The RED SHIRT Crisis in Bangkok!

[thegame925]

Comments on above in Sunday Times (UK)

Jeff Wilcox wrote:
I would say to Mcleod that he should lift his head and see the broader picture.

Politics and peaceful protest is one thing, destroying other peoples lives, businesses and property is another. This mob of anarchistic vandals should be locked away. They have cost thousands of people their jobs.

Few people seem to realise that the UDD and Thaksin have their political arm, the Puea Thai Party who boycotted parliament. They do not want democracy. It is naive to consider they do. The Puea Thai, the UDD and Thaksin did not want the elections that Abhisit offered.
When the core leaders of the red mob met with the government they demanded on thing, dissolution. It is not possible to negotiate when there is one single demand on the table. The anarchists want only one thing, the return of the convicted Thaksin.
Even uneducated people know right from wrong and the actions of this aggressive, fully-armed mob of arsonists know that throwing grenades, shooting people including ambulance workers and burning down property is wrong and counter-productive.

They had representation in parliament by way of the Puea Thai. Not to take this democratic route to solve their grievances is unforgivable and they should all pay the price. Even if they did not have this democratic route, their actions would still have been terrorism, but in these circumstances, with parliamentary representation, they have shown themselves to be thugs, destroying the livelihoods of their own people.

Education, a comprehensive education system, not the current rote system is the long term answer but even Thaksin denied the people that. He like most business people, the old elite and the establishment generally intend to keep the ordinary people submissive, subservient. This is the root of the problem that has festered for 78 years and we are now paying the price.

But this does not excuse what this mob have done.
May 23, 2010 7:42 AM BST

Mark Fuller wrote:
Lets remember that underneath all the modern trappings Thailand is a patronage society and whatever is pasted over the top (democracy,law ect.) this will always shine through.Democracy took hundreds of years to develop fully in the West and while vote buying is a totally natural thing and almost something people feel they are entitled to sell its not going to function. I would like to ask weather some of the weak Western journalists that seemed to have a soft sport for the red shirt cause will still be working in this field or cleaning the offices of their employers now that we know the reds had a large weapons cash and were killing innocent people which was fairly obvious to the people caught up in attacks over the last few weeks.
May 23, 2010 7:09 AM BST

Mister Blobby wrote:
As a foreigner living and working in Bangkok, there is 'inevitability' towards progress.
The saying "Square peg in around hole" seems true for the down trodden.
Just what will happen when the head of the highest institution passes away?
Just what will happen to Thailand?
I fear for that time, as there is no open debate, which surely would prove to the world progress is being embraced.
If the last week was a barometer of simmering tensions and events to come, its going to be a nightmare.
For me, I am annoyingly contemplating: Should I stay, or should I go?
May 23, 2010 7:02 AM BS

anthony gatsby wrote:
This it has to be remembered is a country under military rule. Abhisit is only a puppet installed by his military masters to give Thailand a modicum of credibility by pretending to be a democracy.
All I see on Thai television these days are people dressed in a military uniform with a shoe size larger than their IQs , telling their audience that law and order have been restored.
Doosn't this obtuse military dictatorship know that they were the cause of the loss of law and order , that for the umpteenth time in Thailands history they have took up arms against the civilian population and killed civilians to keep them in their place and by doing that also retaining omnipotence for themselves.
Everyday the military rules Thailand is a step closer to destruction.The hate is festering and becomes more pathological by the day.
Politics have failed , we will now see a deeply sinister turn in the violence as the hatred manifests itself in different ways.
May 23, 2010 6:46 AM BST

JOE THAI wrote:
Not richest Thai in the world but among the richest of any nation. A fortune he amassed while in office having got there by paying people to vote for him.

I agree with Jeff W. Thaksin will do anything to return to power and has scarified his own people for his own power lust and greed.

If he really cared about his people and his country he should have done his time and then legally and peacefully and democratically campaigned for his money back from within Thailand and not employed a violent mob to topple the government.

His comments about underground guerrillas sounded like a veiled threat. Scenario : He then calls them off and returns as saviour and President.

He changes his tune to whatever his PR people think is best. Look at his lying cheating record to see what kind of man he is.
May 23, 2010 6:35 AM BST

Jonathan McLeod wrote:
I bet that what is to come will open the eyes of people like Wilcox, Isan Man and all those others who thought it was a good idea to employ strong-arm tactics and who were spreading their "wisdom and insight" in this column over the last few weeks. What a pity for what was in many ways one of the best places I knew.
May 23, 2010 6:16 AM BST on community.timesonline.co.uk

Jeff Wilcox wrote:
David Howden is absolutely right. I predicted this 3 years ago but was cried down by Thais. I recall on one occasion saying to a university graduate that Thaksin was opposed to the monarchy. Her reply was angry say that was nonsense. I then said but Thaksin wants Thailand to be a republic. Her reply was yes. I concluded by saying but their is no monarchy in a republic. The ignorance and lack of thinking here is quite unbelievable.

No the reds will not readily return to their buffalows but they will if ordered to by Thaksin. Whatever the arguments, Thailand may be safer with Thaksin than without him. His brainless followers will at least listen to him and perhaps a dictatorship is what they need as they do not have the slightest inkling of democracy that they think they are fighting for.
May 23, 2010 4:43 AM BST on community.timesonline.co.uk

Jeff Wilcox wrote:
N, it is not very sad at all. It is all part of the strategy planned by Thaksin. He is determined to pave a a way for his return to power even if it means bring the country to its knees and detroying it as a state. He is a man possessed, a megalomaniac of terrifying proportions. He is forcing the country into a state of mind that will welcome him back as the lesser of two evils; the riots or him.

But this could not happen without the assistance of his misguided supporters who are against the rich people of the country. It illustrates their stupidity that they support Thaksin who is one of the richest Thais in the world. This mass of red shirts really are perhaps the most idiotic people on the planet. Even wild animals do not detroy their own dens, nests or holes,their homes, but Thai people do: they destroy their own country with a vengence, 'masochistically' because someone has told them to do so.

When tourists vist this country and see the smiles in the hotels and gift shops, they are only looking at the front cover of the book. The book has now been opened and the pages have revealed a different story - perhaps the true story, what lies beneath.

Thailand will be deemed a no-go and a no-investment area; it will retreat back towards the jungle from whence it came, its people not worthy of civilisation.
May 23, 2010 4:03 AM BST

David Howden wrote:
This is the beginning of the the for the Monachy, the Army and big business interests as Thailand knows it. When the King dies and his croney son takes the throne Thaksin will be in there like a shot. He will be given his money back and with royal patronage will be able to continue his bid for President of Thailand. Thailand has had this coming for a long time, the Reds will not eaisly go back behind their buffalo!
May 23, 2010 3:42 AM BST

Bill Peter wrote:
Sad. Very, very sad.
May 23, 2010 2:09 AM BS

[thaibound]

in memory of the good old days -- when stogie made the rules and the reds were at peace -- i wanted to glibly belittle the malapropistic use of "weather" (by mark fuller) and "around" (by blobby), but by the end of thegame's post i could only agree with the last comment he quoted.
very sad indeed.

[Harry Lime]

Sunday Telegraph (UK) - Sunday 23 May 2010

Defiant Red Shirts go back to their home villages
The Red Shirts have returned to their home villages, leaving Thailand wondering whether they will be able to re-start the protests which ended in bloodshed and destruction.

By Ian MacKinnon in Chiang Mai province and Damien McElroy in Bangkok



They came home like a conquering army, fists punching the air as their trains drew into Chiang Mai railway station.

Music was blaring from loudspeakers and red flags fluttered bravely from the carriage windows as their waiting families cheered.

The defiance shown by defeated Red Shirts returning to the north from the capital Bangkok showed their spirit remains undaunted - strong enough perhaps to mount a new attempt to overthrow Thailand's elite, even though last week their 10 week protest was ruthlessly crushed by soldiers.

Thais were asking last night whether the Red Shirt movement was finished - or whether it will spring back into life, perhaps in a more violent form.

"This is not the end for the Red Shirts," said widow Malanee Boongen, 49, with steely-eyed coolness.

"Red Shirt members are still all over the country in every province. Nothing has changed. It's going to continue. I will go on fighting because in my heart I want democracy, and this government isn't democratic."

The focus of their anger is Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, branded a murderer by the Red Shirts for sending in Thailand's Army.

As an uneasy peace descended on Bangkok this weekend, the Eton-educated prime minister made an attempt to reassure by offering a five-point reconciliation plan.

He optimistically suggested that he could now lead the shocked nation back to an economic recovery and social harmony.

For now the protests have ended. Most of the 22 members of the leadership committee are in custody.

So is Jeff Savage, a 48-year from London who joined the Red Shirts' protests.

Thais are nervously wondering how many supporters will rally to the Red Shirt standard if protests start again.

But the Red Shirts have recovered from setbacks before, and in the rice paddies and pretty villages around Chiang Mai, a northern city and Red Shirt stronghold, the mood was far from harmonious.

Thousands of protesters who spent months camped in central Bangkok have gone back to their little farms and day labourer jobs. They thought they were close to victory, so now few are willing to accept the old order - even though the violence left the ordinary peasant supporters of the Red Shirts deeply shocked.

Rice farmer Somanat Upala, 47, pawned his wife's gold jewellery to pay for living expenses and petrol for his pickup truck to drive the nearly 400 miles between the Red Shirts' camp in Bangkok's shopping centre and his little farm, where he returned every few weeks to tend his crops.

"I haven't got the jewellery back yet, and won't until we get the money from the harvest," he said.

Weeks in the Red Shirts' camp, behind barricades of sharpened stakes, heightened his hatred of a government which panders to Bangkok's metropolitan elite, he believes.

He wants what he calls "true democracy" - one that treats all Thais equally - and so do farmers throughout impoverished villages in the north, places which have seen little of the economic growth Thailand's cities have enjoyed in recent years.

Mr Somanat, who watched the final stages of the struggle last week on television, was shocked when the army turned its guns on his friends and comrades, killing around 50 of them.

But he was also horrified when looters and hooligans afterwards burnt 39 buildings in Bangkok - banks, shopping centres and the stock exchange.

"When I saw those scenes on television of the burning buildings I initially cheered," said Mr Somanat. "But afterwards I began to realise it was not good and totally at odds with the non-violent path we had mapped out. It definitely damaged us."

Jamalat Looma, 53, another rice farmer in Nhong Sae village, was also defiant. "What happened in Bangkok will only stiffen our resolve and make us stronger," he said.

He even predicted an armed struggle, a fear that haunts Thailand, although so far there is little evidence to suggest it may happen.

The political awakening in the countryside began with the election of the billionaire telecoms tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra - an unlikely champion of the downtrodden - and gathered momentum after the coup that pushed him out of power.

Two successive elected governments made up of Thaksin loyalists were removed from office by disputed court rulings, then Abhisit Vejjajiva's minority Democrat Party was ushered into power in back-room deals brokered by the military - causing outrage among the rural poor who flocked to a growing political movement.

Adding to the Red Shirts€™ anger, the offer of a November election made by the prime minister a few weeks ago in hopes of ending the protest was withdrawn because they insisted on a government minister being sacked.

Had they settled for that deal, they could have claimed victory - but now there is no prospect of a national vote.

"Our movement has gone beyond Thaksin Shinawatra," said Mr Jamalat. "We want democracy."

Thais fear that the protests could now move to their strongholds in the north and east. Even before the protests of the past month, Northern cities saw demonstrations of 100,000 people earlier this year.

Now security forces have been beefed up in case big street protests break out in cities like Chiang Mai, where there have been only sporadic outbreaks of protest and a few arson attacks in the past week.

In Bangkok, where a billion dollars of damage was wreaked in an orgy of violence throughout the city, the Red Shirts were blamed.

A week ago the Yum and Dum Thai cuisine restaurant, in a glittering hive of expensive shops and restaurants called Central World Tower, was one of the hottest places to eat in Bangkok.

Now it is a charred wreck after a fierce blaze on the floor above.

"My restaurant really was a place where Bangkok families, as well as expats and tourists, wanted to come and hang out at the weekend," said the owner Sorat Wongphaet, a wealthy Bangkok businessman aged 39.

Thais fear that as much harm has been done in the past week to the economy as was caused in the 2004 tsunami, with tourist numbers slumping and foreign investors eyeing Thailand warily.

"The hurt that Thaksin and the Red Shirts has caused is beyond imagination," Mr Sorat said. What he has done is to put himself in a position to divide and rule. He is using all his money to come back to power - it is scary."

Mont Faichanda, 40, a party organiser whose business has suffered, compared the past week in Bangkok to the effects of the attacks on New York in 2001 - the great buildings in the heart of the city blackened and wrecked, the acrid smell of burning, and ash covering the pavements.

"People from parts of society that have been suppressed for centuries have been made aware and want to be more equal," she said.

"The system needs an overhaul from the bribery and networking culture to one in which fairness is rewarded."

Thittinan Pongsudhirak, a political analyst at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, said that what happens next will depend largely whether the government can deal with the greivances of the countryside.

"If it doesn't, that will bring into question whether Mr Abhisit is the right man to supervise the reconciliation.

"The early signs aren't good. There's vindictiveness in the air."

The Red Shirt protesters came home like a conquering army, fists punching the air as their trains drew into Chiang Mai railway station. Photo: REUTERS

[kahuna]

Briton Jeff Savage arrested by Thai police: Did he burn down Central World Plaza mall?

May 23, 8:17 AMAsia Travel Examiner


Thai police arrested British citizen, Jeff Savage, for questioning about the Central World Plaza mall fire.

Central World Plaza, in downtown Bangkok, was south east Asia's second largest mall. It was almost completely destroyed by fires started by red shirt protesters after the Thai military broke up the protests on Wednesday. A few days before the fire, British man Jeff Savage was recorded on video at the red shirt protest site saying they were going to "burn down Central World".

On the video, filmed by American Andy McGinley who was at the protest site just to see what was going on, Jeff Savage walks past dressed in black, just like radical red shirt protesters. He stops and tells McGinley, "We are going to smash the Central Plaza to shit and steal everything out of it and burn the fucker down".

The video was posted on YouTube and immediately caused outrage among Thai citizens, who couldn't believe a westerner who was a guest in their country, could say he was planning on doing these things. Days later, Central World Plaza mall was burned almost to the ground by red shirt protesters. But now Jeff Savage says he had nothing to do with it. Police, however, aren't so sure. Particularly as Savage has been quoted in the British newspaper, The Times, saying he was at Channel 3 TV station at the time with red shirt protesters when it was set on fire. He then went on to say he just watched.

Most westerners living in Thailand though are now asking, what's wrong with this guy? Sure, there are many foreigners in Thailand who don't agree with the government and do support what the core red shirt protesters wanted - democracy. However, that doesn't mean it's acceptable to threaten violence, arson or worse, just because you're angry.

In fact, most westerners (and particularly the Brits) who are discussing this on forums all over Thailand, agree on one thing. If Jeff Savage had anything to do with arson at Central World Plaza or any other building in Bangkok, he deserves to spend a long time in a Thai jail.

[guydesavoy]

The perfect fall guy.

[robbo]

yeh,reckon in 15 years time he is still sitting in a bangkok jail saying to himself " now why did i go and open my big mouth"
saying the wrong thing at the right time can leave you in the right shite!
if only it had rained that night and his matches got wet,his future could be so different.

[pacman]

(kahuna @ May 23 2010,21:19) A few days before the fire, British man Jeff Savage was recorded on video at the red shirt protest site saying they were going to "burn down Central World".

On the video, filmed by American Andy McGinley who was at the protest site just to see what was going on, Jeff Savage walks past dressed in black, just like radical red shirt protesters. He stops and tells McGinley, "We are going to smash the Central Plaza to shit and steal everything out of it and burn the fucker down".

What a dickhead...      

Incriminated by his own big mouth.

The Thais will lock him up just for being so rude & so stupid even if he didn't do it. Talk about how not to behave when you are a guest of another country. The next thing we can expect is to see him bleating for justice & a fair go.

I am sure he is starting to feel a bit less tough now he is in custody. Poor Jeff forgot that he wasn't in Europe for a football match & the standard of behaviour expected is somewhat greater than the latitude given to lager louts.

[f0xxee]

An interesting email I received from a collegue in Denmark last night.

Some of you would know there is a petition going around condemning CNN for thier rather biased reporting on the ground during the recent troubles. I myself remember thinking that CNN and the Beeb seemed to be doing thier best to present the UDD as a populist uprising against an unfair and undemocratic system out to butt-fuck the peasantry, rather than the last ditch efforts of a dictator anmd his cronies to hang onto power....

Read on.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
>
> Thailand needs your help. Our beautiful country has been stricken with
> cancer €“ the Thaksin cancer €“ which will take it to the brink of
> demise unless something is done about it. This cancer feeds on
> Thaksin€™s millions that go to finance the UDD€™s red shirt movement.
>
> An earlier study by well-known political analyst Ajan Phasuk
> Pongphaichit has revealed that ousted fugitive PM Thaksin Shinawatra,
> during his time in office, enriched himself, his relatives and his
> political allies by practicing corruption in the policy level, such as
> granting business privileges, reducing taxes and concession fees for
> his associates while getting rid of business rivals as well as trading
> national interest with their groups' business interest. They also set
> up firms to bid and win state projects and use the stock market as
> tools to increase the values of their firms. Those taking part in this
> systematic corruption are on the top list of Thailand€™s richest
> families. Thailand's Constitutional ! Court has found Thaksin guilty
> of these offenses and confiscated Bht46 billion of his assets. But a
> lot more is circulating here and overseas.
>
> Many of you may not realize it but every time you spend money to pay
> for your phone bills, fill up your tank, play golf, or shop, you may
> be contributing to the coffers of the Shinawatra family and associates
> who are pitting Thais against Thais in Thaksin€™s bid to return to
> power. God help Thailand if he does, for a man, no matter how much of
> a visionary, no matter how intelligent or wealthy, cannot be called a
> leader if he fosters divisiveness and hatred among the citizenry. We
> cannot allow this to happen!
>
> Let us be vigilant and stop this social cancer that Thaksin Shinawatra
> has brought upon this once-peaceful country and is threatening all of
> us. Let us unite to boycott the Shinawatra businesses and those of his
> supporters, if only as a symbolic gesture of protest. Attached is a
> list and references.
>
> A man once said, €œThe power of one man or one woman doing the right
> thing for the right reason, and at the right time, is the greatest
> influence in our society.€
>
> A Group of Concerned Citizens
>
>
> HERE'S THE LIST
>
>
> SHINAWATRA€™S BUSINESS NETWORK
>
> AIS Advanced Info Service (AIS) and affliated businesses such as
> Advance Mobile Broadband Co., Ltd.
> Mobile Life
> Mobile from Advance
> Datanet
> GSM Advance
> GSM 1800
> One-2-Call
> BB (Blackberry) mobile phone
> Vertu
> Faxlite Co., Ltd.
> iZone Co., Ltd.
> Telewiz
>
> Alpine Golf Course and Housing Estate Thaksin bought the 500 rai
> Bt747million property at very low price amid allegations that the site
> was bequeathed to the Thammikaram Temple in Prachuap Khiri Khan by a
> devout Buddhist.
>
> CS Loxinfo Internet service provider.
>
> Praram 9 Hospital Partially owned by the Shinawatra family.
>
> PTT Pcl Thaksin€™s nestegg. Supplies PTT, Caltex, Bangchak and Shell.
> When state-owned PTT went public in November 2001, the Thaksin
> administration sold a 30 percent stake, which was quickly taken up by
> Shinawatra nominees cronies and their associates, primarily the
> Jungrungreangkit and Mahagitsiri clans.
>
> PTT€™s Petrochemicals and Refining wing consolidates the company's
> shareholdings in such companies as Thai Oil, Rayong, Star Oil, and
> Bangchak. Shell has since sold all of its shares to PTT Exploration
> and Production Public Co., Ltd.
>
> Siam Gas and Picnic PTT maintains its monopoly of the Thai natural gas
> and liquified petroleum gas markets through Siam Gas and Picnic with a
> network of 1,015 LPG retail outlets supported by 113 LPG bottling
> plants.
>
> SC Asset Corp Pcl Chaired by Yingluck Shinawatra. Projects include:
> Grand Bangkok Boulevard, Ramindra-Navamin (Under a Thaksin Cabinet
> resolution in 2003, a new road was cut from Ratchadapisek to Ramintra
> Km 4.5, to increase the plot€™s value).
> Life Bangkok Boulevard Ratchavipha
> Life Bangkok Boulevard Petchkasem 81
> Bangkok Boulevard Rajapruek-Rama V
> Work Place Ratchada-Ramindra
> Vista Avenue Petchkasem 81
> Vista Park Changwattna
> Vista Park, Prachachuen
> Centric Scene Condominium, Aree 2
> Centric Scene Sukhumvit 64
>
> SC Park Hotel Used as a base for meetings by the UDD. Also housed the
> UDD leaders.
>
> SC Matchbox Co A full service advertising agency - handled public
> relations for Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and the Thai Rak Thai
> Party since the founding of the party three years ago. Also handled
> government contracts through then PM Thaksin.
>
> Shinawatra Thai Silk Co
>
> Shinawatra Tower (for lease)
>
> Shinawatra University
>
> Thai Air Asia The Shinawatra family is said to hold a majority
> shareholder by nominee in Thai Air Asia, through Asia Aviation which
> is 51 percent owned by Sittichai Veerathummnoon, following the sale of
> Shin Corp.
>
> Note: The Thaksin government allowed Air Asia to open new domestic and
> international routes that overlap the routes of Thai Airways
> International. As a result, THAI was forced to reduce its domestic and
> international flights and cancelled profitable routes, amid
> allegations that it was forced by the government to make way for Air
> Asia.
>
> Thaicom Satellite Plc formerly Shin Satellite. Airs red-shirts€™
> People€™s Channel (PTV) which provides free satellite dishes to the
> provincial areas, giving rural folks access to just one station,
> opening them to communist-style brainwashing propaganda tactics.
>
>
> PHANTHONGTAE SHINAWATRA€™S BUSINESSES
>
> Voice TV Co., Ltd. an around-the-clock online and satellite television
> channel founded in November 2009 by Panthongtae Shinawatra and
> Pinthongtae Shinawatra. Programmes include an English-language news
> analyses by ML Nattakorn Devakula and in-depth talks by Jom Phetpradap
> and Tuangporn Asawawilai, former staff members of iTV.
>
> JJ Mall airconditioned mall behind Chatuchak Weekend Market
>
> How Come Entertainment Co An entertainment firm which was awarded an
> exclusive advertising contract for the Bangkok Metro and many other
> government contracts when his father was prime minister, irregardless
> that the advertising concession for the subway had previously been
> awarded to the long established Triad Networks Company
>
> Panthongtae is chief executive and president of How Come. Other
> executives include Aiyakup Kritboonyaleai (daughter of Darunee), Hana
> Tassanavalai and Nantasit Jamsomboon.
>
>
> YAOWAPHA WONGSUWAT€™S BUSINESSES (concealed ownership)
>
> Ascon Construction Plc held jointly with the Wilailak family, owner of
> Samart Beverly Hills Housing Project Capital OK Chinnicha Ville M Link
> Asia Corporation Plc Portal Net Company Riverside Privacy in
> partnership with the Mahagitsiri Family Srangsin Property Co Ltd
> Traffic Corner Holdings Plc won advertising concession from the
> Tourism Authority as well as cable TV concessions from the Public
> Relations Department WinCoast Industrial Park Plc in partnership with
> the Mahagitsiri
Family
>
>
> SUPPORTERS OF THAKSIN AND UDD
> Scanner Electric International Co Ltd produces Misushita appliances.
> Owned by Somwang Asarasee , a UDD core leader and owner of the Truth
> Today trademark. Somwang also owns Krung Siam Beverage, producer of
> Commando Bear energy drink.
>
> Darunee Kritboonyalai Known for her extremely extravagant spending
> habits and shocking dress style aimed at catching media attention.
> Shareholder of Oishi Restaurants, producers of Oishi Green Tea. Family
> owns troubled company that produces Senator brand air conditioning.
>
> Grand Waroros Palace Hotel UDD Base in Chiang Mai
>
> Imperial World Department Store Hosts of UDD meetings. Imperial
> Lardprao houses UDD€™s People Channel
>
> Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel Controlled by the Watannavekin Family, led by
> Khunying Natthika Angubolkul. Sister Panida is the wife of Peua Thai
> Party Deputy Pornthep Thepkanchana. Family owns Amarin Plaza, Amarin
> Tower, Erawan Bangkok, Courtyard by Marriott, Hyatt Regency Hua Hin
> and Barai Spa Hotel.
>
> FAMILIES THAT BENEFITTED FROM THAKSIN€™S POLICY CORRUPTION
>
> Jungrungruengkit Family of the Thai Summit Group of Companies.
Includes
> Summit Footwear
> Windwill Golf Club and Housing Project Picnic Siam Gas Prayudh
> Mahagitsiri and Family, own Thai Copper Industry, Thai Film Industry
> and Thainox Co Ltd as well as the following:
> Riverside Privacy Condominium
> Mountain Creek Golf Course, Khao Yai
> Lakewood Golf Course, Bangna
> 411 Entertainment (TV soap film production) Quality Coffee, producers
> of Nescafe Maleenond Family Channel 3 BEC World Asavabhokin Family of
> Land and House Co Ltd Raksiaksorn Family King Power Duty Free Shops
>
> SYMPATHISERS BY ASSOCIATION
>
> Real Estate Pinehurst Golf Course
> Bonanza Resort and Golf Course
> Amata Industrial Estate
> Hospitals Paolo Hospital
> Vibhavadee Hospital
> Media Thai Rath Newspaper
> Khao Sod Newspaper
> Matichon Newspaper
> Daily News Newspaper
> Prachathai website
> Religious Dhammakaya Temple
> Services Black Canyon Restaurants
> GMM Grammy
> RS Entertainment
> Cherdchai Tour
> Ratchasima Tour
> Ran Ya Nueng (Nueng Pharmaceutical store) REFERENCES
>
>
http://aceproject.org/ero-en....and.pdf
>
>
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006....674.php
>
> http://bangkokpundit.blogspot.com/20...-darkness.html
>
>
http://www.politicalfriendster.com/showCon....d2=3912
>
>
>
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/search....mission
>
>
>
http://www.bangkokpost.com/busines....-lustre
>
> http://www.2bangkok.com/2bangkok/Subway/howcome.shtml
>
>
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006....027.php
>
>
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006....027.php
>
> http://www.asiatraveltips.com/news06/172-AirAsia.shtml
>
> Bangkok Post, February 16, 2006 "New firm raises nominee question"
> by Kositchotethana, Boonsong
>
> www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-7
> 7345779.html
>
>
www.bangkokpost.com/.../sc-asset-still-cautious-but-ready-to-respond-to-upturn
>
>
> http://www.scasset.com/img/annual/SC...T_eng_2006.pdf
>
>
http://www.thaipr.net/nc....C957CDC
>
>
http://www.fnweb.com/thailan....E=MLINK
>
> 1 Oct 2003
>
> virtualreview.org/thailand/zoom/.../hotel-chiang-mai-ch-hotel
>
>
> http://www.antithaksin.com/BlankForm.php?Aid=0801030
>
> http://www.thaipro.com/thailand_00/4...get-hotels.htm
>
> ADDITIONAL REFERENCES
> 1. Anon, Thailand Legal Basics, Tilleke & Gibbins, International Ltd,
> March 2003.
> http://www.tillekeandgibbins.com/Pub..._legal_basics/
>
> 2. Pasuk Phongpaichit and Sungsidh Piriyarangsan, Corruption and
> Democracy in
> Thailand, Silkworm Books, Reprint edition, June 1999.
>
> 3. Nualnoi Treerat, Thailand: Fight against Corruption, Political
> Economy Center,
> Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 2000.
> http://www.fes.or.kr/Corruption/papers/Thailand.htm
>
> 4. Pasuk Phongpaichit, Nualnoi Treerat, Yongyuth Chaiyapong and Chris
Baker,
> Corruption in the Public Sector in Thailand: Perception and Experience
> of Households. Political Economy Center, Chulalongkorn University,
> Bangkok 2000.
>
> 5. Anon, Transparency International Corruption Perception Index 2003,
> Transparency International, July 2003.
>
http://www.transparency.org/pressre....en.html
>
> 6. Kanokkan Anukansai, Anti-Corruption and Transparency Radio
> Broadcasts, Thailand, Transparency International, 2003.
>
http://www.transparency.org/toolkit....and.pdf
>
> 7. Kanokkan Anukansai, Transparency Youth Camp, Thailand, Transparency
> International, 2003.
> http://www.transparency.org/toolkits/2002/ch1-
> awareness/1transparency_youth_camp_thailand.pdf
>
> 8. Anon, OECD Convention on Combatting Bribery of Foreign Public
> Officials in
> International Business Transactions, Ratification Status as at 10
> March 2004, OECD,
> March 2004.
> http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/59/13/1898632.pdf
>
> 9. Jeremy Pope, Confronting Corruption: The Elements of a National
> Integrity System, Transparency International, 2000.
> http://www.transparency.org/sourcebook/index.html
>
> 10. Anon, THAILAND €“ A Country Study, Federal Research Division, U.S.
> Library of
> Congress, September 1987.
> http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/thtoc.html
>
> 11. Lee Kim Chew, THAILAND: Taking the bite out of the Thai press, The
> Straits Times, Friday, February 27, 2004.
>
> 12. Li Choy Chong, Lectures of the course €International Management:
> Asia€ that took place at Swiss Federal Institute of Technology,
> University of St Gallen, 2004.
>
> 13. Anon, Attacs on the Press 2003: Documented Cases from Asia for
> 2003, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2003.
> http://www.cpj.org/attacks03/asia03/thai.html
>
> 14. Duangkamol Chotana and Frank Flatters, Corruption in Thailand:
> The Media are Only the Messengers, The Nation, Bangkok, April 19,
2001.
>
> 15. Anon , Source Book 2000, Chapter 5, Transparency International,
> 2000. www.transparency.org/sourcebook/
>
>
> 16. Anon, Government meddling leads to self-censorship, Bangkok Post,
> December 29, 2003.
>__
>
> ADDITIONAL REFERENCES IN THAI
> Constitutional Court. 30 May 2007, decision p. 2 3-5/2550.
>
> Nualnoi Treerat, et al. 2003. Civic participation in monitoring Tambon
> Administrative Organizations, Faculty of Economics, Chulalongkorn
> University, Bangkok.
>
> Pasuk Pongpaichit, et al. 1998. Corruption in Thai bureaucracy.
> National Counter Corruption Commission, Bangkok.
>
> Pasuk Pongpaichit, et al. 2003. Business, state, and corruption.
> National Counter Corruption Commission, Bangkok.
>
> Rosana Tositrakul, et al. 2005. The brave men against corruption: Five
> case studies; a study on impacts and violence against civic monitoring
> of corruption, Papyrus Publication, Bangkok.
>
> Supachai Yawaprapas, et al. 2001. Bureaucrats?perspectives on
> corruption and position buying. Office of the Civil Service
> Commission, Bangkok.

[SamplerDoc]

Two bits of interesting Info today.........



Bangkok, Thailand (CNN) -- A Thai court issued a warrant Tuesday against the country's ousted prime minister on terrorism charges connected with the violent clashes that crippled Bangkok for weeks......................



Thailand's government has extended the curfew in Bangkok and nearly 23 of the country's provinces for four more nights, state news reported.

Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd had said officials would propose extending the curfew in Bangkok and nearly a third of the country's provinces until May 31 in a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the state news agency reported. Intelligence reports show anti-government groups are still trying to cause chaos, he said, according to the agency.

[thaibound]

(f0xxee @ May 25 2010,19:46) >
> HERE'S THE LIST
>
>
> SHINAWATRA€™S BUSINESS NETWORK
>
> AIS Advanced Info Service (AIS) and affliated businesses such as
> Advance Mobile Broadband Co., Ltd.
> Mobile Life
> Mobile from Advance
> Datanet
> GSM Advance
> GSM 1800
> One-2-Call
> BB (Blackberry) mobile phone
> Vertu
> Faxlite Co., Ltd.
> iZone Co., Ltd.
> Telewiz
>
> Alpine Golf Course and Housing Estate Thaksin bought the 500 rai
> Bt747million property at very low price amid allegations that the site
> was bequeathed to the Thammikaram Temple in Prachuap Khiri Khan by a
> devout Buddhist.
>
> CS Loxinfo Internet service provider.
>
> Praram 9 Hospital Partially owned by the Shinawatra family.
>
> PTT Pcl Thaksin€™s nestegg. Supplies PTT, Caltex, Bangchak and Shell.
> When state-owned PTT went public in November 2001, the Thaksin
> administration sold a 30 percent stake, which was quickly taken up by
> Shinawatra nominees cronies and their associates, primarily the
> Jungrungreangkit and Mahagitsiri clans.
>
> PTT€™s Petrochemicals and Refining wing consolidates the company's
> shareholdings in such companies as Thai Oil, Rayong, Star Oil, and
> Bangchak. Shell has since sold all of its shares to PTT Exploration
> and Production Public Co., Ltd.
>
> Siam Gas and Picnic PTT maintains its monopoly of the Thai natural gas
> and liquified petroleum gas markets through Siam Gas and Picnic with a
> network of 1,015 LPG retail outlets supported by 113 LPG bottling
> plants.
>
> SC Asset Corp Pcl Chaired by Yingluck Shinawatra. Projects include:
> Grand Bangkok Boulevard, Ramindra-Navamin (Under a Thaksin Cabinet
> resolution in 2003, a new road was cut from Ratchadapisek to Ramintra
> Km 4.5, to increase the plot€™s value).
> Life Bangkok Boulevard Ratchavipha
> Life Bangkok Boulevard Petchkasem 81
> Bangkok Boulevard Rajapruek-Rama V
> Work Place Ratchada-Ramindra
> Vista Avenue Petchkasem 81
> Vista Park Changwattna
> Vista Park, Prachachuen
> Centric Scene Condominium, Aree 2
> Centric Scene Sukhumvit 64
>
> SC Park Hotel Used as a base for meetings by the UDD. Also housed the
> UDD leaders.
>
> SC Matchbox Co A full service advertising agency - handled public
> relations for Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and the Thai Rak Thai
> Party since the founding of the party three years ago. Also handled
> government contracts through then PM Thaksin.
>
> Shinawatra Thai Silk Co
>
> Shinawatra Tower (for lease)
>
> Shinawatra University
>
> Thai Air Asia The Shinawatra family is said to hold a majority
> shareholder by nominee in Thai Air Asia, through Asia Aviation which
> is 51 percent owned by Sittichai Veerathummnoon, following the sale of
> Shin Corp.
>
etc etc

that's all he's got?

and i thought the man was rich

[celentano]

Ohhh, Thaksin is just a poor Man...

[guydesavoy]

Article on the mysterious Black shirts

http://atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/LE29Ae02.html

[Snick]

Funny article, No photos, no facts and atimes.com is owned by Sondhi one of the Yellow Shirt founders.

[rxpharm]

Snick it seems that Sondhi is no longer the owner of Asia Times Online as per a 2008 staff e-mail from editor Allen Quicke.

However, in an email to the staff in October 2007 that was made available to Asia Sentinel by a former ATOL employee, editor Allen Quicke wrote that €œthis is the true story of our corporate setup, for anyone who wants to know. Sondhi, Manager, etc. have nothing to do with ATOL, for all intents and purposes.

This was reported in the Asia Sentinel as part of a story about a liebel law suit against it by a Dubai gold trader and financier.

[guydesavoy]

That's true Rx. I thought the article was a little sketchy though, so I'd be interested to see if it's followed up in the mainstream Press, as the 2 contributors look a bit 'freelance'.

As usual the 'truth' will take some time to filter out