Defiant Thanathorn rejects court order, vows to pursue prime minister’s post

[spidermike007]

His defiance is good for the nation. Someone has to stand up to the corrupt imbeciles, who are desperately trying to cling to power. He is what is needed at this time. Fresh energy, youth, and business experience. He would have been the best choice for PM, hands down. Not the incompetent that this nation has already suffered under for the past five years. Prayuth is the last man in the world who should be leading this nation. 

[lemonjelly]

I like the guy, but I have a nagging feeling that once he’s been politically deactivated, he’ll return to his business interests 

[ocddave]

The "Democrats" have sided with Dictatorship, so this is all for not now.....this is how Democracy and a Nation die. I only hate the fact that I have brought millions of baht into this country which ultimately helps this illegitimate government.

[Sticky Wicket]

1 hour ago, Ozman52 said:

All I see is another rich man trying to buy his way to the PMship, power and means to increase his wealth. Claims of sainthood are a trifle premature.

Yeh let's just carry on with the Junta. Such an excellent model for a country's development!!

Sometimes I just despair 

[Sticky Wicket]

6 minutes ago, lemonjelly said:

I like the guy, but I have a nagging feeling that once he’s been politically deactivated, he’ll return to his business interests 

This is where he needs to show some <deleted> and keep fighting. 

His support will grow if he stands up to these zealots

[rabas]

1 hour ago, Orton Rd said:

They have shot dead their own on the street in 2010, so they would have no qualms about slotting a troublesome businessman threatening their power

By 'their own' you mean the guy who threw a hand grenade in his commanding general's office when he was forced to teach dancing class for disciplinary reasons, saying the only dance he knows is the hand grenade waltz? That guy? Disciplined because he threatened to bomb anti-government protesters and drop snakes on them from helicopters.

 

Who was later 'befriended' by Thaksin to lead a black paramilitary force in the streets of Bangkok when Thaksin shut the city down, then claiming he would wipe out the army? Do you remember all the things that mysteriously exploded around that time, including a military commander blown up by an RPG? Power pylons, jet fuel tanks, hospitals, MRTs, ... 

 

Yes, lets not go there again.

 

[tingtongtourist]

4 hours ago, Odysseus123 said:

Unfortunately expats have not one iota of political,social or cultural clout in this country.They are in fact,the most disempowered group of Westerners that I have ever observed in all of my ramblings about the planet.

 

Mr Thanathorn would be burnt toast indeed if the xenophobic Thais perceived that he was supported by "us".

 

Tho' I agree with your sentiments in the larger sense.

Must certainly agree with the first point.

 

The poster you replied remind me of way back when the junta first took over.

Many did go praising them and saying they saved Thailand and the economy. 

 

Like people being happy that BJ got tossed...next.. mandatory health insurance. yay!

 

People here can be like the venomous pet snake you had for years.

all ok, but then one day disaster strikes.

I handle Thai gfs the same way.

PC types who choose not to often end up as toast!

 

As far as mr. farang goes, ALL WE NEED/SHOULD worry about is Visa issues.

Why complain and criticise and calling out individuals? does nothing for us at all, just makes it worse actually.

 

To many flapping mouths (and keyboards) and now wonder why this so called "crackdown on visa farang" is happening.

 

Even you are married and have kids,

OK i get it.. you want the good future for your kids, but still a big rule as part of accepting a visa is..DONT being involved in political issues!

 is the same visa requirement for many countries.

Cant help but think some guys should "put a sock in it" before they themself will end up getting carted away!

 

As for this Tanathorn guy, i suspect some of his ideas and things he said has certain people saying   "he talks like a farang" 

 He also speaks pretty good English.

Take THAT as you will!!

 

[holy cow cm]

48 minutes ago, nikmar said:

Bringing up a kid here, I believe Im entitled to an opinion, but there's not a lot I can do beyond that. My wife is a junta supporter which leads to a few disagreements.

Yes we have a right to an opinion as we are here and it does inevitably involve our blood being our offspring. As for your wife backing the Junta, so sorry to hear that as that would cause too many problems in my home if my wife did. She seems to be truly misguided. 

[lemonjelly]

6 minutes ago, rabas said:

By 'their own' you mean the guy who threw a hand grenade in his commanding general's office when he was forced to teach dancing class for disciplinary reasons, saying the only dance he knows is the hand grenade waltz? That guy? Disciplined because he threatened to bomb anti-government protesters and drop snakes on them from helicopters.

 

Who was later 'befriended' by Thaksin to lead a black paramilitary force in the streets of Bangkok when Thaksin shut the city down, then claiming he would wipe out the army? Do you remember all the things that mysteriously exploded around that time, including a military commander blown up by an RPG? Power pylons, jet fuel tanks, hospitals, MRTs, ... 

 

Yes, lets not go there again.

 

Ahaaa, but none of that would’ve happened if the military had kept out of Politics rather than instigating unrest and then performing a coup every time a democratically elected government that they feel threatened by is democratically elected. 

[rabas]

oops.

[ocddave]

1 minute ago, lemonjelly said:

Ahaaa, but none of that would’ve happened if the military had kept out of Politics rather than instigating unrest and then performing a coup every time a democratically elected government that they feel threatened by is democratically elected. 

They want us to believe that what the Army does is always good, what everyone else does is sedition, just learn the new slogan "long live the Junta".

[rabas]

oops.

[rabas]

2 minutes ago, rabas said:

  4 minutes ago, lemonjelly said:

Ahaaa, but none of that would’ve happened if the military had kept out of Politics rather than instigating unrest and then performing a coup every time a democratically elected government that they feel threatened by is democratically elected. 

Ah, and none of that would have happened with out the corrupt Shinawatra's, their puppet PMs (3), and unspeakable violent acts. History is our friend, but does not like parts left behind.

[Sticky Wicket]

4 minutes ago, rabas said:

Ah, and none of that would have happened with out the corrupt Shinawatra's, their puppet PMs (3), and unspeakable violent acts. ad infin item.

You do realise that there is a history before Thaksin and multiple coups??? Maybe you need to do a little bit of research before you come out with such dross

[toenail]

This guy & his professor friend are smart cookies- the junta cannot intellectually compete with these two men. The junta regime can only twist the law and use threats to their advantage. 

[TKDfella]

5 hours ago, perthuniversity said:

quite a few years involved in politics myself, i've never seen such a clear cut case of one man willing to sacrifice everything for not only democracy, but freedom of speech and equality, thoroughly impressed, i would love to see the expat community (whereever they may be located) to get behind this movement, we all know inequality is an ugly beast in thailand, and it's now time to set things straight - go thanathorn

Though I agree with your sentiment it isn't expats that need to get behind Thanathorn, it's the Thai people who need to back him up. Do you see that happening? Sadly, I don't. If expats did anything they be charged and probably told to leave, because they don't have the voting power. They would be told that they cannot interfere with Thai politics etc.

[nikmar]

30 minutes ago, holy cow cm said:

Yes we have a right to an opinion as we are here and it does inevitably involve our blood being our offspring. As for your wife backing the Junta, so sorry to hear that as that would cause too many problems in my home if my wife did. She seems to be truly misguided. 

misguided is a word I used against her. She was misguided by Suthep when she went out armed with her bloody whistle and it went from there. He basically used peoples dislike of thaksin to kickstart this mess and that was the case with her. She honestly believes that as its not thaksin doing the cheating etc. then its all ok. We have a sort of peace pact whereby any discussion of politics and the fella in Germany are taboo. 

apart from that, we get on just fine.

[Momofarang]

2 hours ago, Denim said:

The powers that be are currently busy nailing his cojones to the door. 

Let's just hope they won't find a door large enough.

[lemonjelly]

14 minutes ago, rabas said:

Ah, and none of that would have happened with out the corrupt Shinawatra's, their puppet PMs (3), and unspeakable violent acts. History is our friend, but does not like parts left behind.

It’s down to the opposition in parliament to convince the public to vote the government out, the military has no right to kick out a democratically elected government and then follow through with the suppression of free speech, it was illegal to criticize or publicly debate the latest constitution before its referendum. It seems that the Thai military really wants  to keep Thailand in the S.E. Asia militarily controlled countries club, think: Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar. It’s a real shame as Thailand has so much potential to be the leader in the region but army  generals aren’t usually noted for economic forward thinking or listening to the public and tend to invest in military hardware rather than social infrastructure and well being.

[holy cow cm]

20 minutes ago, nikmar said:

misguided is a word I used against her. She was misguided by Suthep when she went out armed with her bloody whistle and it went from there. He basically used peoples dislike of thaksin to kickstart this mess and that was the case with her. She honestly believes that as its not thaksin doing the cheating etc. then its all ok. We have a sort of peace pact whereby any discussion of politics and the fella in Germany are taboo. 

apart from that, we get on just fine.

Oh Boy! Don't get me started on Suthep the worm. Well good luck as you have to keep the peace in the family somehow, as hard as it looks to me to do.

[nikmar]

4 minutes ago, holy cow cm said:

Oh Boy! Don't get me started on Suthep the worm. Well good luck as you have to keep the peace in the family somehow, as hard as it looks to me to do.

Suthep is my pet hate. Him more than anyone. Thanks for the good luck but we're ok. we just talk about food a lot. ????

[owenm]

If too much noise is created by farang expats expressing their views on Thanathorn, the good, and the Junta, the bad, and become too vocal involving themselves in the Thai political situation, it could all come back to burn us on the butt.. 

We are after all, only annual temporary residents with no future stays guaranteed.. 

 

If the current Junta becomes really peaved off, the goal posts can always change to further weed out their so called undesirable expats.. 

What would happen if suddenly all retired expats required 1.5mill Bht in the bank, can't drop below 750k Bht and ALL were forced to have health insurance?? What an exodus that would create.. 

 

Sometimes best to stay in the side lines and not create unnecessary waves.. Let the Thais create the waves toward more democratic reform and we can all watch in anticipation.. 

 

 

[Psimbo]

6 hours ago, perthuniversity said:

quite a few years involved in politics myself, i've never seen such a clear cut case of one man willing to sacrifice everything for not only democracy, but freedom of speech and equality, thoroughly impressed, i would love to see the expat community (whereever they may be located) to get behind this movement, we all know inequality is an ugly beast in thailand, and it's now time to set things straight - go thanathorn

The Expat community has absolutely no business sticking its nose in the politics (or lack of) of another country. People can tacitly support Thanatorn but to enter into the public forum is a VERY dangerous (literally) step.

 

How would YOU like it if outside political opinions and influences were foisted on your country (which at present is VERY xenophobic IMHO and and has a poor attitude towards (non-white) immigrants)?

[connda]

5 hours ago, Odysseus123 said:

Unfortunately expats have not one iota of political,social or cultural clout in this country.They are in fact,the most disempowered group of Westerners that I have ever observed in all of my ramblings about the planet.

Mrs Connda doesn't talk about politics at all but I do know that her horse is about to cross the finish line in first place considering that the rest of the horses in the field were either hobbled or shot as they left the starting gates.

Mr. Connda enjoys pointing out the idiocy of the obvious which is a nice emotional release even though he is well aware that his opinion and observations don't mean a tinker's damn in the real world.  Instead Mr. Conna, like other outsiders, pours a cup of coffee or tea <or pops a brew>, gets comfy, sits back, and watches the slow-motion train wreak in progress from afar in amused smugness.  Like an observer on a cliff top watching two trains approaching at high speeds from opposite directions in the valley below, the end result wasn't difficult to predict.  

 

[tingtongtourist]

45 minutes ago, TKDfella said:

Though I agree with your sentiment it isn't expats that need to get behind Thanathorn, it's the Thai people who need to back him up. Do you see that happening? Sadly, I don't. If expats did anything they be charged and probably told to leave, because they don't have the voting power. They would be told that they cannot interfere with Thai politics etc.

AFAIK, its actual visa law that foriegners cannot be involved in politics.

 

Dont matter what the visa, if married or have kids. Citizenship might be different, i dont know.

Whether it includes discussion/criticism i dont know also, but for sure if Thais criticised certain things/people on Facebook they would probably get carted away for attitude adjustment or worse.

 

I have said for long time (and read others saying) watch out what you say on here or it could come back to bite you.

 

By now you would think with all these new visa tightening things happening, some people might take a hint..but no!!

 

If we dont want more harsh visa restrictions maybe its time to shut out traps?

 

If certain people rule again (and its for many years) DONT be suprised if they start applying laws to foriegners that

"talk to much" as harsh as they would do to a Thai person.

 

There are probably only a few reasons why it is not happening already.

 

[Raymonddiaz]

5 hours ago, Fex Bluse said:

Well, I cannot agree really with anything you have proposed.

 

1. The only thing we see and "know" are a result of the optics that we are exposed to. We don't know anything of the internal workings or motivations of this man or his party. They may be good, or they be not good. 

 

2. Why would the expat community get behind ANY Thai political movement? Thailand does its best to alienate Farangs at every opportunity. We have ZERO rights in Thailand. Getting involved in Thai politics would be disastrous for the expat community. It is a VERY bad idea.

 

Let the Thais fix Thai problems. That is how they want it.

You got some points here but most of us were born in countries where we can express ourselves freely. No one can stop a human having his own opinion. We live here and we are tax payers so we should have our say even if it's only virtual.

[CharlieH]

Reported off topic post removed.

[GarryP]

2 minutes ago, tingtongtourist said:

AFAIK, its actual visa law that foriegners cannot be involved in politics.

 

Dont matter what the visa, if married or have kids. Citizenship might be different, i dont know.

Whether it includes discussion/criticism i dont know also, but for sure if Thais criticised certain things/people on Facebook they would probably get carted away for attitude adjustment or worse.

 

I have said for long time (and read others saying) watch out what you say on here or it could come back to bite you.

 

By now you would think with all these new visa tightening things happening, some people might take a hint..but no!!

 

If we dont want more harsh visa restrictions maybe its time to shut out traps?

 

If certain people rule again (and its for many years) DONT be suprised if they start applying laws to foriegners that

"talk to much" as harsh as they would do to a Thai person.

 

There are probably only a few reasons why it is not happening already.

 

New Thai citizens can't vote in elections until 5 years have passed from obtaining citizenship. We also can't become members of parliament, but I don't think anything is stopping us from otherwise participating in politics.  I voice my opinion, but am obviously careful about 112, which any sensible Thai would be.  

 

However, I think for the most part Thais are not really interested in what expats/retirees have to say as most do not have the language skills to even understand what we are saying. 

 

In this case, the court is about as far from neutral as can be as it has accepted a case that the EC has not even concluded yet.  Reviewing recent decisions of this court, one can see a clear bias for the military/elite faction. 

 

As to the EC, the lightning speed of investigations against the pro-democracy side compared to the snail like pace against those on the military/elite faction would be laughable if it wasn't so sad.  Top that off with the ridiculous ruling of the EC on the sponsored dinner for Palangprachrat, i.e. "money did not come from foreign sources, so it is okay", when the issue raised was totally different. 

 

The whole state of affairs shows how badly the generals and their sponsors misjudged the whole situation. Changing the election process and seat allocation as they did, they thought it was a forgone conclusion that they would just walk back in. They could not have been any more mistaken. As a result, they are now doing whatever they can to get rid of the opposition, even if that means showing to the world that they control the EC and the judges. They know no shame and are not worthy of any respect.    

[Srikcir]

3 hours ago, robblok said:

I think its bad news, but as far as I read here its temporarily until investigation is done ?. There is no conclusion yet or am i misreading it ?

I think you read the court's "suspension" correctly.

The good news is that he'll get some kind of due process of law to make his defense before the court, see the evidence against him and have the right to rebut the evidence.

The bad news is that he cannot enter parliament as an MP to vote, the first of which would be for the PM.

But the good news is that until the court rules him guilty, he does 'hold' the seat. No one else, ie., a pro-military candidate, can occupy his seat and vote in the Parliament. If he is given adequate time for due process of time (for which there's no guarantee), I doubt there can be a court decision before May 25th or even before the end of May. 

[geoffbezoz]

2 hours ago, nikmar said:

speaking of that, does anyone know what happened to the guys arrested on the Vietnamese border?? I believe they couldve gone the same way. Anyone know any different?

 

Not heard nor has external reporting sources heard. No doubt they will be found with a stomach full of concrete with "Love from the J" imprinted