Pitak Siam lacks social agenda

COMMENTARY

Published: 13 Nov 2012 at 00.00
Newspaper section: News

What is in a name? Contrary to what Juliet Capulet said, the answer can be many things.

Consider the name Pitak Siam _ protecting Siam _ for example. The name of the latest anti-government group, headed by retired general Boonlert Kaewprasit, alone raises many sharp, ironical questions about its whole existence and objective.

What is Siam? What is the group's idea of Siam? If there was such an idea, has it been communicated to members of the public so that those who choose to attend the rally understand clearly what they are doing to achieve what objective?

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facts_only
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Discussion 8 : 13 Nov 2012 at 11.148
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"If a coup did take place, an interim government would be set up. If this was not acceptable to other countries, we could close the country. I don't know for how many years, but the closure should remain until all the bad politicians have been driven away. I have never seen a good politician." - Gen Boonlert, Oct 29, 2012
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Eric
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Discussion 7 : 13 Nov 2012 at 10.227
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DocN dis#3, concur with your comment and thankful for Khun Atiya for highlighting the perils of Boonlert and his likes to continuously try to bring down democracy. I am just surprised that Thais are not getting protest fatigue after years on years of demonstrations and coups. Ordinary Thais are just playing into the hands of the powerful and their ability to fan discontent and arouse their emotion to do their bidings. At the end, ordinary Thais suffer and pay enormous sacrifices while the powerful gets what they want. Democracy and people's mandate are the only peaceful & equitable method.
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Ian
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Discussion 6 : 13 Nov 2012 at 09.586
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I don't think any party, group or organisation in Thailand can be said to have a policy, that is far too embracing a word to use. We can say they have agendas, get rich, get power, destroy the opposition. It takes mature leadership to create policies.
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shopwow
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Discussion 5 : 13 Nov 2012 at 09.095
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I can fully understand the feelings of the writer, a large number of people are in a confused state too. Here we have a democratically elected government in place, then we have them unleash populist policies that are bound to pull Thailand down financially. Just one year and we can see the dangers, imagine waiting for democracy to have it's way for 3 more years. And ofcourse no coup please, Sonthi Boonyakrint smeared the coup logics by sleeping with the Thaksin camp. So madam what do we do next? Unlike you, few of us get paid for expressing our feelings.
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RogerRed
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Discussion 4 : 13 Nov 2012 at 08.454
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Boonlert and his little chums in PAD/TPN/ Democrat party just don't get it. This government was overwhelmingly voted in by the people. This is democracy. These demonstrations are confined to the affluent Bangkok and are in no way representative of the wishes of the whole population.
Musashi you are spot on to expose the hypocrisy of Boonlert and chums in fomenting unrest. Can we expect an airport closure or two in the near future? After all,the terrorists who committed the last acts are still walking free. Double standards of the Democrats is breathtaking.
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DocN
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Discussion 3 : 13 Nov 2012 at 08.263
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Khun Atiya- thank you for raising these questions. I think, not enough people (by far) are thinking about this! Just joining a movement for the sake of joining, is not enough, in a (fragile...if any) democracy like Thailand.
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musashi
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Discussion 2 : 13 Nov 2012 at 05.162
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The country is preparing to celebrate HM's birthday on the 5th December. Yet, the very people who claim to monopolize the love for the monarchy (Dems and the different variants of PAD) are organizing rallies to cause unhappiness among the people just days before.

If they had any love for HM, they would let the country enjoy the celebrations and let the people extend their love to HM. After all, they can hold the rallies just a few days later. But we know, these self serving people are only thinking about their own selfish agendas.
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nui
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Discussion 1 : 13 Nov 2012 at 05.111
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It does not really matter what the social agenda is or what the name means. The people who are fed up look for a mass movement they can join. They want to show their frustration about a corrupt regime. If enough people join, it will be a warning shot or even much more. We have seen it all in the past and should know, what a mass movement can achieve. Never underestimate peoples power.
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Pitak Siam lacks social agenda | Bangkok Post: opinion