August 23, 2020 (Tony Cartalucci - ATN) - The last thing you would expect a "pro-democracy" "free speech" movement to do is intimidate the press - especially when one of the 3 demands of ongoing protests in Thailand is that the government "stop intimidating its critics."
Yet the protests have earned some of their own critics - and without irony or surprise - the protests have quickly moved to intimidate them.
The narrative we are being told is that Nation Group and its sponsors are "undemocratic" and "pro-regime," and thus they and their sponsors are now the target of opposition ire and intimidation.
There is no irony lost that supposedly "pro-democracy" and "pro-free speech" protests have attacked any media organization that does not report the news precisely as they demand - amounting to intimidation of the press.
And once again - there are attempts by the Western media and their partners in Thailand to deny that current protesters are acting on behalf of the billionaire-led opposition - attempting to overthrow the current government to pave way for the parties of Thaksin Shinawatra and Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit to take power and now attacking business competitors and even media organizations critical of their billionaire sponsors and the unrest they seek to create.
While today's "anger" exists on US-based social media giant Twitter where protest backers have organized an army of fake accounts and bots to create the false illusion of massive nationwide support and leads their current campaign to intimidate the press - in 2010 the billionaire-led opposition had literally burned down the buildings of several of their competitors including Central World in downtown Bangkok and even attacked the offices of journalists criticizing them.
READ MORE: Weaponized Social Media Fuels "Youth" Protests
US government-funded front "Human Rights Watch" (HRW) who wholly supports Thailand's billionaire-led opposition including current protests and has worked extensively to cover up their crimes including rights abuses throughout the years - did however admit in their 2011 report, "Descent into Chaos," that (emphasis added):
Here we see a repeat of Thaksin Shinawatra's red shirts - now posing as "students" - targeting and intimidating the press once again.
Eventually the fake support online the opposition is now creating will be exposed as such - and the need to resort to more drastic pressure will create a repeat of Thaksin Shinawatra's widespread violence in 2010 - including violence against any media it accuses of being "critical," and violence more recently seen amid similarly US-backed protests in Hong Kong, China.
If the protesters fail to provoke Thai security forces into using violence - they will create the violence themselves just as Thaksin's red shirts and "black shirts" did in 2010.
Media organizations attempting to give legs to these protests now will be directly responsible for what is clearly history repeating itself in another round of the deadly, destructive cycle of Thaksin and his allies attempting to grab power once again.
Ultimately this chaos is aimed at not only destabilizing Thailand politically and economically - but disrupting ties with China - Thailand's most important trade partner, largest investor, increasingly important military partner, largest source of tourism to Thailand, and a key infrastructure partner in Beijing's One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative - hence the extensive support being given by the US government funding protest leaders and backing fake rights advocacy groups like HRW.
Yet the protests have earned some of their own critics - and without irony or surprise - the protests have quickly moved to intimidate them.
The narrative we are being told is that Nation Group and its sponsors are "undemocratic" and "pro-regime," and thus they and their sponsors are now the target of opposition ire and intimidation.
There is no irony lost that supposedly "pro-democracy" and "pro-free speech" protests have attacked any media organization that does not report the news precisely as they demand - amounting to intimidation of the press.
And once again - there are attempts by the Western media and their partners in Thailand to deny that current protesters are acting on behalf of the billionaire-led opposition - attempting to overthrow the current government to pave way for the parties of Thaksin Shinawatra and Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit to take power and now attacking business competitors and even media organizations critical of their billionaire sponsors and the unrest they seek to create.
While today's "anger" exists on US-based social media giant Twitter where protest backers have organized an army of fake accounts and bots to create the false illusion of massive nationwide support and leads their current campaign to intimidate the press - in 2010 the billionaire-led opposition had literally burned down the buildings of several of their competitors including Central World in downtown Bangkok and even attacked the offices of journalists criticizing them.
READ MORE: Weaponized Social Media Fuels "Youth" Protests
US government-funded front "Human Rights Watch" (HRW) who wholly supports Thailand's billionaire-led opposition including current protests and has worked extensively to cover up their crimes including rights abuses throughout the years - did however admit in their 2011 report, "Descent into Chaos," that (emphasis added):
That afternoon, arsonists also tried to attack several media outlets that the UDD had criticized as being anti-Thaksin or anti-UDD, including Channel 3 television station, the Thai Post, Bangkok Post, and The Nation. They succeeded in attacking the Maleenont Tower complex, which houses the Channel 3 television station. Karuna Buakamsri, a Channel 3 news announcer, was live on-air when she was told her building was on fire. She later told Human Rights Watch how the presence of Black Shirts outside the burning building made it difficult to evacuate.The report also notes that the "Black Shirts" - armed terrorists deployed by Thaksin Shinawatra and his political allies - had guns when they attacked media offices. These are facts documented by HRW in their 2011 report but buried, denied, or spun now as HRW and its foreign sponsors attempt to egg protests on once again.
Here we see a repeat of Thaksin Shinawatra's red shirts - now posing as "students" - targeting and intimidating the press once again.
Eventually the fake support online the opposition is now creating will be exposed as such - and the need to resort to more drastic pressure will create a repeat of Thaksin Shinawatra's widespread violence in 2010 - including violence against any media it accuses of being "critical," and violence more recently seen amid similarly US-backed protests in Hong Kong, China.
If the protesters fail to provoke Thai security forces into using violence - they will create the violence themselves just as Thaksin's red shirts and "black shirts" did in 2010.
Media organizations attempting to give legs to these protests now will be directly responsible for what is clearly history repeating itself in another round of the deadly, destructive cycle of Thaksin and his allies attempting to grab power once again.
Ultimately this chaos is aimed at not only destabilizing Thailand politically and economically - but disrupting ties with China - Thailand's most important trade partner, largest investor, increasingly important military partner, largest source of tourism to Thailand, and a key infrastructure partner in Beijing's One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative - hence the extensive support being given by the US government funding protest leaders and backing fake rights advocacy groups like HRW.
