Thailand seen as "Third World Country"

[Sawatdee]

Thailand is starting to get some negative press now because of the actions of the PAD. This first selection are from the letters page of the Bangkok Post:

Absolutely outrageous

The PAD's taking over Suvarnabhumi airport is outrageous and completely out of line. Enough of this nonsense already! It is time to stop damaging our country.

Tell me, who is going to pay for the damages that will surely run into the billions of baht when you count all the cancellations of flights, hotel bookings and all tourist-related business?

Do the PAD leaders even care about the damage they are causing? Are they really Thai?

KRITAPOL SUNDARAVEJ

Disgusted with the PAD

As a farang who has lived in Thailand for more than five years, I am disgusted with the actions of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD).

The PAD is destroying Thailand's economy, Thailand's democracy and Thailand's reputation overseas, as well as acting against every premise of its Buddhist religion.

The PAD's invasion of Suvarnabhumi Airport frightened innocent tourists and made them think that Thais are dangerous and uncivilised. How can the PAD possibly justify its actions as being necessary because it ''loves the country''?

As a farang who loves Thailand and the Thai people, and thinks of Thailand as my home, I say to the people from the PAD who were involved in this action: You should be ashamed of yourselves. I thought being Thai meant you were proud of your country and your religion, you were welcoming to foreigners, and you were a peaceful people.

This latest act by the PAD has made Thailand look ''Third World'' and unstable, and is sending a message to the world that Thailand is an unsafe place to be.

Initially, I was a supporter of the PAD. In recent months, I have come to the conclusion that the PAD is the worst thing that has happened to Thailand in many years. I hope right-minded Thais who are proud to be Thai and only want what's best for their country think so, too.

MICHELLE TOPHAM

PAD has lost its way

It's been quite amazing for me to watch how the PAD devolved from a coordinated, effective force of protest to the equivalent of a whining schoolyard bully who realises he is no longer able to terrorise the other children.

I used to support the PAD _ I think Thaksin was and is an arrogant power-monger; Samak was an ignorant lout; and Somchai, the current PM, although seemingly benign, has undeniable links to the power-monger and the lout which cannot be ignored.

At any rate, government action in Thailand has been nearly non-existent over the past year _ have they even done anything except argue?

At any rate, somewhere along the way the PAD got lost. After several ''last stands'', changing goals, thuggish attacks and a mission statement that is anything but democratic, it is time for them to give up.

I dislike the People Power party as much as anyone else, but like it or not, the last two governments have only been in office because they won the vote. Thailand's nascent democracy may not be perfect but it has to start somewhere. Checks and balances are necessary, and the right to protest is a must _ but you need a clear goal and the support of the majority, both of which the PAD lost a long time ago.

We get it _ you don't like the government. Now go home and let us get back to work.

GREG JORGENSEN

Despicable PAD

I used to be an admirer of the PAD in the days when they were just happily protesting about the influence of Thaksin in the government and how corruption still flourished within its ranks. Now I am at the point of despising the PAD. They preach democracy, but where is democracy when people cannot get to their work, school, etc, because the PAD have blocked roads, entrances to public buildings, Government House, etc.

The democratically-elected government is definitely being run by the coward who crept overseas and left his supporters on their own; but it was elected by a majority and therefore has the right to finish its term.

BRIAN FORLONGE

Korat

[Sawatdee]

This next story comes from Western Australia Today:

Trapped tourists suffer in the 'Land of Smiles'
November 27, 2008 - 9:56AM

"We all came to Thailand because we love Thailand but this has left a very bad feeling," said British retiree Jean McCartan, trapped beneath the glass bubble of Bangkok's international airport. Thousands of tourists like her, thirsty, hungry and tired, rued the day they ever came to the self-declared "Land of Smiles," with the airport completely paralysed by anti-government protests. As jubilant demonstrators shared noodles to celebrate storming Suvarnabhumi Airport, McCartan, who was wrapping up a three-week holiday, said she had had nothing to eat or drink since the airport was taken over Tuesday night. Conditions were deplorable inside the airport, said McCartan, from Argyll in Scotland. All the restaurants and shops in the flagship, two-year-old facility closed their shutters. As Wednesday wore on, and with no planes departing or arriving, exhausted and angry passengers began confronting the protesters, who are trying to topple the elected government.

[Sawatdee]

The Singapore Straits Times reports that passengers at the airport in Singapore are now going to other countries for their holidays:

Among them were secondary school teacher Tanveer Khan, 33, and his 17-year-old sister Jumanah, who were on their way to Dhaka via Bangkok. Refusing to abort their trip, they left last night on a non-stop SIA flight to Bangladesh.

Other travellers, like Mrs Connie Cheong, 51, who was all geared to shop till she dropped with her husband and two teenage girls, changed their minds. The administrative officer and her family will go to Kuala Lumpur by bus instead.

They conclude with this:

Political instability in the Thai capital in recent months has seen fewer Singaporeans heading there, say travel agents, warning that a prolonged crisis would seriously hurt Bangkok's tourism industry.

[jas_dekdee]

Thanks for all the posts Sawatdee. In a way it saddens me alot after reading all these...

T_T

[Jessdikenya]

I was away from my home yesterday and visiting my dear mother in her small US home town -population 4,000. She had heard news on the radio concerning Thailand so I asked her to search the internet for news about the situation in Thailand. She pulled up 4 Youtube postings of the goings on at the airports.

I could see the dismay in her face as we watched. I should have never let her see such things. It was crushing. I have spent the past 17 years telling her how wonderful the people of her daughter-in-law's country are. Now all she, in her small-town world. can think about is how Thailand seems oh-so similar to Hanoi and Vietnam of the late '60s and early '70s.

The damage is irreparable in this lifetime.

Jess

[FaranginPhetch]

What other country but a 3rd world country would put up with such goings on as PAD has done since the last election and has been getting worse daily.
There is a thread on another forum about Thai being very inconsiderate people and it does show to be true the way PAD is doing now.

But the structure of Thai govt is such that no one body is in command of the Royal Thai police or the Royal Thai Army, each just does as they please and no one answers to the elected government.
You can not have that in a real functioning country, someone has to be able to set something in motion and be responsible for the actions of govt agency's.

[Richard Barrow]

The following report is from The New Straits Times:

Nearly 100 Malaysians were forced to sit inside a parked plane at Don Muang airport here for six hours on Wednesday. The group, comprising agents and staff of Etiqa Takaful, was returning to Malaysia via Bangkok when its Thai Airways flight was diverted to Don Muang after Suvarnabhumi airport was shut down by thousands of anti-government protesters.

Nurmas Rasydah Mohd, an insurance agent from Kuala Pilah, Negri Sembilan, said it was a terrible experience for her and her colleagues as they were not allowed to leave the plane after it landed around 7am. "We had been flying for 13 hours and had to spend another six hours waiting without food and water.

"We were told there were no immigration facilities for international flights. We only stepped out at 1pm," she said here yesterday. The unpleasant experience did not end there as they were stuck at the airport for another five hours before Thai Airways took them to a hotel and provided them with food.

[khengsiong]

One thing I am interested to know:
Farang who grew up in democratic countries express their dissatisfaction against PAD. But how do average Thais think?

The 18,000 or so Thais who join the protest is certainly not a small number.

[Richard Barrow]

The 18,000 or so Thais who join the protest is certainly not a small number.

It is also not a large number considering Bangkok has several million residents. There have been protests in other countries demanding prime ministers and governments step down - but they have seen up to 1 million people marching peacefully. What is happening here is a small minority (all of them are given free food and water and also a daily wage) making a big noise. They had a lot of support from the start but their tactics recently have turned many Thai people away.

[Betti]

Chiang Mai relies heavily on tourism and has already been hit hard by previous disturbances, high fuel prices, the economic crisis. there has been a sharp drop in tourist numbers, and many people are desperate because they cannot make a living. my school has already lost some students whose families cannot afford school fees anymore and had to, tearfully, take them to Thai government schools. and I'm sure there will be many more.
I think most people are more concerned about making ends meet than about politics.