News: PAD calls for martial law

[Khun Don]

PAD calls for martial law
Published: 7/05/2010 at 04:28 PM
Online news: Local News

The People's Alliance for Democracy on Friday reaffirmed its opposition to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's reconciliation plan and called for the military to declare the martial law in Bangkok.

PAD leaders Maj-Gen Chamlong Srimuang, Somsak Kosaisuk and Pibhop Dhongchai, in a press conference, said there was no guarantee that after a House dissolution the situation would return to normal.

Instead, if the lower house was dissolved government officials would go on a "neutral gear" and those wanted under arrest warrants would not be arrested.

They suggested that the prime minister resort to other methods to end the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) rally with the least or without loss of lives and blood such as cutting the supply lines to the protesters by laying siege to the protest site.

If the rally was allowed to continue, the situation might become more serious and develop to civil war, they said.

Maj-Gen Chamlong called for the commander of the First Army to declare the martial law in Bangkok if the government was not able to enforce the law against wrongdoers.

BANGKOK POST

[Jerome]

I wonder if they think martial law will be such a great idea when new elections are finally held, a Thaksin affiliated party wins and the result is somehow put aside again?

[visionchaser45]

If anything WILL lead to civil war, it will be listening to the PAD. They have done nothing but push the country closer to the brink of civil war since their inception.

[Khun Don]

Actually, I wonder how much of a force PAD still is after the airport occupation, which seemed to lose it a lot of credibility both at home and abroad as a serious political force.
PAD has been very quiet recently . Maybe this is because it is far from certain of fielding any great numbers at marches etc, rather than out of any loyalty to the government.

[paul_au]

Will the election be rigged anyway, people don't give up power easily.

[visionchaser45]

Originally Posted by paul_au

Will the election be rigged anyway, people don't give up power easily.

That's why they want to finish ammending the charter before allowing elections. They are doing everything in their power to stack the deck in their favor (e.g., outlaw opposition party, put opposition members on trial, close opposition television stations, shut down opposition Web sites, etc.).

[Jerome]

Originally Posted by visionchaser45

That's why they want to finish ammending the charter before allowing elections. They are doing everything in their power to stack the deck in their favor (e.g., outlaw opposition party, put opposition members on trial, close opposition television stations, shut down opposition Web sites, etc.).

Don't forget discounting the power of the poor and "uneducated" vote (read: anyone who votes for a Thaksin affiliated party) to something like 1/4 of the "city" vote.

[KhaoNiaw]

There are millions of 'poor' and 'uneducated' Thais who won't vote for a Thaksin party. Some of the very poorest areas of Thailand are in the deep south and Thaksin treated them shamefully. Remember he actually said that areas that didn't vote for him wouldn't receive development funding. It's so simplistic to say the poor will vote for a Thaksin party and doesn't get anywhere near to the complexities of the Thai social situation.
Thaksin parties are only for the poor who vote for them.

Even in Isaan, there are areas that continued to vote in Democrat MPs throughout the Thaksin period. The way the Thai electoral system works, votes cast in constituencies mean 'winner takes all' - if you actually go back and look at the numbers, there are millions in Isaan who didn't vote for a Thaksin party. That's more reflected in the one-person one-vote figures where the Democrats actually received slightly more of the vote. Even allowing for the conditions of the last election, support for Democrats and PT is still likely to be very close.

I don't suppose it will happen but I'd like them to use the previous constitution as a starting point and plug the loopholes that Thaksin was able to exploit. The referendum that accepted it was a great example of democracy in action - just a shame it was all wasted. If constitutional reform is put to the country and is discussed openly and all sides give their views during the process, it shouldn't be stacked in favour of any one group. They've done it before, albeit it in more optimistic times.

The PAD are pretty much yelling into the wind. I've never talked to anyone who was with the Yellows who would support an electoral system that was mentioned by one of the leaders. Most of the ones I know were there to demonstrate against Thaksin's corruption and abuses, nothing more and nothing less. They wouldn't go out now to support martial law, to support an electoral system that excluded people or anything else of that nature. Whatever noise the PAD make, I think their day is done and that will be seen when the election comes.