"These key perpetrators must be brought before the courts . . ."

www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1504...eight-of-law-prevail

Rank hypocrisy. The elitist Thai press issued no such demands for punishment of the military brass who committed the ultimate treason of staging a coup - to drive out the popularly-elected TRT government. They issued no such demands when the yellow-shirts caused the postponement of the Asean summit last year. They issued no such demands when yellow-shirts sabotaged successor elected governments to TRT by blocking major thoroughfares, occupying and trashing Government House, and occupying and shutting down Bangkok airports.

In other words, there apparently is no crime against an elected Thai government so egregious in the eyes of the Thai press that it requires prosecution of the perpetrators, as long as the crime was committed to benefit the military/old-money elite.

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Jim the Moron</i>

Buksida is right when he says new elections won't solve Thailand's problems. But perpetuation of a government that is not wanted by the majority of Thais is a recipe for further dissent.
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Half the country is not a majority and you cannot have a 'democracy' when a ruling party has to 'purchase' two other political parties to gain enough seats to get into power.

The majority of Thais want peace and prosperity in their country, not this bullshit which has been started and perpetuated by one man alone and his dictatorial quest for power which borders on megalomania.

I see Thaksin's passport has been revoked but that wont stop him buying another from his powerful friends using money that rightfully belongs to Thailand.

Yes, "the majority of Thais want peace and prosperity." And they had that, during the TRT years. Thailand paid off its foreign debt early and promoted a more equitable distribution of wealth. The elite resented that; hence the coup.

Crispin's piece today in ATimes, in spite of his declaration - "competing histories of recent events will only obfuscate further" - shows that he has thrown off all pretense of objective reporting. He has now given us a purely pro-military/old-money elitist opinion on Thai affairs. This is much to be preferred over his former weasel-like references to phantom "sources."

Some common sense from abroad. Crispin should attempt a rebuttal.

www.nytimes.com/2009/04/17/opinion/17iht-edabuza.htm?_r=1

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Jim the Moron</i>

Yes, "the majority of Thais want peace and prosperity." And they had that, during the TRT years.


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Your views are quite myopic, care to ask anyone in the South about peace and prosperity under TRT? Care to ask anyone of the relations of the 2,700 people Thaksin murdered during his 'war on drugs'? Care to ask any of the small business owners that were constantly clamped down upon during those TRT years while the party handed out mobile phone to villages in issan for use on Shincorp's satellites?

Most TRT supporters consider Thailand only to consist of the northeast, they forget that there is a capital city and a southern half of the Kingdom with an equal population that was conveniently ignored by TRT.

The only one that prospered was Thaksin himself, the man has damaged Thailand beyond repair and he continues to do so.

We have Khun Sondhi to thank for our having "the Edge" to discuss Asia matters. Thankfully, it appears he is recovering well.

www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asia.../view/422998/1/.html

Thai media would never publish an opinion such as this:

www.nytimes.com/2009/04/18/opinion/18thitinan.html?_r=1

It would be difficult to find a better summary of Thailand's political state-of-affairs than this in today's Asia Times Online:

www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/KD23Ae03.html

The military-backed incumbent government is doing its best to cover up its responsibility for the massacre. Importantly, these efforts include martial law, curfews, etc. whenever and wherever it seems beneficial to them.

As with previous military actions against the people, we hear of disappearances and official denials that government forces killed unarmed demonstrators. And the military/elitist government strives to paint itself more favorably by denigrating the leadership of the Red Shirts.

But in spite of the censorship (closing of hundreds of web sites, radio stations, etc.), and the almost absolute government control over the print media and TV, support for TRT-style governance persists.

www.cleanclothes.org/urgent-actions/thai...ur-advocate-arrested

Socialist supporters of TRT/PPP/PueaThai have bravely spoken out against the illegitimate incumbent government. Khun Somyot is being held under conditions that give concern about his ultimate safety, along with Prof. Suthachai. Hope they are not added to the ever-growing list of the "disappeared."