Tienanman Square in Bangkok

I do not know about you, but it sure as heck has a lot of parallels.

"Oh, so you want a vote to freely elect your government? Ok, wait right there."

Ready, aim, fire. Then arrest all protesters and leaders of the opposition.

Did we just witness Thailand's Tienanmen Square?

No. Thailand is not China, and China suffered through the turmoil of the Mao years something that Thailand never faced before experiencing rapid economic, but not political, change under Deng Hsiao-p'ing. China is/was a communist dictatorship. Thailand is a constitutional monarchy.

Anyway, can you be slightly more specific and list some of the parallels, and don't just say the political leaders in Thailand are Chinese (Thaksin, Abhasit, Chaovalit et al) just like those in China.

KHONDAHM wrote:I do not know about you, but it sure as heck has a lot of parallels.

"Oh, so you want a vote to freely elect your government? Ok, wait right there."

Ready, aim, fire. Then arrest all protesters and leaders of the opposition.

Did we just witness Thailand's Tienanmen Square?

The short answer NO.
The major difference there was the protesters faced a UNITED , determined and positive government, whose policy we certainly didn't agree with, but nonetheless they had a policy. They knew what they wanted to do and did it . By comparison Abhisit and his cronies have dithered not knowing which way to turn or what way to go. In doing so they have failed to either solve the problem or contain it . Not a bit like Tiananmen square .

Superb hyperbole KD.

I didn't see any tanks in Bangkok.

I can't remember seeing any black clad Chinese students darting about with M-16s and M-79s.

I don't believe the Chinese government offered an election to the students.

In my view your comparison is quite spurious.

Over the last couple of days, I've tried to pinpoint the 'problem route cause'.
When this is solved, we'll then see 'democracy'.
Quite simply, the 'problem route cause' is 'Vote buying'.
Yes, there are a multitude of factors too numerous to list (social, economic and historic). However, as a first step, solving this problem will result in democracy.
Is vote buying not illegal during elections? If a political party and or a candidate buys votes, does this not invalidate an election win?
If voters are sincere and want 'democracy' and no 'corruption', then the first step is to deal with 'voting'
Easy for me to say, sat at my computer, harder in reality to implement.
So people of wonderful Thailand, we know what needs to be solved, but the question is how to implement the solution?

Hell, vote buying isn't even illegal in the U.S. The only difference our corrupt politicians use lobbyists to do the deed for them. No blood on their hands.