On another note, this flood management by the current government is really atrocious. May – Oct is typically the rainy season and the north and northeast of Thailand is prone to floods due to the number of valleys and plains. Once the waters started building in the north, they should have released the flood gates to allow water to flow steadily across the land, past Bangkok outskirts to the gulf of Thailand. But no, some smart ass MP decided to hold the water so they can use it for during the dry season, which is about half a year away. That I can understand, but what I don’t understand is when the water levels got critical, they should have then risked a small flood through the outskirts of Bangkok instead of continuing to sit on the problem. I’m sure they get weather forecast which should have told them the rains weren’t gonna subside for a while. Did they do that? No, they waited and tried to find solutions on how to release the increasing volume of water and bypass Bangkok on its way to the sea. Then Ayutthaya went under, factories closed while they continued to ponder how to spare Bangkok from the waters. It built up and built up until there was no other way but to open up the floodgates and let Bangkok flood.
Why?
Becos they put inexperienced people in charge of the flood crisis situation. Most probably under Thaksin’s instructions to his sister but what do I know. People who know how to siphon off money and resources donated to the crisis perhaps? Why UN and America’s offer of help was turned down? Perhaps they were worried of the auditing process that would be involved when international organizations come in.
One reason why I refuse to donate money but material goods which they can use. Give them money and say goodbye to it as it’ll probably pay for some politician’s Mercedes Benz.
And Suvarnabhumi airport? It was LOW-lying marshland to begin with, why in their history of floods would they choose a low-lying marshland to be the airport is beyond me. A Thai friend told me that the area was meant to be a drainage area, with a network of outlets meant to drain water from the city into the sea. http://www.geonoise.com/articles_airport_city_opposition_mounting.html
Then they built an airport in a flood-prone area and now concentrating so much effort to keep the airport from flooding, re-diverting valuable resources that could help the other parts of Bangkok. The tarmac runway is constantly cracking due to the water draining system underground. I mean…Thaksin’s administration wanted to leave a legacy like Thailand’s new international airport (where they eat into the budget allocated for the project no less), but they sure chose an inappropriate location to place the legacy. And it’s still touch and go for now, if the new airport gets flooded, Thailand can say goodbye to economic growth for the next year as well.
And worse of all? Red shirts fighting the military as the military channels their effort to help flood victims. For all their camaraderie during the protests, where is their “heroism” now that their countrymen are in need? Red shirts as mentioned are made up primary of people from the Northernand Northeastern part of Thailand, where the floods are currently. Now that they are in trouble, they still want to pick a fight with the people who are helping them. So can you help yourself if not for the military, soldiers whom when interviewed have told that they have not returned home for weeks/ months as they remained in the flood zone to help.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/politics/260959/army-chief-feels-hurt-while-helping-angry-red-shirt-flood-victims
http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/263367/real-heroes-out-there-helping-flood-victims
The Red Shirts aka Peau Thai party were planning to call for an amendment in Thai law, which states that military positions are only allowed to be shuffled with the authority of the Defence Committee , and they are asking to change it so that ALL authority lies in the hand of one man, the Defence Minister, who in turn is a person placed into that seat by the Prime Minister who happens to be Peau Thai party leader.
Isn’t this as good as giving the entire military to the Red Shirts? Who then can call on the military to act on their wishes. Yellow shirt protest? Shoot them all! People not allowing Thaksin to return to Thailand? Shoot them all! Go plunder the abundance of the south and give it to the north. Southern unrest? Shoot them all! Better still, drop a bomb! Faster!
If that truly happens, Thailand will be a very scary place to be in, when you give so much power to politicians who only want to eat their fill and more during their time in power.
The only thing stopping them now is that they need the military to clear the flood situation first. After this whole saga is done, wait for the knife flying into the back.
What gratefulness?
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