Thailand army declares martial law

[dipsydoodle]

Source: BBC News

The army in Thailand has announced the imposition of martial law amid political crisis "to keep law and order".

The army has also granted itself wide-ranging powers to enforce its decision.

The military said it had taken the action to preserve peace and order.

The move comes after a long-running political crisis, and escalating tensions between the government and the opposition.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-27480845

[sabbat hunter]

1. the only real tensions

are caused by the Thai Democrat Party who refuses to acknowledge the results of any election in which they are not the victors. Which basically means they have not accepted the results in any election in about a decade.

That along with the ailing king created the storm for the military take over.

[rpannier]

2. The Thai Democrat Party should change it's name to the 1984 Party

Opposition leaders want the elected government to step down and an unelected council appointed to rule until they can have new elections, in order to preserve democracy in Thailand

[sabbat hunter]

3. an un-elected council

that the Democrat party appoints.

[OregonBlue]

4. But the Shinawatras are crooks so they were not a good choice. Seems no matter who wins

the other parties are not going to let them govern. It's a real mess.

[iandhr]

5. There doesn't seem to be any good guys in this crisis

On one side we have The Shinawatra clan who are crooks and are responsible for extra judicial killings. Or we have the people who want to end democracy.

[YOHABLO]

6. Well, there goes my vacation !!!

[Gravitycollapse]

8. Yes, because that's what's really important.

Not 5 minutes ago I was reading the BBC article on this mess and I immediately suspected that Westerners everywhere would be in a cold sweat. Not because of the implications of a military coup on human rights or the democratic process. Instead, they'd be wondering how they could reschedule their holidays.

Thank you for proving me correct.

[PasadenaTrudy]

9. My brother and his wife

are still going in July....

[dixiegrrrrl]

7. Thailand AND Libya, both.

US State Department would not say whether Gen. Khalifa Hifter's takeover of Libya parliament was a coup - @AliABCNews

[Silver Gaia]

10. My daughter is over there.

She just flew back on Thursday after being home for 6 weeks. She has taught English at the Chitralada Royal Palace School in Bangkok for the past year, and has gone back to teach a second year. So, now I am worried. She has been posting messages to me on Facebook several times a day since she returned, but nothing today so far. I HOPE that just means she is at work, since it's Monday.

[OregonBlue]

11. I spend a lot of time in Thailand. These demonstrations are confined to small areas.

They don't affect the rest of the city. The military is saying it's not a coup and that's very possible. They have said the caretaker government will remain in place but they will start enforcing the law for safety's sake. That's probably a good thing. Both the red shirts and the yellow shirts had huge demonstrations planned for the coming week and lots of people have already been killed or wounded.

I hope the military sends the protestors on all sides home and ends these demonstrations. They are not resolving the issues, in fact they seem to be making them worse.

I wouldn't worry about your daughter. As long as she avoids the areas where the demonstrations (and potential clashes between demonstrators and the military) she should be fine. Bangkok is a very large city and it's easy to avoid all of it.

[Silver Gaia]

13. Well, it is officially a coup today, but

my daughter is fine. We "talked" on Facebook for several hours this afternoon. She has been told to stay home from work for the next 3 days, which, I assume, goes into at least Monday for her. She works for the school at the royal palace, so it is their responsibility to keep her and the rest of their American teachers safe. All the American teachers live in the same apartment building, so it isn't like she's all alone. They live in a quiet part of Bangkok, she says, so are far away from any of the known hot spots for protests and/or violence. So, I am content with the situation, unless they shut down social media or the internet (which they have said they may), then I will turn into a worried mother because I will have no feasible way to contact her or for her to contact me.

It sounds like they are packing up the protesters on both sides, and I agree with you (as does she) that neither side is really has any good ideas, nor are they doing the country any good, so bringing it all to a halt may do some good at least in the short run. We shall see in the days to come.

Thanks for your words, though. They helped.

[OregonBlue]

15. It's different because Bangkok is not a normal city with a normal downtown where all the government

building are, etc. They tend to be spread out in several areas and the various demonstrators have taken up positions in those areas around the city. As long as you avoid those areas, you are fine. There is not a general dislike of foreigners there. Since so much of Thailand's income is from tourism, a huge portion of the population is dependent on them and have no interest in seeing foreigners harmed.

In general, Thais are not at all violent people. In fact, Bangkok is one of the few cities in the world where I, as an older women, feel that I can go anywhere at almost any time of day or night and not feel worried or threatened in any way. They are very accommodating and should your daughter be harassed in any way, there will be plenty of ordinary Thai moms and dads and even teens who would step right in and protect you. It's really is a lovely country and they really are wonderful people.

As a mom I know you can't help but worry but I've been there many times during these demonstrations and even coups and they are nothing like a Latin-American revolutionary coup. I'm sure she'll be fine.

[warrant46]

12. It's just the Thai 1% craming down on the poor, the hungry and the homeless

The rich Bangkok elite want their Dictatorship back. And since they control the Army another Coup like the last 8 or so Coups is underway.

[OregonBlue]

14. It's not that simple. Both sides are wrong and no one is willing to negotiate. The demonstrations

and the violence has gone on too long. It really is time for someone to step in and send the demonstrators home and force the various parties to come to the table. The Red Shirts (what you call the poor and hungry) are in fact led by really corrupt politicians including the former and current Prime Minister. They bought their way into office in the rural areas and then proceeded to enrich themselves at the cost of the citizens of Thailand.

The "elite" as you call them are not really that "elite". They are mostly working Thai citizens who live in the cites. They have access to better education, better health services, etc. and they want to keep it that way.

It really is more a matter of rural vs urban than rich vs poor.

The latest fiasco was the rice scheme. The government (Red Shirts) forced the farmers to sell their crops to the government instead of on the open market. The government took all the rice to warehouses in Bangkok and then raised the prices through the roof because they believed that rice prices were too low. Of course, no one bought their rice. Instead they bought from Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, India and the U.S. Since the government didn't actually pay the poor farmers in money but instead gave them vouchers, the farmers are now broke. They have no seed rice and they have no money and their rice is rotting on the wharfs in Bangkok. This is the party of the "poor, hungry and homeless" who cooked up the scheme.

Politics in Thailand is very complex and it's not so simple as the rich elite wanting to control the poor. None of the parties has acted responsibly. Certainly not the party that you perceive as representing the poor and downtrodden.

[muriel_volestrangler]

16. The parties were 'at the table' in talks when the army seized them all

In a first round of talks on Wednesday, Prayuth had called on the two sides to agree a compromise based on the appointment of an interim prime minister, political reforms, and an election. But both sides stuck to their entrenched positions.

On Thursday, after announcing his coup to the two sides' representatives, he told them, "Everyone must sit still," according to one participant who declined to be identified.

Leaders of the ruling Puea Thai Party and the opposition Democrat Party, the Senate leader and the five-member Election Commission were in the talks.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/22/thailand-protest-idUSL3N0O81FK20140522

Key political figures, including opposition protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban and pro-government protest leader Jatuporn Prompan, were taken away from the talks venue after troops sealed off the area.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-27517591

[warrant46]

17. I lived there for 4 years in the 70s

Without the King that place would be a fascist dictatorship of the rich.

When he was active the military and the upper classes were at least kept in check.

It will be interesting to see what happens when he passes. And as far as a few rich buying elections we need to look no further than the Koch brothers who control many so called blue states like Wisconsin where the tea party controls all 3 branches