terrorism - maximum penalty of death.

[Sporty]

(Reuters) - Thai authorities will deploy armored vehicles and shut roads surrounding thousands of defiant protesters on Thursday, forcing businesses to evacuate workers as tensions rise in the deadliest political crisis in two decades.

 

World | Thailand

 

The army said its armored vehicles will bolster checkpoints, stopping protesters from entering the area, and urged businesses on roads leading into the protesters' 3 sq-km (1.2 sq-mile) fortified encampment to close on Friday.

 

More than 20,000 of the mostly rural and urban poor protesters refused to leave as their leaders challenged the government from behind medieval-like walls made from tires and wooden staves soaked in kerosene and topped by razor wire.

 

"We will send out groups to surround these vehicles to prevent them from advancing," Jatuporn Prompan, a protest leader, told supporters. "We believe the army will try to crack down this evening or tomorrow morning."

 

Companies across the area told employees to leave work early and activated back-up plans. Several stations in an elevated train system were shutting early. Public transportation was being diverted from the area.

 

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is under enormous pressure to end the two-month crisis that has killed 29 people, wounded more than 1,000, paralyzed parts of Bangkok and slowed growth in Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy.

 

The turmoil is shattering consumer confidence, a survey showed on Thursday, suggesting spending in shops and department stores is drying up as the crisis grinds on, a troubling sign for a sector that accounts for half the economy.

 

The University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce said its consumer confidence index fell by a record 2.6 points in April, the lowest since July 2009. Confidence has fallen for three straight months after rising steadily since the middle of 2009.

 

The Thai baht fell sharply immediately after the army's announcement, though witnesses saw no unusual activity around the sprawling red shirt encampment.

 

"Every bank is trying to get out of the baht now and we have not seen any central bank intervention to slow its fall," a Bangkok-based trader said. A second dealer said some of his clients closed business early on Thursday.

 

The red-shirted protesters, mostly supporters of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra who was ousted in a 2006 coup, ignored a midnight deadline to disperse after authorities delayed plans to cut power and water to the area following an outcry from residents.

 

IMMEDIATE CRACKDOWN UNLIKELY

 

The protesters say Abhisit lacks a popular mandate after coming to power in a controversial parliamentary vote 17 months ago with support from the military.

 

The prime minister on Wednesday canceled a proposed November 14 election under his "national reconciliation" plan and called off talks with the protesters, raising speculation of a crackdown.

 

But he faced criticism for announcing he would cut supplies to the area and then reversing the threat hours later.

 

Both sides appear to be running out of options, raising the risk of a violent confrontation and flummoxing investors in one of Asia's most promising emerging markets.

 

An army source close to Army Chief Anupong Paochinda said an immediate crackdown is unlikely despite the threats.

 

"It's hard to say if or when the crackdown will be because we have to evaluate by the hour. We don't want casualties so we have to keep the pressure up so people are too tired to resist. But how and when, we have to evaluate constantly."

 

Foreign investors have turned negative since violence flared in April and have sold $584 million in Thai shares in the past six sessions, cutting their net buying so far this year to $607.6 million as of Wednesday.

 

"The markets have no idea what to make of the situation. It seems like we're heading back to square one," said Sukit Udomsirikul, a senior analyst at brokerage Siam City Securities.

 

[color:red]Disparate views among protest leaders -- from radical former communists to academics and aspiring lawmakers -- make it difficult to reach consensus. Many face criminal charges for defying an emergency decree and some face terrorism charges carrying a maximum penalty of death.[/color]

 

Several harbor political ambitions and need to appease rank-and-file supporters. Others fear ending the protest now would be a one-way ticket to jail. Some hardliners advocate stepping up the protests to win the fight once and for all.

 

The red-shirted protesters, have said they would only disperse if a deputy prime minister faces criminal charges over a deadly April clash between troops and protesters.

 

(Additional reporting by Ploy Ten Kate and Panarat Thepgumpanat; writing by Jason Szep; editing by Bill Tarrant)

 

[Sporty]

 

Thailand will use armored vehicles to seal protest

 

By THANYARAT DOKSONE

Associated Press Writer

 

updated 1 hour, 13 minutes ago

 

BANGKOK - Thailand's government planned a massive lockdown Thursday on a posh Bangkok neighborhood occupied by thousands of protesters, and warned that troops will not hesitate to shoot armed "terrorists" who resist.

 

Armored personnel carriers and snipers will surround the so-called Red Shirt protesters who have barricaded themselves behind piles of tires and bamboo spears in the 1-square-mile (3-square-kilometer) area, said Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd, the spokesman of the agency charged with ending the protest.

 

The agency "has shifted its strategy toward complete blockade and interception," he said.

 

Separately, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajvia said he has rescinded his offer to hold elections on Nov. 14 because the protesters have refused to end their sit-in.

 

With the lockdown looming, leaders of the Red Shirts were defiant, saying their supporters would never "surrender" and were not afraid to die.

 

The Red Shirts, many from the rural poor, believe Abhisit's coalition government came to power illegitimately through manipulation of the courts and the backing of the powerful military, and they have occupied parts of the capital since March 12 to demand new elections.

 

Sansern said sharpshooters with live ammunition will take up vantage positions, public transportation will be suspended at 6 p.m. (1100 GMT) and work places have been asked to let their staff go home early. Water and electricity supplies to the area may be cut off.

 

The government told medical centers to have doctors, nurses and ambulances ready for contingencies. Businesses were told to let employees take the day off Friday. Many banks and shops in the area put up signs, telling customers they were closing early.

 

The steps signaled a sense of desperation in the government that has been ineffectual in dislodging the Red Shirts from the Rajprasong neighborhood, lined with malls, upscale apartments, two hospitals, parks and embassies, including the U.S. and British.

 

"During the closing-in operation today, it's possible that terrorists in the area would move in and encounter the officers. Therefore, the authorities must execute measures according to international standards and rules of engagement. Live ammunition will be used," Sansern said.

 

The warning raised the specter of a repeat of the clashes between protesters and security forces on April 10 in another part of Bangkok that killed 25 people and injured 800. Later violence related to the protests have caused four deaths and injured 600.

 

Sansern said troops will use rubber bullets first but will not hesitate to use live ammunition in self defense if attacked.

 

"In addition, another unit of ... sharpshooters will be on the lookout and will shoot terrorists who carry weapons," he said.

 

From behind their barricades, leaders of the Red Shirts were defiant.

 

"Our brothers and sisters are not afraid to die. If the troops move in, our people will surround them," said one, Jatuporn Prompan.

 

"We will never surrender. Please have faith in the fight," he said in a speech to supporters. "As soon as troops move in, the Red Shirts in the provinces and Bangkok will rise together."

 

The U.S. and British embassies announced they would close all services to the public on Friday. "Please do not come to the Visa Application Centre until further notice," the British Embassy said on its website.

 

The U.S. Embassy will operate with limited staff Friday, said spokeswoman Cynthia Brown. Personnel living in the area have been given the option to relocate to temporary housing.

 

The Red Shirts, who are largely drawn from the rural and urban poor, see Abhisit's government as serving an elite insensitive to the plight of most Thais. The protesters include many supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a populist leader who was accused of corruption and abuse of power and ousted in a 2006 military coup.

 

Thaksin, a former telecommunications billionaire who fled overseas to avoid a corruption conviction, is widely believed to be helping to bankroll the protests. He claims to be a victim of political persecution.

 

After agreeing last week in principle to Abhisit's offer of November polls, the protesters later said they would stay put until the deputy prime minister faces criminal charges for violence during the protests.

 

___

 

Associated Press writers Vijay Joshi and Jocelyn Gecker contributed to this report.

 

 

[khunsanuk]

Hi,

 

"With the lockdown looming, leaders of the Red Shirts were defiant, saying their supporters would never "surrender" and were not afraid to die."

 

Easy to say when you are not in any real danger yourself. Typical all over the world, those who start wars are never the ones fighting - and dying - in them.

 

Sanuk!