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Thailand's army declares martial law

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By THANYARAT DOKSONE and TODD PITMAN

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11 Comments
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Well, I suppose the so-called "Democratic" party which led the protests calling for an unelected "elite" to run the country can feel quite pleased with themselves. Democracy in Thailand has once again been removed.

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Surprised that it has taken so long for the army to 'intervene'...

The final step in Thai politics is when their revered King summons the leaders and tells them to work together for his people, something that they cannot refuse.

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Amazing Thailand.......

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Historically speaking, Thailand has escaped many troubles and wars of surrounding nations in S.E Asia. Many Thais are prospered and spoiled as well. For now, the internal struggle will drag Thailand into anew area of bitter taste. What happen to Buddha's middle path?

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In my opinion, the title of the article is a misnomer. Martial law is declared by a government (whether democratically elected or not), not by the army. If it's "declared" by the army, it is a coup. plain and simple. Why not call it that? Just because the "government" seems to be allowed, at least for the time being, to "operate" as a figurehead? Don't think so.

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detlef langerMay. 20, 2014 - 03:48PM JST

Martial law is declared by a government (whether democratically elected or not), not by the army)

At the moment Thai has only care taker government. It is also powerless due to lack of support from high court, Arm Force and monarch. Unlike the west, populist government can not survive without the support from dominated elite of Bangkok. Although they are minority, they do not concern the opinion of the rest of Thai.

That care taker government was elected democratically however it has been reduced many members. Former PM even could not use media for communication. She needed to use facebook and twitter for communicating with citizens. If the elected PM has been treated like that in Switzerland, armed civilians (para military) will respond swiftly with their bullets to the thugs.

If it's "declared" by the army, it is a coup. plain and simple.

Military has been waiting patiently for six months for reconciliation between government and opponents. 27 lives have been lost and 107 people have been injured. Although I am not Thai national, I support the Thai military for restoring law and order. It is good for western tourists too. They will not be responsible for civilian administration except security and media. Otherwise there will be more bloodshed and lawlessness. It is not coup. It is restoring law, order and peace from chaos. Plain and simple.

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It is not coup. It is restoring law, order and peace from chaos.

I'm sorry but I beg to disagree. Restoring (and maintaining) law, order, and peace is the genuine task of a government with the police as a means to that end. It's not the job of the military.

BTW I'm not saying that a coup is a bad thing under any circumstances. If a government is unable to uphold law and order (maybe because the police are not following orders or for whatever reason), it may under certain circumstances be necessary for the military to step in in order to maintain the nation's integrity.

Nevertheless, it is a coup, regardless of the motive and reasoning behind it. And as far as Thailand is concerned, I cannot see the nation's integrity to be threatened.

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The martial Law is where the military takes complete control of the security, but they cannot remove any caretakers. This martial law allows the military to shoot any heavy arms terrorists that want to take away the protester's life whether you are PDRC or UDD. It's like giving the protesters a better security. A coup means they seize the power from the caretakers, and that is where things will get extremely intense.

The thing with the coup is that it would make the situation even worst. How worst? To the point you might see something similar to North Korea and South Korea. Since Red-Shirt came mainly from the north part of Thailand and the Yellow-Shirt came from the south part of Thailand, the coup would be what the Yellow-shirt protesters want, and it's something the Red-Shirt are protesting against it. If the military keeps pushing this crisis further, the country might be split into two. Later on there might be North-Thailand and South Thailand. That is why a coup cannot happen.

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detlef langer May. 20, 2014 - 06:06PM JST

Nevertheless, it is a coup, regardless of the motive and reasoning behind it.

Depending on the duration of military government term. If they restore law and order and transfer power back to civilian government in the short term. It is not coup. It is the acceptable transit government. I can not say three months term military government as coup. If they hold the power for decades like neighboring Myanmar, it is the coup.

For westerners, military intervention is highly undesirable. However it has been the way of life in S E Asia. Besides that Thai military has taken the power before. Mostly they are transitional due to obeying the order of monarch. Without military, Thai is hopeless, chaotic and unsafe.

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The country is lawless at the best of times-now Thais are killing each other in what is a civil war. Unless wealth is distributed fairly and cronyism is stopped,things will only get worse!

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Well, here we go again. Thailand has gotten into a really bad habit lately.

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