand needs – another silly farang talking of “paradise”.

    Nowt taken out | Apr 14, 2010 | Reply

  18. Considering I have never written a single word praising the Thai elite you have only proven my point.

    But, I would love to hear your take on Thaksin. Do you really believe he innocent in all of this?

    Granted, he was elected by the people and he did the work of the people much to the elites chagrin. The coup shouldn’t have happened and the yellow shirts played a pivotal role in that coup and the succeeding nonsense.

    Still this doesn’t change the fact that Thaksin abused his position for his own gain while doing the peoples work.

    And he still pulls the strings of his party from exile.

    Talen | Apr 14, 2010 | Reply

  19. Thaksin is the very much the problem and solution for the reds. On the one hand, as you say, his funds play a significant role in keeping the movement going. Yet on the other, he is a convicted criminal (tip of the iceberg), his name draws extreme opinion.

    But I really don’t support your claim that blood is on his hands. He didn’t command the protests to get violent as much as the army and Prime Minsiter Abhisit did.

    If buy bank rolling the protests he is responsible, then I’m afraid there is much responsibility to be dished out across the UDD movement, government and army.

    As for the likelihood of him walking away, I think we both know this is remote at best. The best solutions seems to be a compromise, or perhaps elections which might allow the UDD to stand on its own with Thaksin. But, after all that has happened I don’t think anyone can disassociate him with the movement.
    .-= Jon´s last blog ..Don’t dump me =-.

    Jon | Apr 15, 2010 | Reply

  20. Jon, You can bet Thaksin isn’t just sending money…he has a hand in the day to day of the UDD and in my opinion he is using them for his own gain.

    Thaksin absolutely called for the protests to be prolonged and he was against the sit down with the government. The talks could have continued.

    Talen | Apr 15, 2010 | Reply

  21. There are more forces at work than you believe. Many reds are disassociating themselves from Thaksin – to blame it all on him is somewhat simplistic and naive.
    .-= Jon´s last blog ..Don’t dump me =-.

    Jon | Apr 15, 2010 | Reply

  22. To suggest that Thaksin is solely responsible for this is idiocy of the highest order. It really is.

    It shows no understanding in the slightest of why the Reds have such massive support.

    And that’s why comments like this only make things worse for everyone.

    To anyone reading this blog – don’t take my word for it – read the FT, the Economist, the NYT, watch Australia’s ABC news, the BBC etc etc etc on Thailand’s present predicament – you’ll get far better analysis than what’s available here.

    Nowt taken out | Apr 16, 2010 | Reply

  23. The last line in your reply just beggars belief.

    What century do you think it is? 18th?

    Absolute monarchy is not even something the most extreme demented PAD yellow shirt is asking for.

    Man, you’re actually to the RIGHT of the PAD!!!!

    Wow.

    That really takes some doing.

    Nowt taken out | Apr 16, 2010 | Reply

  24. Nowt, you are certainly clueless if you believe that Thaksin isn’t the driving force behind the Red shirt Movement….lets just forget about the fact that he has daily conference calls with Red leaders and that he specifically held meetings with them just across the border not long before the protests. It is no fantasy that Thaksin is supporting them financially and that has been reported widely.

    Yes, the Reds have very real grievances and they need to be heard and they need to be represented better than they have been…but Thaksin is using them to his own end and anyone that doesn’t see that is blind.

    As for my comment about going back to a monarchy it sure would be a damn site better than what the political machine has done in the last 20 years.

    By the way all the news organizations you mentioned have all run pieces negative to Thaksin including the points I have mentioned.

    Talen | Apr 16, 2010 | Reply

  25. And aside from everything else said I never said I was the BBC, AP, Reuters or the NYT. This is my opinion and anyone is free to disagree with it.

    Talen | Apr 16, 2010 | Reply

  26. Opinions are like assholes – everyone has one.

    I’m more interested in facts and solutions.

    Imaginging there is some mythical point in Thailand’s history that needs to be returned to is just BS and offers nothing but hackneyed images of a Thailand that has never existed.

    Lets go back roughly 20years ago – well the Thai army went on the rampage then as well – about 100 dead in 92.

    Or shall we go back to the Thammasat massacre in 1976? Or in 1973?

    Or back further to Sarit’s rule and routine murder and torture?

    Or to the 40s and 50s and Plaek’s fascism?

    Even the generals overthrew absolute monarchy in 1932 so your vision is to the right of the Thai army.

    Stop romanticising the situation and look at the facts.

    Democracy has been routinely crushed and oppressed in Thailand. To blame these entrenched, long term issues on Thaksin is just absurd.

    Riots, massacres, coups, troops shooting at Thai citizens, huge guerilla armies and protest movements has been around much longer than Thaksin and the Reds.

    Or are you going to tell me that all that was Thaksin’s fault as well?

    Nowt taken out | Apr 16, 2010 | Reply

  27. “Nowt taken out” – 18th century, what the… ??

    You do realize it has only been 78 years since Thailand went from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy ?

    Just curious – where are you from ?

    From your posts you sound as though you are living in the UK.

    If you are Thai you are most likely foreign educated.

    It is rather hypocritical of you to deride the Thai elite when, compared to the poor you mention in your posts, you appear to be one of them.

    ChuckWow | Apr 16, 2010 | Reply

  28. Nowt, I’m not blaming long term issues on Thaksin..I am blaming current issues on Thaksin and rightly so.

    Peanut butter cups were around before Thaksin too….your point has no merit when you have to go back in time instead of taking about what Thaksin is doing that is factual.

    You don’t like m opinion and that is fine but but I have hardly romanticized the current situation or any opinion I have put forth. You choose to believe Thaksin is not a factor and then in the same breath say read the real news that says Thaksin is a factor and he is pulling the strings.

    Thaksin is doing everything he can to return to Thailand and power and he is using the Red movement to further that goal…that is an absolute fact.

    When the government said it would sit down with the UDD Suthep was quoted at a press conference as saying “”We are ready for talks, but, most important of all, Mr Thaksin must first show a clear stance. If Mr Thaksin orders it, we can talk with his men.” This doesn’t sound to me that Thaksin isn’t pulling the strings.

    Talen | Apr 16, 2010 | Reply

  29. People who think Thaksin is some kind of ‘liberator’ really have their head in the clouds. Guess what – Thaksin is made from the same stuff the BKK elite are!! only he has successfully created this kind of ‘servant of the poor’ PR stunt that is now his only ticket to power …

    For those that continuously attack the ‘elite’ as some form of justification .. do you really think Thaksin will give any real benefit to the great unwashed of Thailand??! He will operate only to cement his own position, the same as any green blooded politician… and he will have to use those in positions of power to do this. The rest is all mass media fluff. He will probably go for a few years before everyone finds out he’s a crook and chuck him out (de ja vu?)

    Get real.. This isn’t good vs evil, its power wrangling at the top, between powerful people very rich people, using Thai’s on both sides as pawns.. Thaksin is guilty of this and therefore has blood on his hands.
    .-= Ben Shingleton´s last blog ..A Soaked and Safe Songhran =-.

    Ben Shingleton | Apr 19, 2010 | Reply

  30. If the king were only younger and healthier I would love to see him say that this experiment is no longer working and we are going back to a full fledged Monarchy…it would make all Thai’s happy.”

    Not romanticizing?
    ROFLMAO

    Hobby | Apr 21, 2010 | Reply

  31. because of him[taksin] thai people dont have any respect for anyone anymore, before people thought that thailand was a beautiful country and now it is kind of turning into iraq. bombing and shooting and hiting the military men like dogs when they’re injurded.the kings last wish is that thai people love each other once again but these people are too stupid to understand that taksin is taking their money from them.

    julie and davy | May 4, 2010 | Reply

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