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Another Red Shirt Thread


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Cool idea ... from now on all news about Bagkok's situation should go under one big thread! I'll start. :)

 

 

Wear them down, advises strategist

 

 

Patience coupled with pressure and psychological tactics is the best way to approach the red shirt protest at Ratchaprasong intersection, an army strategist advises.

 

Teeranan Nandhakwang, deputy director of the army's Strategic Studies and Research Division, said on Wednesday that both troops and protesters had too much to lose if the government retook the protest site through force.

 

Pressure tactics such as laying siege to the protest site, blocking logistics and arresting the red shirt leaders would set the stage for military action to retake the area with minimal losses.

 

[color:red]Ratchaprasong intersection is unlike Ratchadamnoen Avenue in that it is a commercial district lined with high-rise buildings, he said. Storming the site would not be a good idea.[/color]

 

Col Teeranan said the red shirt protesters should not be underestimated.

 

The April 10 clashes with security forces had hardened many of the demonstrators and turned them into "warriors". Their leaders have also kept them fired up.

 

"The longer it takes, the wearier they become," he said.

 

"The military has better logistics and management. We [the army] have the leverage."

 

Col Teeranan admitted his proposal was unlikely to bring any comfort to people suffering as a result of the protest and its consequences.

 

"But politics or pressure should never influence military operations. The question is: Can we endure?"

 

He expressed concern that the issues of "terrorism" and the alleged movement to topple the monarchy raised by the government and emerging pressure groups would lead to calls for the use of force.

 

He said the Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES) had been under pressure to act, but the issue could not be solved by the military alone.

 

He suggested that the government should be ready to rehabilitate those who were involved in the rally and proceed to tackle the political problems by the time a military operation is launched to retake Ratchaprasong intersection.

 

"The problems do not end with retaking the protest area. The government must not leave the bruised and battered protesters as they are. [it must] do all it can to rehabilitate them.

 

"The political problems must also be addressed.

 

"The suspended negotiations about a dissolution of the House or charter amendments should resume," he said.

 

Col Teeranan dismissed fears about the country descending into civil war, saying what is happening did not yet fit that description.

 

Even though the protesters were armed, their weapons were only good enough for self defence. "They are the weapons of ordinary people who are afraid of being dispersed," he said.

 

Col Teeranan said that by proposing this model, he risked being labelled a "watermelon soldier", terminology in use to describe soldiers with green uniforms but hearts that belong to the red shirt movement. "But I can tell you this is the way to end the crisis."

 

 

 

Bangkok Post, 29 April

 

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Weapons seized in red shirt battle

 

 

Fourteen leaders of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) were arrested and war weapons were seized from them when authorities blocked protesters from going to Talad Thai on Wednesday, according to the Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation.

 

One person was killed and 19 wounded, including two soldiers, during the operation.

 

Chief of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) Tharit Pengdit said that today's operation was carried out by the army, the air force and the police.

 

Pol Lt Gen Worapong Chiewpreecha said the operation was carried out with difficulty because there were commuters on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road who were caught in the middle of the clashes.

 

[color:red]Air Vice Marshal Anont Arayaphan said security personnel tried to arrest a protest suspect who was riding a motorcycle heading to where the clashes took place, but later turned back after seeing a checkpoint set up by police near the Don Muaeng airport. The suspect threw away a black plastic bag before running away.[/color]

 

[color:red]The bag contained 62 M79 grenades, he said.[/color] :surprised:

 

CRES spokesman Col Sansern Kaewkamnerd said the operation ended at 5.15pm.

 

 

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Col Teeranan dismissed fears about the country descending into civil war, saying what is happening did not yet fit that description.

 

Even though the protesters were armed, their weapons were only good enough for self defence. "They are the weapons of ordinary people who are afraid of being dispersed," he said.

[color:red]Air Vice Marshal Anont Arayaphan said security personnel tried to arrest a protest suspect who was riding a motorcycle heading to where the clashes took place, but later turned back after seeing a checkpoint set up by police near the Don Muaeng airport. The suspect threw away a black plastic bag before running away.[/color]

 

[color:red]The bag contained 62 M79 grenades, he said.[/color]

 

I guess it means the Sala Dang skytrain station had advanced too close for comfort and the reds were feeling threatened, which is understandable.

 

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