Things are popping off in the land of smiles. The previously untouchable royal family is now being publicly criticised. This is mainly being done by students( high school n uni) and activists.There is still.a draconian less majesty law that has a 3-15 year jail term. Big protest scheduled for September 19. A very divided and illogical society reaches a tipping point. Will it end in positive change or bloodshed?
The Thailand thread
- Thread starter Desert Eagle
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normally it ends in a coup (20 coups or attempted in the last 100 years) though normally the military gives up control pretty quickly whilst this time they have held power since the 2014 coup
sold a business there a few months ago which now feels like very lucky timing as unless the military want to give up power to somebody that most people will be happy with (and i dont think they do) and with no respected king as a unity figure either then i do worry about how they might crack down on that protest and how east it would be for things to spiral out of hand (big economic hit due to covid, longstanding yellowshirt / red shirt divide, the insurgency in the south, and a king who i believe made his pet dog air chief martial fufu)
As to positive change or bloodshed I'd say they are not antithetical and it may be a bloody crackdown by the military backfires and leads ultimately to a royal abdication and the military stepping aside for elections- that said who would win and if they would be a unifying or equally divisive figure is far from certain - especially with the pre-existing issues - could see taxin or a taxin proxy having some part to play
Last time there was a coup a work colleague had to inform us he was stuck there and couldn't come back till it was over.
Which surprised us all as he told everyone for months he was going on holiday to Australia. He hadn't set foot in the place.
Which surprised us all as he told everyone for months he was going on holiday to Australia. He hadn't set foot in the place.
I was in Thailand on a school trip when the coup was and traveling was fine. There was just a curfew in the major cities.
Happy to hear about the criticisms. Creepy cult wibe around that family whereever you went. As it was a school trip I had numerous seminars and each one started with some form of monarchist propaganda.
Thailand for a school trip? All I got was Chester Zoo.
It was different in the past. The previous king was loved by most.
Not this one and by all means they don't like him. Not even the village folks. The only reason the military support him is because they can exercise power thru him. If there is no military support he would have long gone. There were strong calls for his sister to succeed her father but the Queen mother and the military let him become King.
The last civilian government messed it up badly and is one of the biggest reasons why military gets away with it in Thailand. Bad as they are they are more efficient and comparatively less corrupt than the civilian governments.
Nothing much will happen at this moment in time. They don't have that much support to tip things over. It's already a military government disguised as a civilian government.
Not this one and by all means they don't like him. Not even the village folks. The only reason the military support him is because they can exercise power thru him. If there is no military support he would have long gone. There were strong calls for his sister to succeed her father but the Queen mother and the military let him become King.
The last civilian government messed it up badly and is one of the biggest reasons why military gets away with it in Thailand. Bad as they are they are more efficient and comparatively less corrupt than the civilian governments.
Nothing much will happen at this moment in time. They don't have that much support to tip things over. It's already a military government disguised as a civilian government.
It was University and it was a an optional course. We paid for the flight ourselves but accomodations and food was mostly covered.
Thai food is amazing, or at least what I've had in Europe is.
Ahh, uni fair enough. As well as the cost i just had pictures of me as a 13/14 year with my mates being let loose in downtown Bangkok. "shudders"
I agree those two endings are not mutually exclusive. Taxin proxies already control the most popular political party and and won elections for the past two decades almost. They will definitely have a huge role to play however they are subservient for whatever reason to royalty so the military royalty alliance will be hard to break if you can't even mention one half of the marriage.
There were plenty of those in Pattya
The previous king also had many many issues but yes he was undoubtedly more popular. However his involvement in student massacres, coups etc is still kept hush hush.
As to the last civilian government it is clear now that it was mainly propaganda and competing interests that toppled them. All the excuses used for the initial coup such as corruption have been worse under this current government and over Thai history corruption has always been worse during military governments than civilian. The main reason for the coup was military and royalty could not allow someone else to control power during the royal succession.
A lot has already changed and will continue to change the internet is not going anywhere the truth is there for all the new generations to research and no matter how much propaganda the government tries to put out it'll be very difficult to control the narrative.
For foreigners a coup is a minor hindrance usually. Thailand relies heavily on tourism and exports and thus even while killing its own civilians will try to be amenable to foreign interests. Right now China being the main group to please. Very ironic when you consider that over previous decades communism and china were the number one enemy.
I'm neither for or against the coup or the monarchy in Thailand. But their current king is bonkers compared to his father.
His sister on the other hand seems much more caring towards their subject. But she is not even allowed to support a political party and had to back out in RESPECT FOR THE KING. How ridiculous.
His sister on the other hand seems much more caring towards their subject. But she is not even allowed to support a political party and had to back out in RESPECT FOR THE KING. How ridiculous.
Didn't the king quarantine with 15 women or something like that?
Yep, somwhere in Switzerland or was it Germany instead. Apologies, I'm not good at remembering details.
He's a womaniser. Has several wives and Concubines.
He was seen with one of his wives 8-10 years back in a mall wearing some man-bra and ridiculously short shorts.
Not saying a man should not be wearing those. But he is the King! FFS . And then had the gall to embargo those pictures worldwide which he managed to do inside Thailand.
The current king spends most of his time abroad and yes there is a credible rumor that he created a division in his personal army which has a bunch of women who main role is to "serve" him. He has also transferred about 60 billion dollars from the country to his own personal fund making him one of the richest people in the world. There have been many many stories about him for decades now mostly negative however due to the laws in Thailand and military control there has been almost no public criticism until recently. Now that the genie is out of the bottle though it will be interesting to see what happens. Two activists were recently jailed and more might be before the 19th. Whether that succeeds in stifling the public outcry or not remains to be seen. There is a large section of the population that are happy with the way things are and they look at the monarchy n royalty through the lens of someone who has been served up propaganda from the cradle to the grave 24 7.
Royalty is an outdated concept ever since common sense by Thomas Paine was published. I dont think any modern thinking person can justify bloodline rule and especially not in a country where they still annually take about 3000 plus million baht in tax money while simultaneously being filthy rich already.
The current situation with his royal escort is a good case study of how much immunity the king operates with. He put her in jail without a trial or any sort of legal recourse then after half a year releases a statement saying she is immaculate and should be treated as having no faults. This is medieval politics in what is supposed to be a modern country.
I hope that wasn't all that was covered.
That's a different sister. The popular is the eldest sister.
It's not true that most support this current one. They don't like him but is scared of the lese majeste laws and imprisonment.
Every government is corrupt but the military one most of the time gets things done. Especially at the lower level. They don't let the police get away with it most of the time.
The last Taksin government messed up big time and lots of people who supported him then left him.
The Future party will get the young Bangkok vote but not so much in the provinces. The new constitution is rigged in such a way unless there is an over whelming vote against the current government they are not going to lose.
It's a mess in Thailand but the masses would not get involved unless the economic situation gets extremely dire. Taksin has lots of support in the north which is his area.
I feel the military would nip it in the bud and nothing much is going to come out of this.
Thammarsat and Kasetstart universities have been the core for most of the support for democracy in Thailand. When they graduate and start doing business they all or most of them join the bandwagon and do their own thing.
Just ordered thai food for lunch...just sayin
The military goverment gets coups done but little else. The police reform they promised is a farce. More corruption than ever with the red bull heir case being the big example. Drug trafficking is at an all time high as well. The system is set up so if you want to be successful here you have to suck up to those in power or at the very least be apolitical with some donations to royalty to "prove" your allegiance. It cannot be understated that current thai society is not ready for the social and economic changes approaching. Things will change and dramatically, the question is how fast and how violent things will get
I agree with you that they are not ready to change. It's as if it's two or more countries. Bangkok and the rest of Thailand. It nearly broke up after Thaksin was ousted. Even now in Isan and the north he is fairly popular.
If there is violence like before where the students got massacred this king doesn't have the clout or popularity to pull it off.
Without the support of the rest of the country Bangkok alone is not going to be enough.
Thaksin has been gone for almost two decades, his sister for one. They can only beat that dead horse and blame them so much. All the things they said about Taksin they are now saying about Thanathorn. Its io style propaganda backed by main stream media and entertainment. Again with the rise of the internet and social media their grasp on media/entertainment is slipping. With protests in almost every city in the country this is definitely not a bangkok only issue. I agree with you that if there is violence it will end badly for the people in power.
I don't know where you live but I have family in Thailand and out of Bangkok. They certainly do love Thaksin and some of them are in politics and no it's Bangkok that's at this moment in time involved in it. The three main universities of Bangkok. Until it spread to the country side nothing will change.
Yes I certainly agree that it's beyond comprehension how the current king behaves. At least with the former one he acts with dignity at least in public. This one is pure soap.
Live in bkk and travel the country all the time. Like I said earlier there have been protests all over the country, just today students from 50 schools across the country showed up at the education ministry for a demonstration. In any student led political movement i agree Thammarsat and Kasetsart students will be the spearheads. Look at it this way of the almost 7 mil votes future forward won how many of them were outside bkk, more than half iirc.
I just talked to the family in the past 5 mins or so. From a Thai perspective nothing is going to happen they said. It's the usual stuff they said.
I think too many people look at it with a western perspective.
I think too many people look at it with a western perspective.
If your family thinks this is usual I'd love to know what they consider unusual. Just in case my tagline confuses you I am Thai and my perspective is the "Thai" perspective.
You might be making too many assumptions on the term school trip.
Your ancestors own half of Sukumvit Road
I don't know. I speak to my family who is Thai and all my friends who are Thai. They all say the same thing. Nothing unusual. Some are in BKK and some in the north. I guess different political affiliations would have different views.
How will the Army/Junta react? I think they will continue to support him(King Vajiralongkorn) and shut down the protestors.
very good recipe!
https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news...police-anti-govt-protesters-clash-in-bangkok/
More protests the past few weeks with violent escalation. A protestor was shot and is in a coma right now. Things only going to get worse. The protestor was a 15 year old boy.
More protests the past few weeks with violent escalation. A protestor was shot and is in a coma right now. Things only going to get worse. The protestor was a 15 year old boy.
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...-suffocating-suspected-drug-dealer-bribe.html
Going international now. Thai cops kill a drug suspect while trying to extort a bribe. The highest ranking cop in the video is on the run. He apparently has 250 million plus baht and 30 plus luxury cars and a huge ass mansion. His job pays about 40,000 baht a month or about 1200 dollars. Sounds legit.
Warning video in link is difficult to watch. Not for the faint hearted.
Going international now. Thai cops kill a drug suspect while trying to extort a bribe. The highest ranking cop in the video is on the run. He apparently has 250 million plus baht and 30 plus luxury cars and a huge ass mansion. His job pays about 40,000 baht a month or about 1200 dollars. Sounds legit.
Warning video in link is difficult to watch. Not for the faint hearted.
Bet the police chief is sentenced to a fake prison and nobody hears about the case again. A police chief with the guts to move around with such cars has serious brass. That's how these things work.
Two of my brothers were arrested in Thailand. They wouldn’t recommend it.
Had the shit kicked out of them, threw down flights of stairs and water hosed. Similarly the police wanted a bigger bribe off them, and weren’t amused at my brother’s constant counter offer of $10.
Had the shit kicked out of them, threw down flights of stairs and water hosed. Similarly the police wanted a bigger bribe off them, and weren’t amused at my brother’s constant counter offer of $10.
Thai cops are scum. Nothing more than a criminal gang in uniform
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...s-for-curbs-on-monarchy-are-abuse-of-freedoms
In other news the junta just scored a huge win with this ruling. Peaceful protest or attempts to reform the monarchy are now illegal and those doing so can be charged with treason. The harshest punishment for that crime being the death penalty. Things are going to get more violent with an election probably being held next year as well.