Year: 2009

Categories
Misc.

Thai PM Abhisit: no “civil war” or “people’s uprising”

Many people here in Bangkok are talking about the large UDD (anti-government) protest planned for tomorrow (Wed. the 8th).

Today’s Bangkok Post has this story: “PM ready to quell uprising”

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva insists the government will not allow “a civil war or a people’s uprising” as fears of a possible bloodbath were raised ahead of Wednesday’s major red-shirt protest at Government House.

In a special televised address to the nation Monday night, Mr Abhisit said there were concerns Wednesday’s rally would escalate into civil war or a people’s revolution but he wanted to assure that the government would take steps under the law to stop this happening.

The prime minister also urged the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship protesters to refrain from any actions deemed to affect the country’s key institutions and national security.

He assured people that security forces were well-prepared and would work in unison to ensure the red-shirt protest proceeded under the rule of law.

For background information, here’s a recent CSM story: “In Thailand, populist protesters turn the tables on the government.”

Categories
Misc.

Thailand protests: PAD to return?

Today’s Bangkok Post has a story about a UDD (anti-government) rally planned for Wednesday, April 8 and the possible return of the PAD: “PAD plans revolt against red shirts” Sub-hed: “Fears of bloodshed spark comeback plans”

The People’s Alliance for Democracy is pledging to stage a comeback and mount a counter-rally if the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship’s political gathering on Wednesday escalates into violence.

The PAD, which has kept a low profile since the Democrat-led coalition government came to power in December, fears the red-shirt rally could deteriorate into violence and lead to military intervention.

Supporters of Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda will also hold a rally on Wednesday, raising fears they could be on a collision course with the red shirts.

The PAD, you’ll recall, is the group that shut down Bangkok’s international airport for a week in late November.

Categories
Misc.

WSJ: Thaksin “ups ante,” calling for “people’s revolution”

Today’s WSJ has this story: “Thaksin Ups Ante In Thai Struggle”

BANGKOK — Thailand’s fugitive former leader, Thaksin Shinawatra, has picked a fight from which he may find it hard to back down — and which economists say could hinder this Southeast Asian economy’s efforts to recover from the global slump.

Mr. Thaksin on Friday rejected the Thai government’s offer of talks to resolve political conflicts. He told his supporters — who are barricading the main government complex in Bangkok — to prepare for a “people’s revolution” in defense of democracy.

“Negotiation is out of the question. We are talking about the nation’s future now,” Mr. Thaksin told cheering supporters in a live video link from an undisclosed location overseas. He urged people to turn out for a mass show of support in Bangkok on April 8.

Categories
Misc.

Fighting on Thai-Cambodia border

AFP: “Heavy gunfire at Thai-Cambodia border: commander”

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Heavy gunfire broke out Friday on the disputed Thai-Cambodian border, a Cambodian commander told AFP, following a brief exchange of shots earlier in the day.

“We are in a gun fight with the Thai soldiers now. There is heavy gunfire along the border,” commander Bun Thean told AFP.

He said shots had been fired between troops in at least three spots near the ancient Preah Vihear temple on the border, which has never been fully demarcated.

Cambodian soldier Yeim Kheang, stationed at the border, confirmed to AFP by telephone that both sides were firing shots, saying the exchange began at 2:00 pm (0700 GMT).

There was no immediate response from Thailand.

You can find more info on this issue in a Newley.com post from October here.

Categories
Misc.

Thai government offers talks with Thaksin

Reuters: “Thai govt seeks talks with Thaksin to end protest”

BANGKOK, April 1 (Reuters) – Thailand’s government offered on Wednesday to negotiate with exiled Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to end a week-long street campaign threatening its efforts to stave off an economic recession.

The offer was swiftly rejected by a leader of the pro-Thaksin group that has surrounded Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s offices in Bangkok to force him out, the latest escalation in Thailand’s three-year-old political crisis.

“Our objective is to remove them. Why would we talk to them?” said Jatuporn Prompan, a leader of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), an extra-parliamentary group that accuses Abhisit of being a pawn of the military.

Police have taken no action against the thousands of red-shirted protesters despite a court order on Tuesday that they allow ministers to enter Government House.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said the government wanted to avoid violence and he offered talks with Thaksin, who has exhorted his supporters to “bring back democracy” in nightly video speeches from an undisclosed location.

“If talks can bring peace to the country, I am ready to meet him anywhere, because Thaksin is the only person that can end the siege,” said Suthep, who is in charge while Abhisit attends the G20 Summit in London.

There’s also a story from the BBC and one from the FT. And here’s one from VOA about politics and the Thai economy.

Categories
Misc.

Thailand protests: cabinet meeting cancelled

The BBC has the story of the day here in Bangkok: “Thailand cabinet cancels meeting“:

The Thai government has called off its weekly cabinet meeting as thousands of protesters continue to lay siege to government offices in Bangkok.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has stayed away from Government House since the demonstrations began six days ago.

Mr Abhisit is about to travel to the UK to attend the G20 summit – but opponents say his own government is so paralysed it cannot even hold meetings.

They are calling on him to resign, saying he has no legitimate power.

Mr Abhisit took office in December after a court dissolved the previous government following months of protests.

There’s more from Reuters and AP, as well.

Categories
Misc.

Thailand protests and the economy

Here’s a story in today’s WSJ: “Thai Protests Build on Economic Crisis”

BANGKOK — Tens of thousands of antigovernment protesters sang and danced through the weekend outside Thailand’s main government complex, cheering on ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra and offering the nation’s new leaders — and others in Asia — a jarring reminder of the political risks accompanying the region’s sharp economic decline.

Local businesswoman Darunee Kritboonyalai, a founding shareholder of a Thai iced-tea brand and an active supporter of Mr. Thaksin, said the protests against Thailand’s government could grow as the economy worsens. “We’re just part of a global situation, true. But this government doesn’t know how to handle it properly,” she said.

The protesters are mainly seeking to restore Mr. Thaksin — a multimillionaire businessman who was removed from office in a military coup nearly three years ago — to power. They object to the way Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva came to power and are disenchanted with how he is handling the country’s economic downturn, and so are hoping to fuel wider discontent.

Many of the 30,000-strong crowd mocked the government’s latest stimulus efforts as, at best, an imitation of policies Mr. Thaksin championed before he was ousted in 2006. Some protesters handed 2,000 baht ($56) cash handouts from the government to rally organizers instead of spending them in Bangkok’s stores, as the government intended. One elderly woman, Ananya Mhanpadungkit, climbed onto a makeshift stage to say she couldn’t accept money from what she described as an “illegitimate” government. Protest leaders said they would continue their nighttime rallies indefinitely.

Thailand’s lingering conflict between Mr. Thaksin’s populist supporters and its more conservative, military-backed government shows how the world’s economic slump is complicating a series of political battles across Southeast Asia. The region is especially dependent on trade, providing electronic components, raw materials and skilled labor for the global supply chain, and several countries are feeling the strain.

There’s also insight into how economic woes in Malaysia and the Philippines are affecting politics there.

Categories
Misc.

Audio recording tips for print reporters


Amy O’Leary of The New York Times shares some audio tips for print reporters (embedded above).

Great stuff. You can find the transcript on the Nieman Journalism Lab site here.

Categories
HOWTO

Frugal Traveler: how to stay in touch on the road

The New York Times‘s Matt Gross, aka the Frugal Traveler (whose work I’ve praised in the past), has a good post about how to stay in touch cheaply when you’re traveling abroad.

He discusses SIM cards (so you can get a local number), Skype (to make voice calls via the Web), and Fring (a service that allows you to, among other things, use Skype from your mobile phone).

Related newley.com posts:

Categories
Misc.

Thai ‘Spider-Man’ rescues autistic boy

BBC (with image): “Thai ‘Spider-Man’ to the rescue”

An unusual disguise has helped a Bangkok fireman rescue an eight-year-old boy who had climbed on to a third-floor window ledge, Thai police say.

The firefighter dressed up as the comic book superhero Spider-Man in order to coax the boy, who is autistic, from his dangerous perch.

AFP: “Thai fireman in ‘spider-man’ rescue of autistic boy”

A Thai fireman turned superhero when he dressed up as comic-book character Spider-Man to coax a frightened eight-year-old from a balcony, police said Tuesday.

Teachers at a special needs school in Bangkok alerted authorities on Monday when an autistic pupil, scared of attending his first day at school, sat out on the third-floor ledge and refused to come inside, a police sergeant told AFP.

Despite teachers’ efforts to beckon the boy inside, he refused to budge until his mother mentioned her son’s love of superheroes, prompting fireman Sonchai Yoosabai to take a novel approach to the problem.