Bangkok Protests
 

Well, the thread I was going to post to has disappeared... This blog seems to be a good summary of what happened in Bangkok yesterday, and is probably worth following for future updates: http://blogs.straitstimes.com/2010/4...al-of-violence

Hanuman's thread is gone? I so much appreciated the on-the-scene reporting! I'm sorry the thread was removed.

Yes, what happened to Pook's thread? Did the Red Shirts also storm the Fodor's station and take the thread down?

It is unfortunate that anyone complained about the posts on the previous thread.

Seeking censorship is never the path to truth.

Two of my friends in the Sukhumvit area of BKK are saying to come in the next week-10 days. I have not made any change of plans, so should be landing in BKK on the 20th. I am waiting to hear from one more BKK friend, who would have very reliable information, but so far the plan is to GO to BKK. As one friend suggested there, we can go to the beach or Chiang Mai for a few days to get away, if need be.

More disappointment at the removal of the initial "Bangkok Protests" thread. I so appreciated hanuman's on-scene reporting and am sorry to lose the advantage of following and learning from the thread.

rhkkmk did the deteriorating discussion a good turn by pointing out that hanuman has established credentials of insightfulness, reliability, and credibility through a long history of posting valuable commentary so for another poster to criticise from a position of comparative obscurity was, of course, going to be problematic. It's unfortunate that the other poster never was able to give enough context to ground his/her point of view in experience.

Best wishes for everyone's safety. I'll keep hoping for more on-scene reports as well. Have to rely on the New York Times for now.

Yup, the person that had been posting his version of the events posted a long and bitter diatribe about Hanuman's comments. Personally, I think the editors were wrong in censoring it but it was getting ugly...

I believe Hanuman wrote that he asked the editors to remove the thread and that he would no longer post on the topic.

I left BKK on Sunday morning with a heavy heart. Terrible situation. The gov is corrupt and ineffective. The Reds are very poor and very stupid. Mr. "Toxin" is a slick gangster who needs to be silenced. I hope the King is well enough to step in and try to save the nation fro further trouble.

the king usually waits to the last minute to do something which is probably much more effective....he commands the opposing parties to an audience and then in his own way lets them know how the future will be handled...

rhkkmk, true enough. but the time is now.

Impact on tourism: http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/t...rom=public_rss

Thanks for the article thursdaysd. I had read about 20 people killed and over 800 injured,but hearing nothing on our US news to confirm the report. It is true then.

I have been to Bangkok 3 times and am saddened to hear this news. My thought is the same the king as he is so reverened might be able to step in in some way as the people do listen to him.

I have 2 good friends-Americans who live in Thailand-not in Bangkok. I do like to hear the news from Thailand.

HM is still in hospital, and has not stepped in to the civil strife for many years. Perhaps there's a time for the Thai people to grow up and solve their own problems, without the national father figure doing it for them.

The latest news is that the election commission has decided - a week ahead of schedule - that the democrats (the lead party in the ruling coalition) have a case to answer for a large donation made to them in the last election. The case will now be referred to the constitutional court for a ruling that could result in the dissolution of the party (Thailand's oldest, BTW). Some are speculating that this is a sort of back-door deal to diffuse the situation, but the rhetoric hasn't changed yet. A ruling from the Constitutional court could take months (to a year or more).

In the meantime, I have no worries about my safety. I avoid the areas where the demonstrators are camped out and try to go about things as best I can. All of my Thai friends seem to wish that the colored people would just go away.

To make matters worse, there's a lot of mis-information floating about, even in the 'mainstream' press. The Nation today reported that the reds kidnapped the CEO of CAT, and are still implying that was the case even after he publicly denied it.

Hanuman's thread is right here:
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...escalation.cfm

Yes! Hanuman's post has returned. Thank you, editors.

Good to see it back - we can shut this one down.

"I avoid the areas where the demonstrators are camped out and try to go about things as best I can. All of my Thai friends seem to wish that the colored people would just go away."

Michael, this is exactly what my friends in the Sukhumvit area are saying. Maeng has said before that she does not want to be any "color" but that she wants to just be herself.

Brad and I will be in BKK soon. Maybe we can do quiz night at the Pickled Liver! Another fodors team... eh?

Michael, isn't this almost an exact repeat of what happened in November of 2008 (when the yellows were occupying the airport)?

They hated that PM and protested (albeit peacefully) and stood their ground until some court ruled that the current party had some sort of fraud on their side and then dissolved that party to diffuse the situation brewing?

This sure doesn't seem like any sort of solution to the ongoing and very real problem that the country is completely divided. I see this happening again very soon from the yellow side once the reds elect (or the courts place) another Thaksin crony to office. And the more this happens, the tenser and more volatile things will get.