Adrees Latif and Damir Sagolj
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai troops gained partial control of a protest camp in central Bangkok on Wednesday, using armored vehicles to break through barricades in an operation that killed at least four people, the Thai News Agency said.
Some anti-government "red shirt" leaders have fled the site protesters have been occupying in central Bangkok after troops began an operation to clear the area early in the morning, the government said.
Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn added that the military had successfully gained control of the Lumpini Park area south of the protest site.
Two journalists were among 50 people wounded and one Western journalist, identified as an Italian was believed dead, the Thai news agency reported.
Thai stock rose 0.7 percent, against a fall of 2 percent in MSCI's broadest index of Asian shares outside Japan, a gain dealers attributed to bargain hunting.
The spread on Thai five-year credit default swaps widened 8 bps, in line with other Asian debt spreads, but was below a one-year high posted on Monday.
Even if the military does take full control of the main encampment in a commercial district of Bangkok, it is likely the red-shirted protesters will find new spots in and outside the capital to hold rallies that are likely to turn increasingly violent.
Troops and armored vehicles broke through three-meter-high barricades of tires and bamboo in an operation to squeeze thousands of anti-government protesters from their fortified camp in central Bangkok.
Troops fired tear gas and automatic rifles at the red-shirted protesters but halted the advance before reaching a stage where an estimated 3,000 demonstrators were rallying.
Two bodies were found on Ratchadamri Road, which leads to the main protest site after troops followed the army vehicle into the encampment, a Reuters witness said. They appeared to have been shot. The "red shirts" fired back, witnesses said.
Some troops were seen firing from an overpass as army officials blocked journalists from entering the area.
Protesters ignited walls of tires as the troops arrived, causing thick black smoke to billow high over skyscrapers and hiding thousands of demonstrators who have occupied the heart of Bangkok's commercial district for more than six weeks.
Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said the aim of the operation was to tighten a security cordon around the encampment, and in "several locations in Bangkok", which would take the rest of the day.
His comments seemed to indicate the military was not yet ready to evict the protesters from the encampment in an operation many believe would inflict heavy casualties on both sides.
A crackdown on the main protest encampment has raised concerns it could unleash unrest in other parts of the capital and outside Bangkok.
Protesters have already taken over intersections at two other places in the capital of 15 million people, one of the world's more popular urban tourist destinations.
The mostly rural and urban poor protestors broadly support former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a graft-convicted populist billionaire ousted in a 2006 coup and living in self-imposed exile to avoid jail.
Thaksin raised the specter of insurrection in a telephone interview with Reuters on Wednesday. "There is a theory saying a military crackdown can spread resentment and these resentful people will become guerrillas," he said, but declined to say where he was speaking from.
He denied an accusation by a top aide of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva that he was the stumbling block for failed talks between the government and the "red shirt" leaders.
The military offensive came a day after the collapse of a proposal for talks aimed at ending five days of chaotic street fighting that descended into urban warfare that killed 39 people and wounded more than 300.
'FIGHT ON FROM HERE'
Two buildings were on fire on the periphery of the protest encampment, a bank and a government building.
Protest leaders remained defiant.
"If they come, we will let it happen and fight on from here," protest leader Nattawut Saikua told supporters. Soon after he spoke, protest leaders broke into songs, as people danced around the protest stage, and in a surreal sight, comedy skits were performed on the stage.
The red shirts accuse the British-born, Oxford-educated Abhisit of lacking a popular mandate after coming to power in a controversial parliamentary vote in 2008 with tacit backing from the military. They have demanded immediate elections.
Troops over the past few days had thrown a cordon around the protest site, a "tent city" at the Rachaprasong intersection, paralyzing the heart of Bangkok. Hundreds of women and children have taken refuge in a temple inside the protest area.
Protesters have stockpiled food, water, and supplies in the encampment since Thursday when the assassination of a major-general allied to the red shirts, and an army operation to pressure them, sparked the latest wave of violence that has killed 68 people and wounded more than 1,700 since the demonstrations began in mid-March.
(Additional reporting by Nopporn Wong-Anan and Ambika Ahuja; Writing by Jason Szep; Editing by Bill Tarrant)
Some anti-government "red shirt" leaders have fled the site protesters have been occupying in central Bangkok after troops began an operation to clear the area early in the morning, the government said.
Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn added that the military had successfully gained control of the Lumpini Park area south of the protest site.
Two journalists were among 50 people wounded and one Western journalist, identified as an Italian was believed dead, the Thai news agency reported.
Thai stock rose 0.7 percent, against a fall of 2 percent in MSCI's broadest index of Asian shares outside Japan, a gain dealers attributed to bargain hunting.
The spread on Thai five-year credit default swaps widened 8 bps, in line with other Asian debt spreads, but was below a one-year high posted on Monday.
Even if the military does take full control of the main encampment in a commercial district of Bangkok, it is likely the red-shirted protesters will find new spots in and outside the capital to hold rallies that are likely to turn increasingly violent.
Troops and armored vehicles broke through three-meter-high barricades of tires and bamboo in an operation to squeeze thousands of anti-government protesters from their fortified camp in central Bangkok.
Troops fired tear gas and automatic rifles at the red-shirted protesters but halted the advance before reaching a stage where an estimated 3,000 demonstrators were rallying.
Two bodies were found on Ratchadamri Road, which leads to the main protest site after troops followed the army vehicle into the encampment, a Reuters witness said. They appeared to have been shot. The "red shirts" fired back, witnesses said.
Some troops were seen firing from an overpass as army officials blocked journalists from entering the area.
Protesters ignited walls of tires as the troops arrived, causing thick black smoke to billow high over skyscrapers and hiding thousands of demonstrators who have occupied the heart of Bangkok's commercial district for more than six weeks.
Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said the aim of the operation was to tighten a security cordon around the encampment, and in "several locations in Bangkok", which would take the rest of the day.
His comments seemed to indicate the military was not yet ready to evict the protesters from the encampment in an operation many believe would inflict heavy casualties on both sides.
A crackdown on the main protest encampment has raised concerns it could unleash unrest in other parts of the capital and outside Bangkok.
Protesters have already taken over intersections at two other places in the capital of 15 million people, one of the world's more popular urban tourist destinations.
The mostly rural and urban poor protestors broadly support former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a graft-convicted populist billionaire ousted in a 2006 coup and living in self-imposed exile to avoid jail.
Thaksin raised the specter of insurrection in a telephone interview with Reuters on Wednesday. "There is a theory saying a military crackdown can spread resentment and these resentful people will become guerrillas," he said, but declined to say where he was speaking from.
He denied an accusation by a top aide of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva that he was the stumbling block for failed talks between the government and the "red shirt" leaders.
The military offensive came a day after the collapse of a proposal for talks aimed at ending five days of chaotic street fighting that descended into urban warfare that killed 39 people and wounded more than 300.
'FIGHT ON FROM HERE'
Two buildings were on fire on the periphery of the protest encampment, a bank and a government building.
Protest leaders remained defiant.
"If they come, we will let it happen and fight on from here," protest leader Nattawut Saikua told supporters. Soon after he spoke, protest leaders broke into songs, as people danced around the protest stage, and in a surreal sight, comedy skits were performed on the stage.
The red shirts accuse the British-born, Oxford-educated Abhisit of lacking a popular mandate after coming to power in a controversial parliamentary vote in 2008 with tacit backing from the military. They have demanded immediate elections.
Troops over the past few days had thrown a cordon around the protest site, a "tent city" at the Rachaprasong intersection, paralyzing the heart of Bangkok. Hundreds of women and children have taken refuge in a temple inside the protest area.
Protesters have stockpiled food, water, and supplies in the encampment since Thursday when the assassination of a major-general allied to the red shirts, and an army operation to pressure them, sparked the latest wave of violence that has killed 68 people and wounded more than 1,700 since the demonstrations began in mid-March.
(Additional reporting by Nopporn Wong-Anan and Ambika Ahuja; Writing by Jason Szep; Editing by Bill Tarrant)
2 comments:
Real Thai used Khmer Surin to kills Khmer each other...this is not new??????????
Amazing Thailand.
Long Live Thailand DemoCRAZY!!!
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