Seriously ?

[parrot]

Atiya Achakulwisut of the Bangkok Post has written a very serious and thoughtful article about the comedic talents and humour of the current unelected Prime Minister. It is worth a look:

http://bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/ ... orms-first

'junta leader' increasingly seems more apropro

[marjamlew]

Can't interfere with the work of elected officials - Seriously?

PM refuses to sack city governor
But Gen Prayut on Tuesday brushed aside calls for him to exercise Section 44, saying he could not do so because the Bangkok governor was an elected official voted into office through an election.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general ... y-governor

[jackspratt]

Can't interfere with the work of elected officials - Seriously?

PM refuses to sack city governor
But Gen Prayut on Tuesday brushed aside calls for him to exercise Section 44, saying he could not do so because the Bangkok governor was an elected official voted into office through an election.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general ... y-governor

It seems the good Guv has all the right colours - a yellow shirt, and blue blood.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhumbhand_Paribatra

[Laan Yaa Mo]

Can't interfere with the work of elected officials - Seriously?

PM refuses to sack city governor
But Gen Prayut on Tuesday brushed aside calls for him to exercise Section 44, saying he could not do so because the Bangkok governor was an elected official voted into office through an election.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general ... y-governor

It is true that the unelected Prime Minister is a great comedian with some very funny punch lines. The guy is hilarious.

Can't interfere with the work of elected officials - Seriously?

It seems the good Guv has all the right colours - a yellow shirt, and blue blood.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhumbhand_Paribatra

These seem to be the best colours of all.

[Laan Yaa Mo]

This is another thoughtful article by Atiya Achakulwisut in which she notes that no matter which way a democratically elected government turns, they will be out maneuvered by the military, the Senate, and, she might add, the law courts.


http://bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/ ... itary-rule

[Laan Yaa Mo]

I have never seen anything like this before in Thailand. The press is going to have to go to class and learn how to ask questions of the unelected Prime Minister that are 'inoffensive'. What happens if you fail the course is not explained.

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said on Thursday he was not afraid of the press, days before the government is to hold a meeting to teach journalists how to ask questions that won't offend him.

Gaffe-prone Prayuth has had a love-hate relationship with the media during the year since he seized power, at one point saying he would probably "just execute" journalists that "did not report the truth".

His office later said the comment was made in jest.

Affectionately called 'Uncle Prayuth' by his admirers, he has overseen a period of relative stability but has been criticised by rights groups for using heavy-handed handed tactics against detractors.

Prayuth said he has never tried to censor the media.

"I'm not afraid of the press but I ask for fairness because I have never told the press not to speak or write anything. I am friendly with the media," Prayuth told reporters.

"I do not have control over the media, nor do they have power over me."

Winthai Suvaree, a spokesman for the junta, or National Council for Peace and Order, said the government would hold a meeting next week for 200 local and foreign journalists to "create understanding" and teach them how to ask questions that will not offend Prayuth.

The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand in a message to members of the foreign press this week said it had been alerted to reports of journalists encountering difficulties when trying to start, renew or change their media accreditation.

Winthai said there was no policy to stop foreign journalists from renewing their visas or applying to work in Thailand.

"Absolutely not. There is no policy to stop foreign journalists from working in the kingdom," he told Reuters.

Prayuth toppled the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in a May 2014 coup, putting an end to months of street demonstrations.

(Reporting by Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Pracha Hariraksapitak; Editing by Nick Macfie)

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/06/2 ... UR20150625

[jackspratt]

Thou shalt not protest against the junta.

Fourteen Thai students who were arrested after staging anti-coup rallies must face military court and will not be released beforehand, Thailand's army chief says, despite growing calls for charges to be dropped.

The students were arrested last month after holding peaceful demonstrations in Bangkok calling for an end to military rule.

Thailand's junta, which calls itself the National Council for Peace and Order, has banned all political gatherings.

Sympathy towards the students' plight is growing in Thailand and among the Thai diaspora.

On Friday, scores of people stopped by a makeshift wall in downtown Bangkok to write messages of support for the students on Post-it notes. Some read: "Free the 14.................."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-06/t ... up/6598504

[GT93]

I was also just reading that article jack. At least the huge domestic and international coverage probably puts some limits on how badly the junta can mistreat the students.

[jai yen yen]

It is kind of funny, the good general asks why this group of students are protesting while no one else is as he keeps them locked up for doing it. A bit of a deterrent to others I would think.

[Laan Yaa Mo]

After a long walk in the sweltering heat up and down Phousi, I came across this article in the Bangkok Post. The story centres on the antagonism between military ruling types and students that have tried to help villagers against the army before. The military leaders keep asking why the students cannot just stop their protests and respect the law. The student response is quite to the point, '''How can you expect us to respect the law written by a regime that came to power by illegal means?''.

http://bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/ ... ent-builds

[Laan Yaa Mo]

This is a serious and well-written piece by the Bangkpost deputy-editor, Atiya Achakulwisut. The object of her analysis is that great anti-democrat and pro-dictatorship, Khun Suthep Thugsauban. If no-one understood this man before, the lady provides a textbook study of his policies and goals.

http://bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/ ... to-charade

[jackspratt]

From Bloomberg - further comment not needed:

Militaries tend to justify coups d'etat by making assurances of political competence: The previous government failed the people, and military technocrats will now restore order, cleanse the system and get big things done.

The generals who seized power in Thailand in May 2014, however, have essentially abdicated that argument. To be sure, Prayuth Chan-Ocha and his fellow officers pledged to restore political calm, end corruption and bring happiness to tens of millions not benefiting from $373 billion of annual output. But 440 days on, Prayuth's regime has only made things worse.......

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2 ... nomic-plan

[GT93]

Soldiers are soldiers and they should stay in the barracks. Yet more evidence of that.

[Laan Yaa Mo]

Yesterday, the unelected Prime Minister noted that although he considers Suthep a friend, the former monk has no political agenda to walk arm-in-arm with the current government. On the other hand, the coup maker welcomes Suthep in a cheerleading role to raise funds and support from cherished citizens. It was in yesterday's Bangkok Post.

[cactus]

yep, hes just signed off most channels after putting my family to sleep. [-o<

[Laan Yaa Mo]

The unelected Prime Minister will have plenty to talk about in his newscast on Friday, in particular, the news that his brother has been appointed as the new permanent secretary for defence. This is a good lesson for Thais to show that hard work, intelligence and leadership skills will lead to justifiable rewards.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakin ... 67311.html

[marjamlew]

The brave new Thailand

Under Thailand’s new constitution, the military does not have to carry out a coup d’état; the coup has already been written in to law.

http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/newmandal ... titutions/

[Laan Yaa Mo]

The elites are not taking any chances this time. No more hoping that the electorate will vote for the candidates they want. That part of the equation has to be neutralised or rendered meaningless.

[Udon Map]

Please remember that inappropriate comments about the current government, even if intended in jest, are completely impermissible and will be removed.

[Laan Yaa Mo]

This article by, Songkran Grachangnetara, is the best analysis I have seen so far of the proposed constitution, which is a farce. The elites are determined that there will be no democracy in Thailand, and no challenges to their interpretation of how Thailand should be governed. No wonder Suthep is such a fervent supporter of it. This is going the way of Burma and Cambodia and turning their backs against any move toward democracy. Sad, sad, sad.

[quote]It's an insult to the memories of those who gave their lives fighting for a real democracy. It's a slap in the face of progress. But worst of all it's a dagger in the back to the very concept of law.

...drafting a constitution with the sole purpose of bypassing public participation is in itself an act of treachery, worthy of condemnation.

A) Willingly accept this draft constitution, and you can look forward to meaningless elections that will result in a weak, unstable, chaotic coalition of political invertebrates, that will be "supervised" by an unelected, unaccountable and unimpeachable "Jedi Council" comprised of "good people".

Or, B) You can test our resolve and reject this constitution, in which case we can go through this whole process again, until we break your will to resist.

...the committee, comprising 22 members, including army, air force and navy chiefs, will ultimately be accountable to nobody. Whatever it does or says is the law, and there is no recourse to its judgements, because it will be the final arbiter in all matters of state.

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said recently there is nothing wrong with people voicing their opinions about the constitution, but it is inappropriate to try and persuade others to accept or reject it.

The only proper way forward now is to bring back the People's Constitution and find a way to make transparent and effective revisions to it, through a legitimate process that involves the participation of the people.

http://bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/ ... pling-blow