BREAKING: Thailand's army declares martial law in broadcast on military TV - Polidicks

[QUOTE]Thailand's army has declared martial law in an announcement on military TV. The announcement said martial law had been invoked "to restore peace and order for people from all sides", stressing that the move "was not a coup". The declaration comes after months of civil unrest in the country and the ousting of prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra. Thailand's powerful military has launched or attempted 18 coups in 81 years of fragile democracy. The military had in recent weeks sought to ease fears that yet another coup was imminent. Last week Thailand's Election Commission called for national polls planned for July to be postponed because of the political unrest escalating in the kingdom. The appeal came after three anti-government protesters were killed and 23 wounded in a gun and grenade attack on their protest site in Bangkok. Former prime minister Ms Yingluck was ousted by a Thai court for abuse of power earlier this month after six months of protests against her government. A caretaker government was installed but that did little to curb the protests.[/QUOTE] [url]http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-20/thai-army-declares-martial-law-military-tv/5464040[/url]

[QUOTE]...stressing that the move "was not a coup".[/QUOTE] Well, phew, I was worried there for a second.

18th time lucky [editline]20th May 2014[/editline] Seems like some giant national dialogue and a shitton of reform is needed

The government that is being turned over right now was extremely corrupt and irresponsible, mismanaged the entire country's funds, and somehow spawned a giant group of radicals to violently try to take Thailand for themselves, in the name of the ex-Prime Minister, who just so happened to be exiled from the country due to corruption charges himself. Also, the old ex-Prime Minister is the most recent one's (Yingluck Shinawatra) brother. Yeah, bye. I was born in Thailand. I spent my childhood there, and my grandparents and aunt still live there. I wish they could get out, but it isn't possible for us right now. I don't think it'll ever be.

My dad went to Thailand several times in the 70's. He would always tell me stories about how everyone there was so nice, how the culture was so refined, how beautiful the land itself was. I grew up thinking that one day, I'd get that plane ticket and experience this amazing country for myself. It really stings to know that I'll never get the chance. I'm glad my dad isn't around anymore to see what's happened to his second home.

[QUOTE=pod;44855539]My dad went to Thailand several times in the 70's. He would always tell me stories about how everyone there was so nice, how the culture was so refined, how beautiful the land itself was. I grew up thinking that one day, I'd get that plane ticket and experience this amazing country for myself. It really stings to know that I'll never get the chance. I'm glad my dad isn't around anymore to see what's happened to his second home.[/QUOTE] My grandfather went to Thailand and said the same exact thing about how beautiful the landscape is and just how nice and caring the locals are in making sure you have the best experience. It's a shame the country is riddled with shit governments

My sister moved to chiang-rai last year, hope she's alright

[IMG]https://hostr.co/file/taO6fFdJKy4a/Capture.PNG[/IMG] Totally not a coup tho. [editline]20th May 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/news/a/23668629/thailand-martial-law-live-report/][B]Bangkok (AFP) - 03:47 GMT - TV networks - Some more information on the satellite TV networks that have been taken off air. [/B] The channels ordered to stop broadcasting include three pro-government "Red Shirt" channels as well as the anti-government protesters' main satellite channel Blue Sky TV -- which has shown more than six months deadly protests round-the-clock and has been key in galvanising rallies. Television screens went blank for several seconds before the order was delivered simultaneously on each channel -- written on a sheet of paper and signed by army chief [B]General Prayut Chan-O-Cha[/B]. The order was issued around an hour after Prayut declared the widespread censorship of the media in the interests of "[B]national security[/B]". [/QUOTE] Guys listen [editline]20th May 2014[/editline] It's not a coup

[QUOTE=Oscar Lima Echo;44856191][IMG]https://hostr.co/file/taO6fFdJKy4a/Capture.PNG[/IMG] Totally not a coup tho. [editline]20th May 2014[/editline] Guys listen [editline]20th May 2014[/editline] It's not a coup[/QUOTE] They're behaving like primary school children who when they did something rather obvious but tried to get themselves out of the shit they'd go "What do you mean? I don't see anything, you must be seeing things"

[QUOTE=Lunik;44855205]The government that is being turned over right now was extremely corrupt and irresponsible, mismanaged the entire country's funds, and somehow spawned a giant group of radicals to violently try to take Thailand for themselves, in the name of the ex-Prime Minister, who just so happened to be exiled from the country due to corruption charges himself. Also, the old ex-Prime Minister is the most recent one's (Yingluck Shinawatra) brother. Yeah, bye. I was born in Thailand. I spent my childhood there, and my grandparents and aunt still live there. I wish they could get out, but it isn't possible for us right now. I don't think it'll ever be.[/QUOTE] Coming from the perspective of a yellow shirt leaning family, I can ensure that this man speaks the truth. The Pheu Thai Party translated into "For Thais" or "For Thailand" is one of the two main parties in Thailand. This party is like a resurrection of the ex-prime minister's party (as mentioned by lunik a corrupt and unrepresentative party) spelled differently. Also I would like to mention that while there is a sort of coup happening right now, the military (or rather the generals) are what you can call the 'good guys' in this instance. There has been numerous conflicts between the Red Shirt (Pheu Thai supporters) and the Yellow Shirts (Royalist and democratic party supporters), and the military is being sent in to subdue the situation to prevent any exacerbations. The monarchy is still here, and the constitution of the country has remained unaltered. Here is another example extracted from Wikipedia "The Pheu Thai Party was founded on 20 September 2008, as an anticipated replacement for the People's Power Party (PPP), which Constitutional Court of Thailand dissolved less than three months later after finding party members guilty of electoral fraud. The People's Power Party was itself a replacement for Thaksin's original Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party which the Constitutional Court dissolved in May 2007 for violation of electoral laws" TWO TIMES the party was dissolved, and yet it still lives with a different name today. [QUOTE=pod;44855539]My dad went to Thailand several times in the 70's. He would always tell me stories about how everyone there was so nice, how the culture was so refined, how beautiful the land itself was. I grew up thinking that one day, I'd get that plane ticket and experience this amazing country for myself. It really stings to know that I'll never get the chance. I'm glad my dad isn't around anymore to see what's happened to his second home.[/QUOTE] If your gonna travel to Thailand, you should realize that Thailand in the 70's and Thailand today is very different. Modernization and urbanization have changed the Thai culture greatly. If you want to have an experience like your father I would suggest going to the rural parts of Thailand (farmlands, mountains), because those parts haven't been touched greatly by western culture.

So at this point which party do people like more? Every time a new government is elected there's protest from either red or yellow shirts

[QUOTE=Ignhelper;44857089]So at this point which party do people like more? Every time a new government is elected there's protest from either red or yellow shirts[/QUOTE] As is with the American division of the democratic and republican parties and the support that they receive, the same can be said about the Red and Yellow shirts. Both sides have a substantial amount of support with the Red shirt party being composed primarily of farmers, peasants and low class peoples. The Yellow shirts are composed primarily of royalists, and middle/upper middle class people. The role that the police and army have in this situation is interesting. The police are referred to as watermelons because they are green on the outside and red on the inside because they appear to be a force of security and order, yet in reality they are controlled by officials associated with reintegrating the former prime-minister Thaksin supported by the red shirts. The army on the other hand is referred to as a pineapple because they are green on the outside because like the police; they represent security and order, yet in reality they are controlled by officials who support the monarchy and want the royal family to stay in power. The whole thing is fucked from the very core. This isn't an issue of Thai politics, this is an issue of politics in general. No side is willing to cooperate and compromise (just like American politics). It doesn't matter who or what party is elected because there will always be tension and opposition, resulting in very little being achieved.

What? But we had their word it wasn't a coup! Nobody saw that coming! [video=youtube;T8ANhBGw22w]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8ANhBGw22w[/video]

Didn't realize the Thai Army switched to the Tavor until I watched the news yesterday.

don't tell me that nobody on earth knows why the army did the coup,vice; that's bullshit. every country on the globe employs people specialized in different affairs, there's plenty in the anglosphere who can tell us wtf is going on. Did anyone hear a stance from any USA officials or political scientists?

[QUOTE=godfatherk;44901157]don't tell me that nobody on earth knows why the army did the coup,vice; that's bullshit. every country on the globe employs people specialized in different affairs, there's plenty in the anglosphere who can tell us wtf is going on. Did anyone hear a stance from any USA officials or political scientists?[/QUOTE] I guess just subscribe to VICE news, and hopefully they'll have updates on this.

Shit, my sister lives in Thailand. I hope she'll be fine...

This shit gonna last long. Some reporter think this may cause from royal succession as well. You know, our king is very old. And some day the next king will sit on the throne. Some elite Ultra-Royalist think The crown prince shouldn't be the next king. They are trying to find a way to change the next king by any means. Look more here. [url]http://www.cnbc.com/id/101699309[/url]

[QUOTE=KillerTele;44902580]Shit, my sister lives in Thailand. I hope she'll be fine...[/QUOTE] She will be fine. If anything, because of the military presences, one may argue that everybody is safer. [QUOTE=godfatherk;44901157]don't tell me that nobody on earth knows why the army did the coup,vice; that's bullshit. every country on the globe employs people specialized in different affairs, there's plenty in the anglosphere who can tell us wtf is going on. Did anyone hear a stance from any USA officials or political scientists?[/QUOTE] Here, a direct link to all the responses. [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Thai_coup_d'%C3%A9tat#International_reactions[/url]

Apparently my brother told me he has a friend in Thailand right now. Apparently things are calm and tourism is still active and encouraged, it's just that foreigners have a curfew. I'll ask my bro to keep me updated on this.