Thailand: Vote Thaksin or Die

On eve of sham elections, regime openly threatens all who oppose it - literally with death. 

February 1, 2014 (ATN) - The regime has once again unleashed its black-clad terrorists against protesters during their "Occupy Bangkok" campaign - this time at Lak Si intersection near government complex, Bangkok, Thailand - this after a 72 hour warning by the regime for protesters to leave their encampments at the complex. Regime gunmen could be seen wearing face masks and concealing weapons as they carried out their assault on the protesters. The regime's "red shirt" enforcers have been specifically ordered not to wear red, to further confuse both the Thai and international public ahead of a planned campaign of expanded terrorism against its opponents. 



 


As the violence begins - readers must recall the many overt threats made by the regime and its "red shirt" supporters over the past several weeks. First, TIME magazine on January 16 reported in their article, ""Bangkok Shutdown: Yingluck Supporters Prepare to Fight for Democracy," that: 

As Thailand’s anti-government protests enter their fourth day, observers say prospects for violent confrontation are increasing, with reports of government supporters stockpiling weapons in case of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s ouster. 
According to the Bangkok Post, radical members of the Red Shirts — diehard champions of Yingluck and her notorious brother Thaksin Shinawatra — are readying a cache of arms in case the 46-year-old premier is forced from office by either military or judicial intervention. 
The paper quoted a Red Shirt source as saying “There are strong anti-coup and anti-court sentiments among the red-shirt mavericks who are familiar and experienced with weapon use.”
The very next day, the attacks began. The first was a grenade attack on peaceful marches lead by protest leader Suthep Thuangsuban, which killed one and injured 39. Suthep Thuangsuban was only 30 meters away from the blast, indicating it was a likely assassination attempt. Protesters would then storm the abandoned building where the attack originated to uncover what appeared to be a weapons catch and a safehouse, just as TIME described. 

Another twin grenade attack took place at Bangkok's Victory Monument, along with nightly drive-by shootings up until the regime announced a "state of emergency" citing their own terror campaign as justification.


Image: A banner posted by regime supporters reads: "If there are no elections, the district head will die." Such threats would warrant a 20 year jail sentence in even the most "progressive" nations, but in Thaksin Shinawatra's Thailand, it is a campaign slogan. 
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There was "red shirt" leader Wuttipong Kochthammakul, also known as "Ko Tee," who stated his desire to "get rid of all the elite" with "lots of violence." The Telegraph admitted
"This is already a war, but so far it is an unarmed war," said Ko Tee. "If there is a coup, or the election doesn't happen, then it definitely becomes an armed war." 
If anyone doubted the abyss into which Thailand could be heading, Ko Tee - who has been accused of orchestrating grenade attacks on anti-government marches in the thai capital - is the living proof. 
"I want there to be lots of violence to put an end to all this," he said. "I'm bored by speeches. It's time to clean the country, to get rid of the elite, all of them."
There was also the broad daylight assassination of protest leader Sutin Taratin last Sunday. Today, pictures began circulating of banners reading:

"If there are no elections, the district head will die." 
Such threats would warrant a 20 year jail sentence in even the most "progressive" nations, but in Thaksin Shinawatra's Thailand, it is a campaign slogan. Essentially, tomorrow's polls are a one-party election on par with those held in  Saddam's Iraq, or Kim Jong Ill's North Korea - complete with the threat of death against any who oppose - in other words, "Vote Thaksin, or Die."  


Claims that Thaksin Shinawatra is currently running the ruling party despite being a convicted criminal hiding abroad (and thus illegitimate and ineligible) are more than mere accusations made by the opposition. Both Forbes and the New York Times published direct quotes from the ruling party's leadership inside of Thailand, and from Thaksin Shianwatra himself, declaring that he was ruling the country remotely.


ImageThe New York Times openly admits that Thailand is currently run by unelected convicted criminal/fugitive Thaksin Shinawatra. Clearly any proxy government or elections in which it participates in are illegitimate by both Thai and international standards. Thaksin's foreign ties are what have afforded him impunity regarding an otherwise cartoonish, 3rd world dictatorship. 
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There is no question that an accused mass murderer and convicted criminal hiding abroad from a 2 year jail sentence, multiple arrest warrants, and a long list of pending court cases, is illegally running Thailand by proxy. Being unelected, Thaksin Shinawatra is by all accounts a dictator, and his "government" a regime, however cleverly they try to dress it up

Protesting such a criminal conspiracy - the hijacking the principles of democracy to perpetuate a hereditary dictatorship - is not only justified, but an absolute necessity in preserving Thailand's political, economic, and social integrity. For the regime to threaten death to those who oppose this shameless, poorly disguised abuse of "democracy," is a crime against peace and warrants an immediate response by those authorities in Thailand still capable of opposing the regime's growing use of violence and terrorism.