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The GOOD News From Thailand -- Bangkok, Thailand
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by TomAikins | December 6, 2008 at 05:47 pm
542 views | 6 Recommendations | 7 comments
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There's been a lot of negative news coming out of Thailand lately and obviously with good reason. The PAD took over Suvarnabhumi Airport, the tourism and export industries took a major hit and the political situation has still not been completely resolved. However, there is some GOOD news to report on.
First, there was almost no violence in the mass demonstrations that took place at both of Thailand's airports. The occupiers left peacefully when the demonstrations were over and there was no vandalism or any destruction reported at either airport. In fact, Suvarnabhumi was in such good condition that flights were landing right away and some carriers started up their regular flight schedules again only two days after the airport was vacated by the demonstrators. Things are not completely back to normal yet but they are definitely on the way.
Second, even though there has been a great deal of political unrest here in the last several months there is never much violence here in Thailand. It just isn't in the Thai psyche. Yes, there were some confrontations with the police that left some people injured, some badly. There is no disputing that. But considering the numbers of people involved and the heated emotions that were stoked up, it's amazing that there was as little violence as there was.
What most people outside of Thailand don't realize is that there was no security breakdown at the airports that allowed the demonstrators to take over. The army and police here knew full well what was going to happen and they sat back and let it. They are in favor of the PAD and want the last remnants of Thaksin Shinawatra's elements out of power. There is an enormous chess game being played behind the scenes here that is very difficult to figure out as you have many different factions jockeying for position. I'll try to keep up on things as they develop.
And another important point is that there was no violence directed towards any foreigners nor were any foreigners ever at risk during the entire time. The demonstrations and confrontations were confined to a very small part of Bangkok at all times and if you didn't read the news reports on what was happening here you wouldn't even have been aware of any problems. Even when the demonstrators occupied the airports they were respectful of the tourists that were there and provided them with food and water. Many people who were stranded in their hotels were given free rooms and every effort was made to make their ordeal as bearable as possible.
Thai people are naturally friendly and generous (which is why many people come here in the first place) and there have been news reports of foreign tourists praising some of the help that they received from the Thai people. No, all is not 100% rosy here but it's getting better fast and it's still a great (and inexpensive) place to have your holiday. If you come here you definitely will not regret it. '
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (7)
at 18:08 on December 6th, 2008
I'll continue to post information about Thailand on a regular basis. I've been here for 13 years and have many sources of information so I can usually provide an alternative viewpoint from what you will see in the mainstream media both here and abroad. Thanks for reading and if anyone has any specific questions about Thailand I would be happy to try to answer them. You can also look at my website, ugothai.com, for information concerning traveling here.
at 18:19 on December 6th, 2008
Sadly all is not hunky-dory! The police are investigating the theft of many objects from Government House, including antique Buddha statues, and the PAD failed to do anything to tidy up the grounds. Instead they left a terrible mess for others to deal with. Very un-Thai.
at 19:03 on December 6th, 2008
Tom Aikins, thank you for this story. Cypresso is correct however in that you should add an Opinion tag to it. Also, sourced material should be highlighted. Please visit NowPublic Newsroom for tips on publishing, and welcome to NP:).
at 00:43 on December 7th, 2008
Thanks. I just noticed the opinion button and have indeed checked it. I'll also check out the tips that you mentioned.
at 00:03 on December 7th, 2008
:-)
at 06:56 on December 7th, 2008
FYI,
The Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited (AOT) has already sued P.A.D. and also requested for 20,000 million baht compensation.
The representive of the Government House has already sued the P.A.D.(after 193 days of occupying) and requested for 20 million baht compensation. These cases are taking care by the Civil Court.
The Somchai's government has already approved budget cost 1,200,000 million baht just within 85 days.!! (NeawNa Post)
at 21:24 on December 7th, 2008
You are correct about the lawsuits, however, since the PAD is not a juristic entity under Thai law both the AOT and the Government House representative will probably have a difficult time of it. They may be reduced to suing indivduals who are leaders of the PAD but even that could prove to be problematic for many reasons. In the end, the lawsuits will be quietly dropped and soon forgotten.