Yellow Shirts barred from disputed border area

[Mentors]

Protesters of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) will not be allowed inside the disputed 4.6-square-kilometre area around the Preah Vihear temple since this could affect relations with Cambodia, Lt-Gen Wibulsak Neepan said on Thursday.

 

The Second Army commander said this in response to the PAD's announced plan to converge on Phra Viharn National Park in Si Sa Ket's Kantharalak district and demand that Cambodian troops and villagers be pushed out of the disputed area.

 

Veera Somkwamkid, chairman of the Civil Rights and Liberty Group, which is affiliated to the PAD, has said protesters from various provinces would gather in Kantharalak district before moving to the border area on Saturday.

Pol Lt-Gen Krisda Pankhongchuen, head Region 3 Provincial Police, said about 200 police had been mobilised from Si Sa Ket and nearby provinces to support soldiers in preventing the protesters from entering the disputed area.

Chavanont Intarakomalsut, secretary to Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, said that during his inspection trip to the border area near the Preah Vihear temple on Sept 13 Mr Kasit and high-level officials of Cambodia agreed to solve the dispute through negotiations.

Mr Chavanont said the Thai-Cambodian Joint Border Committee (JBC) has surveyed the disputed area for border demarcation. The results of the past three meetings of the JBC wers expected to be reported to parliament next month. The problem had existed for a long time and more time was needed to solve it through negotiations, he said.

 

Mr Chavanont said the protesters should be careful about going inside Phra Viharn National Park because there might still be some uncleared land mines in the area and they were very dangerous.

Somchai Phetprasert, a Puea Thai MP for Nakhon Ratchasima and chairman of the House committee on military affairs, urged the government, foreign minister and armed forces commanders to tell Cambodia that the Thai people have the right to peaceful assembly under the constitution.

At the same time, the army should take measures to prevent the protesters from getting near the disputed area since they might appear provocative to Cambodian troops.

 

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/154652/pad-won-t-be-allowed-inside-disputed-area

 

lucky that there is no Airport around ...

[Mentors]

Cambodia deploys police for Thai border protest

 

Cambodia deployed riot police Thursday at an ancient temple on the disputed border with Thailand where Thai protesters are due to hold a protest at the weekend, the defence ministry said.

 

Thailand's royalist "Yellow Shirt" movement says it will rally on Saturday near the 11th century Preah Vihear temple to demand that the government push Cambodian forces out of the area.

 

The disputed frontier around the temple has been the scene of several deadly clashes between Thai and Cambodian forces since the ruins were granted UN World Heritage status in July 2008.

Cambodian defence ministry spokesman Chhum Socheat said at least 50 police with dogs, batons, and tear gas have been deployed at the temple ahead of the demonstration.

 

"Our anti-riot police have been deployed to the border Preah Vihear temple in case the Thai Yellow Shirt protesters illegally cross the border to cause problems," Chhum Socheat told AFP.

"We will order our forces to prevent them from entering. We don't want bloodshed to happen, but if they don't listen to us, we will use our self-defence measures," he said.

 

The Yellow Shirts helped the current Thai government come to power with a blockade of Bangkok's airports in December, but have since turned their fire on the administration over its handling of the temple issue.

 

Their protest is scheduled on the same day as the rival "Red Shirt" movement is due to rally in Bangkok to mark the third anniversary of a coup that toppled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

 

Cambodia halved the number of troops around the temple at the end of August after tensions eased in the area. The two countries have been at loggerheads for decades over Preah Vihear. The World Court ruled in 1962 that it belonged to Cambodia, but the most accessible entrance to the ancient Khmer temple with its crumbling stone staircases and elegant carvings is in northeastern Thailand.

The last gunbattle in the temple area in April left three people dead while clashes there in 2008 killed another four people.

The border between the two countries has never been fully demarcated, in part because it is littered with landmines left over from decades of war in Cambodia.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gV2-oyyA5bKDXj8gy31BQA0qboxw

 

[Tyfon]

Transcript from my bug placed at PAD headquarters:

 

Somchai Fukwit (Head of Planning): So, how can we screw up high season this year and scare away all those nasty foreigners?

 

Poochai Dikwad (Tea Boy): If only there were some way of starting a war with a neighbouring country...

 

[Rest of the conversation masked by the sound of illuminating cartoon lightbulbs and 'boiiiinngg' sounds]

[Mentors]

exactly, you 'hit the bull's eye'

[preahko]

I can't decide which is the more satisfying image, the coddled, pudgy, soft upper-middle class Yellow Shirts clutching their bellies while their internal organs ooze out after having stepped on a landmine or two in the Preah Vihear area, or their once-arrogant Thai eyes bulging in disbelief as they watch their own livers skewered on the ends of Cambodian bayonets, hahahaha

[Flashermac]

Bangkok Post

19 Sep 2009

 

 

Bangkok peaceful, yellow shirts riot at the border

 

 

Thousands of red-shirt protesters rallied in Bangkok amidst tight security on Saturday to mark the third anniversary of the coup against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

 

But tensions rose when rival yellow shirts clashed with police near Preah Vihear temple on the border with Cambodia in Si Sa Ket province.

 

The events shows there is little sign of ending three years of political turmoil.

 

In Bangkok, the government imposed the draconian Internal Security Act once again for the latest red shirt demonstrations and deployed more than 9,000 soldiers and police to guard key locations.

 

"We came here today to mark the third anniversary of the coup, which has caused huge damage to the country," Jatuporn Promphan, United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) leader, told the crowd, as a thunderstorm drenched the protest site.

 

He demanded that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva resign and hold new elections. Massive anti-government riots in April left two people dead and derailed a major Asian summit.

 

Police estimated that around 20,000 people had arrived at the protest site by early evening, swelling the daytime crowd of about 5,000 because of an expected video or telephone speech by Thaksin late Saturday evening.

 

"This will be a peaceful protest and will end by midnight if the government does not use violence," Jatuporn said.

 

Meanwhile, on the Cambodian border, around 5,000 People's Alliance for Democracy demonstrators broke through barricades and were moving towards Preah Vihear temple, the scene of several deadly battles between Thai and Cambodian troops over the past year.

 

Television footage showed yellow-clad protesters armed with sticks beating local villagers and Thai riot police, who pushed back with shields.

 

Official Thai News Agency reported that the "scuffle" lasted 10 minutes. Hospitals said 15 people were slightly injured.

 

Both sides used catapults and sticks to hurt each other before Thai police on security in the area separated them. A number of villagers were reported injured in the clash.

 

Local residents protested the presence of the yellow shirt PAD members, who were opposing Cambodia's project to build new structures in an area claimed by both countries around the temple.

 

Villagers living near the disputed border area opposed the protest as they believe it could impact Thailand's cross-border trade economy and relations with Cambodia.

 

By 2 pm the PAD demonstrators broke through barricades and marched towards the 11th century temple, at the centre of several clashes between Thai and Cambodian soldiers after it was awarded World Heritage Site status in July last year by the United Nations cultural body UNESCO, angering nationalists in Thailand who continue to claim ownership.

 

The yellow shirts want the government to push out Cambodian forces and reclaimed the temple, which the World Court awarded to Cambodia in 1962.

 

The yellow shirts helped bring down Thaksin in 2006 and effectively toppled the previous pro-Thaksin government last December when they blockaded Bangkok's airports, but have started to turn their fire on Mr Abhisit.

 

In Bangkok, the prime minister said he had ordered authorities to keep the peace at both protests, and said there were reports that unidentified groups of troublemakers could set off bombs in the capital to create unrest.

 

"I have instructed officials to be aware of inciting incidents and to closely monitor the movements of those groups. I am worried about the situation tonight and have warned intelligence agencies," Abhisit told reporters.

 

Mr Abhisit is to leave on Sunday for a week at the United Nations and a visit to the United States. Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, who heads the government's security team, is to be in charge.

 

Army chief Anupong Paojinda on Friday denied rumours the military was about to stage a coup against Mr Abhisit, who has been weakened by a recent battle with coalition partners over the new national police chief.

 

It was while billionaire Thaksin was out of the country to attend the same event that the military overthrew him in 2006.

 

The ongoing political chaos has damaged Thailand's image as a tourist destination and affected foreign investment.