Armed Thai troops patrol Bangkok business district

[Coss]

By GRANT PECK (AP)

 

BANGKOK  Soldiers in full combat gear garrisoned the Thai capital's central business district Monday, laying razor wire across sidewalks in front of astonished tourists as they faced off with defiant demonstrators demanding a change of government.

 

So-called "Red Shirt" protesters accused the military of preparing "a killing field"  the latest confrontation in Thailand's long-running political crisis.

 

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva  speaking on government-run television channels  said he would not set a date for protesters to be forced out of their encampment at a busy intersection in the heart of Bangkok's shopping and hotel district. The demonstrators have camped out on the streets of the Thai capital since March 12.

 

The Red Shirt protesters, formally known as the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship, initially were camped in a historic district of Bangkok. A failed April 10 attempt by security forces to flush protesters from that neighborhood erupted into the worst political violence Thailand has seen in 18 years, leaving 25 dead and more than 800 wounded.

 

"Let's not draw a deadline (to remove the Red Shirts)," Abhisit said. "I do realize Thais are troubled, that everyone wants it to be quick ... But there are many factors they have to take into account."

 

Rumors have been rife, however, about an imminent military crackdown.

 

The protesters consist mainly of poor rural supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and pro-democracy activists who opposed the military coup that ousted him in 2006. They want Abhisit to dissolve Parliament immediately and call new elections.

 

They believe Abhisit's government is illegitimate because it came to power through a parliamentary vote after disputed court rulings ousted two elected, pro-Thaksin administrations. The conflict has been characterized by some as class warfare, pitting the country's vast rural poor against an elite that has traditionally held power.

 

Armed troops initially moved before dawn Monday to block entry to Silom Road, patrolling some of the city's most famous bar strips just off the main street. Some took positions atop buildings after searching for possible snipers and along a skywalk running above the road.

 

Others guarded bank buildings, ATM machines and entrances to subway and elevated rail stations.

 

"I'm worried about the force allocation pattern here. It looks greater than necessary for just guarding the Silom area," said a protest leader, Nattawut Saikua. "They are making it into a killing field." Demonstrators braced for battle by stockpiling paving stones.

 

After a tense face-off early Monday, the troops pulled back almost halfway down the road's 1.5-mile (2.5-kilometer) length to protect a key target of the protesters, the headquarters of the Bangkok Bank, which was barricaded by razor wire. The Red Shirts claim Bangkok Bank has close ties to the government, and have protested in front of the building previously on a smaller scale.

 

Many of the demonstrators also pulled back, but piled rudimentary weapons at the intersection where the road begins.

 

Buapeuan Puisuwan, a jewelry craftsman who works in the Silom area, held a 2-feet (0.6-meter) long bamboo rod tightly in his right hand. His eyes were locked on a pedestrian bridge on the other side of the road where security forces stood.

 

About 100 bamboo poles, [color:red]some sharpened[/color], were distributed to protesters standing at one of the entrances leading to their main stage.

 

{as I've noted before, pointy sticks}

 

"I'm sure the soldiers will storm in. We don't really have anything to fight against them," Buapeuan acknowledged. "I know a bamboo pole can't handle whatever they have, but I'll stick with it anyway."

 

Tensions were also heightened a day earlier, when the rival, establishment-backed "Yellow Shirt" protest movement vowed to take action unless the government deals with the crisis.

 

The group, formally known as the People's Alliance for Democracy, occupied Bangkok's airports for a week in 2008 to protest a Thaksin-allied government. They retreated after Abhisit became prime minister, but many fear their return if he is forced out.

 

[color:red]"The lack of a crackdown today, despite the significant military mobilization, bodes well for the immediate avoidance of violence,"[/color] said [color:brown]Tyrell Haberkorn,[/color] a researcher at The Australian National University in Canberra.

 

{Can I have Tyrell's job? "There was no violence today, there could have been, this is good because there might not be violence today"}

 

"Yet while the streets of Bangkok were peaceful today, the increased rhetoric of key PAD leaders to take the law into their own hands, as well as the state's continued constriction of speech, remain ominous signs of potential violence."

 

{"but there might be violence" like "the weather will be fine except for the rain, or not"}

 

During the earlier street battles, the military lost a senior officer and suffered scores of other casualties among its troops, who were mostly equipped for riot control rather than lethal combat. The majority of the dead, however, were civilians.

 

The government accused "terrorists" armed with guns and other weapons of orchestrating the earlier violence and says weapons were stolen from the military that have not been returned.

 

Army Spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said Monday that the officers deployed on Silom Road "have the right to carry weapons to protect themselves, and (I) believe the society finds it acceptable."

 

{An army without weapons is? well not an army}

 

Associated Press writers Jocelyn Gecker and Thanyarat Doksone contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

 

 

Link

 

 

[Flashermac]

Bangkok Post

20 Apr 2010

 

 

Troops allowed live rounds

 

 

Security forces are being allowed to use live ammunition in self-defence as the government reiterates its vow to keep the red shirts from the business district of Silom and reclaim Ratchaprasong intersection.

 

The spokesman for the Centre for the Resolution of Emergency Situations (CRES), Col Sansern Kaewkamnerd, said yesterday troops could use their weapons if their lives were threatened but must avoid excessive use of force.

 

"The officers have the right to use weapons in self-defence," he said.

 

"Some of them were stabbed in the neck or hit by paving bricks [during the April 10 clashes that left more than 800 people injured and 25 dead]. These incidents are life threatening."

 

Meanwhile, in a controversial development yesterday, Puea Thai Party chairman Chavalit Yongchaiyudh requested an audience with His Majesty the King to ask him to intervene in the political stand-off.

 

United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) leaders announced yesterday that red shirts would not march on Silom Road today due to the heavy presence of armed troops, but they would assess the situation and decide on an alternative venue for a rally.

 

Col Sansern said the CRES had reviewed the rules concerning the use of force and instructed authorities to strictly abide by them.

 

"They have to start from soft to heavy measures in order to stop the protesters from breaking the laws. They must not over-react and must demonstrate that they do not intend to take lives of the protesters trying to pressure them," he said.

 

Col Sansern said the rules on the use of force had been clarified to senior army officers and unit commanders attending a meeting chaired by army commander Anupong Paojinda.

 

In stark contrast to what was seen at the Phan Fa Bridge rally site about a week ago, hundreds of troops stationed along Silom Road yesterday were carrying rifles.

 

About three troop battalions were deployed to step up security before dawn because of concerns the red shirts might expand their demonstration to Silom.

 

An army source said unit commanders wanted their men to be properly armed if they were to be engaged in operations.

 

"They are not going to fight with shields, batons and rubber bullets. That would be a suicide mission," the source, a colonel, said.

 

The source said Gen Anupong had no plans to disperse the protesters at Ratchaprasong but he would not give up Silom to the protesters.

 

In an interview broadcast on Channel 11 at 9pm yesterday, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the government would reclaim Ratchaprasong from the protesters.

 

Mr Abhisit, however, refused to give a time frame as to when the government would end the red shirt rally.

 

"It is not good to give a deadline because that would pressure the authorities and affect the effectiveness of their operations," he said.

 

"The situation is now in good hands and we have given a clear policy."

 

Gen Chavalit said yesterday he was seeking an audience with the King to ask for his intervention in the confrontation.

 

"Without His Majesty's graciousness, I am not sure about the losses that will happen in the next one or two days and [such losses] will leave a scar Thai people don't wish to see," the former prime minister said.

 

"I wholeheartedly believe that His Majesty will show us kindness. Throughout my years of service I have never seen His Majesty ignore his children."

 

Gen Chavalit said he had made efforts to contact the Office of HM the King's Private Secretary to request an audience.

 

He also issued a joint statement with former prime minister Somchai Wongsawat calling for a dissolution of the House, revocation of emergency rule and for force not to be used to disperse the protesters.

 

[color:red]Mr Somchai said that if he or Gen Chavalit were prime minister, they would have resigned or dissolved the House.[/color]

 

Gen Chavalit's move to petition HM the King drew sharp criticism.

 

Deputy Interior Minister Thaworn Senneam said it was very inappropriate to involve HM the King in the political conflict.

 

People's Alliance for Democracy coordinator Suriyasai Katasila said the move by Gen Chavalit and Mr Somchai was seen as an attempt to pressure the royal institution.

 

He said the Puea Thai Party and the red shirts had changed their goal from seeking a dissolution of the House to wanting to run the country.

 

In a related development, the Civil Court yesterday threw out a personal petition by Puea Thai spokesman Prompong Nopparit against Mr Abhisit and Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban over the government's decision to shut down the satellite based People Channel.

 

The court said the government had the legitimacy under the state of emergency to exercise such powers.

 

The red shirts, led by Jarupan Kuldilok, yesterday lodged a petition with the United Nations' Human Rights Council asking it to send observers and troops to monitor the red shirt protest.

 

They also handed over video footage of April 10 clashes to back their allegations that the government ordered troops to kill red shirt demonstrators in the operation to take Phan Fa Bridge.

 

 

 

Rink

[Flashermac]

Silom takes deployment of troops in stride

 

 

It was business as usual at Silom on Monday. The area was crawling with office workers, shoppers, vendors and visitors, especially at lunch time when everyone comes out to look for something to eat.

 

What was out of place though was the heavy presence of troops and police which turned this important banking and business district into a fortress.

 

The security forces were deployed under an order from the Centre for the Resolution of Emergency Situations (CRES) as a precaution to prevent the red shirt protesters from marching on the vital economic hub.

 

Dozens of policemen, armed only with shields, were positioned next to the Dusit Thani hotel. The red shirt protesters were encamped just a stone's throw away across Rama IV Road.

 

The riot police were the first line of defence should the protesters cross the invisible line and attempt to breach the security cordon surrounding Silom Road.

 

Behind the police were troops who were spread out in groups along Silom Road, all the way to Narathiwat Ratchanakharin Road. These troops were mostly armed with shot-guns, but further down the road, they carried M16 assault rifles, with the magazines out.

 

The soldiers deployed at the corner of Narathiwat Ratchanakharin Road were armed with Singaporean-made SAR 21 assault rifles, used by special forces.

 

At the time of passing, no troops were seen in front of Bangkok Bank's head office which has been targeted by the red shirts as a potential rallying site if they "invade" Silom Road.

 

Rolls of razor wire were set up in front of some buildings and police vans, used to hold detainees, were parked along the road.

 

Troops were deployed in some office buildings: A group of soldiers was seen walking single file into a building next to CP Tower.

 

A campaign pickup truck from the "no colour" group stopped in front of Silom Complex, its loudspeakers blaring national and royal anthems. Young speakers urged passers-by to join a late-afternoon rally at Chatuchak Park, and passed out national and yellow flags.

 

The truck's loudspeakers also blared Nak Pandin, a song composed during the '70s and used by the military to arouse hatred against the communists and their sympathisers.[color:red]*[/color]

 

Nearby, at the Ratchadamri-Rama IV road intersection, the red shirts' loudspeakers blared their own music.

 

No protesters attempted to cross the invisible demarcation line.

 

Apparently their leaders were undecided whether they should march into Silom and directly confront the army.

 

The atmosphere was generally relaxed. A khao moo daeng shopowner said she would open for business today, despite the red shirts' threat to "invade" Silom.

 

Office workers and visitors took group photos with soldiers. At the corner of Soi Sala Daeng, a man was asking for donations to buy food and drinks for the government forces. Some handed out cold towels, sweets and soft drinks to soldiers, who also appeared relaxed.

 

The only enemy for the police and soldiers at Silom yesterday seemed to be the scorching sunlight. Many took cover under trees and buildings.

 

 

Rink

 

[color:red]*[/color]Uh ... which I also remember being sung by university students too. It was hardly the rightwing's song. It was sung in nightclubs and everyone would join in.