What IS The Latest News On Red Shirts

[Mekong]

Hi,

 

Perfectly normal behavior for peaceful protesters fighting for more equality for themselves.

 

[/sarcasm]

 

Sanuk!

 

As Mrs Mekong just said to me

 

"Now I understand Orwells Anilal Farm"

 

[Flashermac]

Thailand warns of 'live firing zone' near Bangkok camp

 

 

The Thai army has designated an area of Bangkok as a "live firing zone" in a warning to protesters on a third day of violence that has killed at least 16.

 

"No entry" signs have been put up near a barricaded camp where the protesters, who want the prime minister to resign, have been based since March.

 

Some 150 people have been injured since the violence broke out, and three more deaths were reported on Saturday.

 

Authorities have ruled out negotiations with the red-shirt protesters.

 

Despite claims by the Thai government that the situation is under control and its soldiers have only fired in self-defence, explosions and sporadic gunfire can still be heard around the protest site, where barricades of tyres are still burning.

 

Army snipers have been accused of targeting protesters, and footage from Bangkok on Saturday showed red-shirts dragging gunshot-victims to safety.

 

The violence escalated on Thursday after a renegade general who supports the protests was shot in the head by an unknown gunman.

 

Gen Khattiya Sawasdipol, better known as Seh Daeng (Commander Red), is in a critical condition and doctors believe he is unlikely to survive.

 

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged both protesters and the authorities to avoid further violence.

 

The US has also urged restraint and encouraged the two sides "to find a way to work peacefully through these differences".

 

 

 

BBThee

 

[Flashermac]

UDD demands army cease-fire

 

2:41pm

 

 

The red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) on Saturday demanded the army cease firing and the government revise its plan to end the prolonged anti-government rally at Bangkok's Ratchaprasong commercial district.

 

On the Ratchaprasong stage, UDD co-leader Natthawut Saikua showed images of a woman civilian he said was shot dead by the army.

 

"The civilian on the photo is a red-shirt supporter and she was killed by troops deployed by the government," Mr Natthawut told the crowd and journalists at the protest venue.

 

"We [the UDD] demand that the army cease-fire and withdraw the troops immediately to prevent more losses.

 

"Then we can consider the political demands," he said.

 

He said there had been no contacted from the government and further negotiations were unlikely as the situation was way too far gone.

 

"We'll continue to fight for democracy," he said.

 

There were many bombs planted at Lumpini Park and the UDD had cooperated with Metropolitan Police Division 1 commander Wichai Sangprapai to inspect the area, he said.

 

 

Rink

[Flashermac]

Reds told to meet at three points

 

 

4:44pm

 

 

The United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) has asked its supporters to gather at three meeting points which are far away from the Ratchaprasong rally site to collect enough people to break troops' cordons and enter the protest area, according to local reports.

 

The meeting points are Imperial Lad Phrao shopping mall, Imperial Samrong shopping mall and Thaicom on Kaerai intersection.

 

In the morning, red-shirt leader Kwanchai Praipana admitted that supplies were running low at the protest site after troops have tried to seal off areas around Ratchaprasong since Thursday.

 

 

BPP

 

 

 

[drogon]

Maybe the government could ask for the help of the Chinese, it would be bloody but it would be over quickly...and at least the hardcore UDD on site would not come back.

 

(ironic suggestion)

 

Next time a Thai tells me how great his country and culture are I will just laugh...not better than Somalia (ok I exaggerate a bit).

 

The UN is as great as ever, both sides should stop fighting....So they can start again later?

 

End of rant

 

 

 

[Flashermac]

Photographer shot in the leg

 

5:29pm

 

 

A veteran photographer working for The Nation newspaper was wounded when red-shirts clashed with troops at Din Daeng intersection this afternoon.

 

He was among several who were wounded in the incident.

 

According to television reports, Chaiwat Poompuang was shot in his leg and lost a lot of blood.

 

The incident took place when about 300 red-shirts tried to enter the Ratchaprarop Road where the soldiers were deployed. The army has warned earlier the day that the area is the live-firing zone and banned all from entering the area.

 

 

BP

 

[Bar4]

Australian tourist captures two snipers on Charn Isara Tower on video

www.nationmultimedia.com

An Australian tourist handed over a copy of video clip of two men appearing like snipers on Charn Isara Tower opposite from Chulalongkorn Hospital.The tourist gave the copy to reporters at 4:10 am.The ...

 

Gave!! - there is money to be made with that. OOPps bit insensitive, sorry.

[LizardKing]

And people were dismissing talk about "Human Shields" a couple of weeks ago.

And I was one of them. I'd sad I was wrong, and obviously gave the red shirts far too much credit.

[Flashermac]

Fighting spreads in Thai capital, 17 dead

 

 

(Reuters) - Thai troops fired at protesters on Saturday in a third day of fighting that has killed 17 people on Bangkok's streets as soldiers struggle to isolate a sprawling encampment of demonstrators seeking to topple the government.

 

Soldiers, many crouched behind sandbags, fired live rounds at hundreds of protesters who fought back with petrol bombs, rocks and crude homemade rockets in clashes on Bangkok's usually congested Rama IV road near the business district.

 

A volunteer medical rescue worker was shot and feared dead on Rama IV, and at least four others were shot, including one in the head, and evacuated, witnesses said.

 

"The troops may be making some progress on sealing the area but at a great cost," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, political scientist at Chulalongkorn University, adding rising casualties could weaken Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

 

"Is the government successfully dispersing the crowd and progressing toward ending the crisis? The answer is no, not so far, and it's a long way to go," he added.

 

At Din Daeng intersection, north of the protest site, three bodies were evacuated on stretchers, a Reuters witness said, indicating the death toll could rise. Two suffered head wounds.

 

That followed a long night of grenade explosions and sporadic gunfire as the army battled to set up a perimeter around the 3.5 sq-km (1.2 sq-mile) barricaded encampment where thousands refuse to leave, including women and children.

 

"We'll keep on fighting," said Kwanchai Praipana, a leader of the red-shirted protesters, calling on Abhisit to resign to take responsibility for the deadliest political crisis in 18 years.

 

He said supplies of food, water and fuel were starting to run thin as their usual delivery trucks were blocked but that they had enough to last "days."

 

Hardcore protesters set fire to vehicles, including an army truck, and hurled rocks at troops who set up razor wire at checkpoints when asked to show identification to prevent people from joining the mostly rural and urban poor "red shirts."

 

A sign at one intersection warned residents not to enter a "live bullet area." Another warned of a "rubber bullet area."

 

The crisis has paralyzed Bangkok, squeezed Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy, scared off tourists and choked investment in one of Asia's most promising emerging markets.

 

It has also stunned "Bangkokians", as one of the world's most bustling cities and tourist hot spots descends into a war zone.

 

"My ears are ringing with all the shooting last night," said Ratana Veerasawat, a 48-year-old owner of a hole-in-the-wall grocery store north of the protest encampment, where many residents were leaving for safer locations.

 

"It's just awful and getting worse. Best to leave now."

 

"UNLIKELY TO END QUICKLY"

 

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon expressed concern over "the rapidly mounting tensions and violence."

 

"He strongly encourages them to urgently return to dialogue in order to de-escalate the situation and resolve matters peacefully," his spokesman said in a statement.

 

The Canadian government urged both sides to return to talks after a Bangkok-based Canadian journalist was shot, one of four journalists wounded in fighting that has spiraled into chaotic urban warfare where front lines shift quickly.

 

The government said on Friday it would restore order "in the next few days" as the city of 15 million people braced for a final crackdown in the area of high-end department stores, luxury hotels, embassies and expensive residential apartments.

 

Protest numbers in the main encampment dropped overnight but several thousand remained, many singing and listening to speeches. Some leaders, including the movement's chairman, haven't been seen for days. Several wore flak jackets, fearing snipers. They face criminal charges connected to the protests.

 

"I am not scared," said Sanae Promman, a 37-year-old protester frying vegetables in a wok under a tent at the site. "Some of my friends have left because they are scared but many are still here to fight. We will fight until we die if we must."

 

They're barricaded behind walls of kerosene-soaked tires, sharpened bamboo staves, concrete blocks and razor wire.

 

"It's unlikely to end quickly," said a source close to army chief Anupong Paochinda, fearing more protesters would arrive to surround and attack soldiers.

 

The Health Ministry said at least 17 people had been killed and 161 wounded in the latest fighting.

 

Before fighting began on Thursday with the shooting of a renegade general allied with the protesters, the two-month crisis had already killed 29 people and wounded about 1,400 -- most of whom died during an April 10 gun battle in Bangkok's old quarter.

 

The fighting is the latest eruption in a polarizing five-year crisis between an urban elite establishment, who back the prime minister, and the rural and urban poor who accuse conservative elites and the military's top brass of colluding to bring down two elected governments.

 

Those governments were led or backed by exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, a graft-convicted populist billionaire ousted in a 2006 coup who is a figurehead of the protest movement.

 

The red shirts and their supporters say the politically powerful military influenced a 2008 parliamentary vote, which took place after a pro-Thaksin party was dissolved, to ensure the British-born, Oxford-educated Abhisit rose to power.

 

"I don't think many see the end of this protest as the end of the crisis," said Danny Richards, Asia editor at the Economist Intelligence Unit. "When there's an election, either side will reject the legitimacy of the other. We'll be back to square one."

 

 

 

Link

 

[Mekong]

And people were dismissing talk about "Human Shields" a couple of weeks ago.

And I was one of them. I'd sad I was wrong' date=' and obviously gave the red shirts far too much credit. [/quote']

 

LK

 

I am not finger pointing at any particular individual, let alone yourself, the situatoion is far too grave for BM's to go hunting for "Brownie Points".

 

I am sure that I am of the same opinion as the majority of BM's in saying that I hoped the people who were saying that it would never come down to "Human Shields" would have been proven correct, but unfortunatley that no longer appears to be the case.

 

Father in Law went ballistic with the Red Shirts, as I have mentioned in previous threads the Ubon Ratchathani residents of the family have been leaning towards TRT/PPP wheras the Bangkokians have been more on the side of the democrats, I won't say Red or yellow because they are no that extreme. But when the Red Shirts tried to divert not only him but also his wife, Son, Daughter in Law and 14 month old Grandson into "The Line of Fire" he lost it big time with them and any symphathy he may have still held for TRT/PPP flew out of the window today.

 

My Father in Law is very protective about his family (even me :content: ) but more so towards his Grand Children, and ever since I first met the family I was left in no doubt about the power they can wield.