Thailand

Thaksin unintentionally suggests red shirts are paid to cause havoc

Sophie Team Observers — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 18:25:27 +0200

This video is supposed proof that the "red shirts" rioting in support for exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra are being paid to cause havoc. Is it a misunderstanding, a fake, or a major boo boo on the part of the opposition leader?

The clip has received almost half a million hits in just three days, and is hotly debated by Thai Web users. It's part of a video address from Shinawatra, who has pledged to his supporters in the country that he will return and govern "if the country and the people really need me". The said "red shirts" have caused chaos in the past week, resulting in two dead and 13 under warrant for arrest (including Shinawatra). But while support for the former PM is undoubted, critics say that rioters are being paid for their efforts. The clip, which emerged Tuesday, is presented as proof of that allegation.

If you have any info on the video, leave a comment. We'll update the post tomorrow.

Translated by Jotman and subtitled by France 24. 500 Baht is €10. The original video was posted 13 April by "hatethaksin". It was broadcast online by "DStation", which transmits the video addresses from Shinawatra, who is currently based in Dubai. On Wednesday DStation was disconnected down by the Thai authorities.

The tale of Fanny, a tourist trapped in Thailand

Sophie Team Observers — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:06:01 +0100

Fanny Laude had planned to come back from a holiday in Thailand last Wednesday. She hadn't taken into account, however, that protestors would have taken over the airport in Bangkok. For more information on the crisis in Thailand, read our previous post.

There are an estimated 240,000 tourists in the same situation as Fanny. Here's her account:

My friend and I were supposed to leave Bangkok at one in the morning on Wednesday 26 November. When we got to the airport, it was chaos. There was nobody at the Emirates kiosk, the airline we were supposed to be flying with, and the tourists waiting there didn't know what was going on. Finally, at about 2am, there was an announcement that there wouldn't be any flights taking off until the morning. We'd already checked in our suitcases (we still haven't got them back by the way!)... So we ended up camping down in our sleeping bags. The next day, the protestors took over the airport. They stormed the area where we were, but they were really nice to us. At around midday, we decided to give up and go back into town.

We spent the next few days calling the ambassador and the airline. At first, no-one knew anything; everything was a mess. So we paid for three nights in a hotel out of our own pockets, until the embassy told us about another hotel, where the bill was being paid by the Thai ministry of tourism. That must be costing a lot, which is a shame for the country, which really depends on tourism. It's also annoying for us, even if our employers have been sympathetic to our situation, in that there's nothing we can do.

We have nevertheless tried to leave of our own accord, by buying plane tickets from Phuket, south Thailand, to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). But in the end, the plan didn't work. Last night Emirates proposed to us to take a bus to Chiang Mai, in the north of the country. It took 12 hours, under police escort. On the way, everything was calm. It seems like the troubles are concentrated in Bangkok. At the moment, we're waiting for our flight to Dubai, which is supposed to take off in 21 hours. After that, getting back to Paris, we have no idea. We console ourselves with the fact that we're not the worse off. At least our airline managed to offer us an alternative; we met some people who have no other option than to wait in Bangkok."

Bangkok airport under siege

Ségolène Team Observers — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 17:24:11 +0100

A PAD activist blocks an entrance road with a barricade of trolleys. Posted here.

Almost 10,000 opposition protestors have set up camp in Bangkok airport, blocking all flights and confining thousands of tourists to the world's biggest squat.

The crisis in Bangkok is worsening. For two years conflict has been heightening between supporters and opponents of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, exiled since 2006. The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) demands the incarceration of the former head of government and his deputies, who returned to power in December 2007, and of which one is current Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat. So far, one person has been killed in the recent conflict.

The director of Suvarnabhumi International Airport estimates 50 million baht (around €1.5m) of losses. The cancellation of 700 flights will have harsh effects on an economy based on tourism, and one which is already flailing. Our Observers give their account of events.

Posted on YouTube by yokam1, 26 November.

PAD activists storm Bangkok's international airport.

The real reasons behind the clash between Cambodia and Thailand

Sophie Team Observers — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 17:21:53 +0200

Photo taken on the Preah Vihear temple site by "Pixellent".

Cambodia and Thailand are verging on war. It's thought that the bordering countries are fighting over a lost temple in the deep forest. Our Observer in Phnom Penh tells us what's really at stake.

Around the ancient Preah Vihear temple today, gunshots between Cambodian and Thai soldiers can be heard. Tensions between the countries have grown steadily worse over the past few months, until Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen threatened on Monday to turn the area into "a life and death battle zone".

The return of the water buffalo

Sophie Team Observers — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 11:16:43 +0200

Suphanburi, Thailand. Posted on Flickr by "Poulet".

The world's scaling petrol prices and deepening financial woes have left no stone unturned. Even in the corners of Southeast Asia, where water buffaloes are grudgingly being brought back from retirement...

Thai tips for good demonstrating

Sophie Team Observers — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 15:56:00 +0200

Activists for the People's Alliance for Democracy, who have been camped out in an anti-government protest since August 26th, could give lessons on demonstrations to unionists around the world.

The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) is an assortment of nationalists, royalists and anti-government unionists. One of our Observers in Bangkok explained to us that Thai people are used to taking part in sit-ins - they sleep, drink and eat protest, until they get what they want. The gathering of PAD supporters in the prime minister's gardens followed this tradition. It was perfectly planned and the organisers had even sorted out goodies to keep their troops entertained.

Material compiled with the help of blogger "Sunny", one of our Observers in Bangkok.

One dead and 44 injured - who's to blame?

Sophie Team Observers — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:13:03 +0200

Posted on manageronline.co.th 2 Sept. 08.

A state of emergency was declared in Bangkok today after eight days of anti-ruling party protests erupted into violence last night leaving one person dead and over forty injured. Our Observer taking part in the protests says that it's the government that is to blame for the chaos.

Camped out in the gardens of the government house for a week, supporters of the royalist and nationalist opposition, the People's Alliance for Democracy, are demanding that Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and his party step down after rumours emerged linking him with previous PM Thaksin Shinawatra, who was toppled in a bloodless coup in 2006. Until yesterday, the protests remained reasonably peaceful, but last night, groups of armed youths emerged, causing chaos in the Thai capital. The government is placing the blame on the royalist protestors and on Monday night deployed 400 troops in riot gear to take control of the situation. Our Observer taking part in the protests however, insists that hired gangs were brought it to cause chaos beforehand so that the government could use a state of emergency to regain control.

Fifty-four Burmese suffocate to death: "It's far from the first time"

Julien — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 18:34:47 +0200

Burmese stowaways step out of a police van in Thailand. Photo from the Human Rights and Development Foundation. Date unknown.

Fifty-four Burmese people have been found suffocated to death in a freezer truck on its way to the Thai tourist resort of Phuket on the other side of the border. The incident has shocked the world, but it's hardly an isolated case according to our Burmese Observer. Read more...

The victims were part of a group of 121 people crammed into the six by two metre cold storage container, which was normally used to transport frozen seafood. When the air conditioning system failed the stowaways started to run out of oxygen, trapped for a long time at a Thai checkpoint. According to AP, when he discovered what had happened, the driver of the lorry fled the scene. It was nearby villagers, hearing distress calls, that came to the rescue of the Burmese captives, most of whom were women.