I am told that the major of London goes to work on a bicycle. Not so the politicians of Thailand. Nothing less than a shiny limousine and a supporting fleet of vans containing lackeys and police cars sporting loud sirens to blast a way through the traffic.
Damn nuisance if you get forced to side of the road to let a politician’s convoy go past, but not much you can do about it; except giggle with delight when it all goes horribly wrong. As it did yesterday.
As you are no doubt aware, the current prime minister Abhisit (unelected puppet, talks nice, does nothing) is being threatened by a movement led by ex-prime minister Thaksin (corrupt criminal, instigator of extra-judicial killings). They are known as the red shirts, not be confused with the yellow shirts who were the mob who shut down the airports last year.
Anyway, as a dress rehearsal for the Asean meeting, and to avoid the massive red shirt rally underway in Bangkok, Abhisit and his cronies (aka, the cabinet) held a meeting in Pattaya yesterday. With a heavy red shirt presence around the hotel, someone had the bright idea of putting Abhisit in a “normal” car for the journey back to Bangkok, and let it follow the main convoy.
Two problems with this idea. Firstly, nobody told the local cops what was happening, or at least not in words of one syllable. Secondly, the ruse didn’t fool the red shirts who followed the convoy and Abhisit on motorbikes.
So the flashing light convoy heads for Bangkok and arrives at a set of Pattaya traffic lights which are switched to green to let the convoy past. As soon as the last siren-wailing police car is passed, the lights are turned to red, and Abhisit’s car is brought to a halt. The red shirts waste no time in attacking the car and breaking a window.
Considerable loss of face for the local cops and the top cop demands that the perpetrators be found immediately. With the aid of CCTV (what CCTV?), a passing pedestrian, Khun Wanchalerm, is arrested for being the guy who broke the PM’s car window.
He is taken to Pattaya police station for processing and asks permission to go outside for a cigarette. He never comes back.
God, I love living here.
Comments 🔗
2009-04-08| Jock saysWho’s the major of London? I can remember a John Major … but I never saw him on a bike ….
2009-04-08| genuine j saysCould he have meant the mare of London? There’s lots of them. Jacqui Porn-Smith, Hazel Blears,Harrigan Harman, Ruth Kelly, etc, etc.