King of Thailand Anniversary Fireworks

Evening celebrations for th 60th Anniversary of His Majesty, the King of Thailand. Note that the year given (2549) is the Buddhist calendar. Christian calendar is 2006.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Bangkok
• Thailand
• King
• Anniversary
• Fireworks

[PavedStones]

It's really beyond me why anybody would consider the SIXTEENTH anniversary of a ruler's power an occasion to celebrate. I think it's an occasion to wheep.

Now I guess this isn't going to make myself any friends here lol.

Nice show and fireworks though.

[christao17]

@PavedStones - Well, it wasn't the 16th anniversary, it is the 60th. And the anniversary isn't of his power but rather his ascending to the throne. Thailand is a constitutional monarchy so the king's "power" is largely ceremonial, quite similar to the Queen of England's.

[PavedStones]

Actually 'Da Torpedo' was recently sentenced to 18 years in jail over a speech saying precisely that the king should be like queen of England or the Japanese emperor.

-

Now, feel free to delete my comments, I won't hold it against you as I don't want your channel to fall under the lèse majesté laws because of me! :\

[christao17]

@PavedStones - With all due respect, as someone living here over the long run, I choose to follow the local laws. The appropriateness of the Thai system of government is really a matter for the Thais themselves and not one that foreigners have much of a vested interest in. You are certainly welcome to your opinion but I would ask you to express it elsewhere since, as you point out, such comments run afoul of local laws.

[flyingfish22]

Yay! Great Video some one who finally cares about. Thailand is one of the greatest countries who ever lived that needs there freedom indpendence justice liberty courage and the power to have peace in one country but many countries and to love and to be happy and to care about each other and to do fun free and wildly.

[SmedlyDButler]

At the time of his death, M.C. Nakkhatra Kitiyakara was the then serving Thai Ambassador to the United Kingdom. In the last year of his life, he had been diagnosed with heart disease and had given up alcohol and cigars. On the day of his death, he was hospitalized. Hospital records indicate he died of coronary disease. Hospital records also indicate he was not visited by the King and did not consume any alcoholic beverages.

[PavedStones]

Does she regularly preside over appalling massacres of her own subjects? Is she running a cradle to the grave indoctrination system to make people worship her like she's God's earthly incarnation (that's what Rama means)?

Apparently you live in Thailand, so you know all of this.

Frankly, just look at around you and use you brain, Thailand's political regime is practically an absolute monarchy, mixed with elements of a military dictatorship. This is NOT "just ceremonial power".

[PavedStones]

Does she and the oligarchic circles around her have control over a large chunk of the economy, enabling her to pile up wealth equivalent to like 15 million years (do the maths !!) of the average citizen's income? Does she have giants portraits of her hung at every street corner? Does she support military coups from her royal army whenever she thinks the elected government isn't sufficiently aligned with her interests, that is once every couple of years?

[PavedStones]

I find it sickening that there still are countries where self appointed rulers can hold quasi-absolute power for decades (60 years, god!!!), amassing fantastic personal wealth and throwing any dissenter in jail for the rest of their lives, and making people adore him as if he was some kind of semi-god. And it leaves me speechless to see that some of them have scores of fanatic supporters.