Thailand

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.