Red shirts turn attention to media outlets

Supporters of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship push against a police barricade outside the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry. The group yesterday demanded that the government prosecute former prime minister Surayud Chulanont for encroaching on a forest reserve at Khao Yai Thieng in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Pak Chong district. THITI WANNAMONTHA

24/12/2009
Bangkok Post

The United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship is planning a major rally next week and is considering taking action against media outlets it believes are guilty of biased reporting, sources say.

The group said it would conduct its protest on Sunday and Monday.

UDD core member Natthawut Saikua said he could not rule out the possibility that some red shirt protesters might "drop by" at media outlets they have found to take political sides.

"They have the right [to rally]," Mr Natthawut said. "And the press should be open to the customers' freedom of expression."

He said the UDD had not yet made a resolution on the matter.

The speculation about the red shirts' possible rally at the media offices comes after former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra criticised the media's "unjust reporting" in his Talk Around The World programme shown on Thaksinlive.com.

Thaksin said red shirts who visited him in Phnom Penh planned to visit some press offices during a mass rally.

"I told them to come in peace ... to ask for justice," he said.

Another UDD core member, Jatuporn Prompan, yesterday insisted the group would hold a major rally early next year and it would be a prolonged one.

He said the red shirts were ready for a drawn-out rally to pressure the government into stepping down.

Mr Jatuporn yesterday also revealed a set of documents which he said supported his allegations last week that the government was orchestrating a plot to assassinate Thaksin.

The documents, allegedly prepared by the Foreign Ministry, detail steps to respond to Cambodia in the wake of the souring of relations between Bangkok and Phnom Penh.

Mr Jatuporn said the documents state: "The root cause of the Thailand-Cambodia relations problem stemmed from Thaksin who has an objective to demolish the government's existence.

"To tackle this problem, it needs to focus on the root cause ... eliminate the main threat."

Mr Jatuporn said the word "eliminate" used in the documents meant to "kill".

He also said he would today expose a scandal involving Deputy Prime Minister Korbsak Sabhavasu, who he accused of interference in the building of a courthouse in Mae Hong Son's Pai district.

Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, secretary to the foreign minister, said the Foreign Ministry was consulting with its lawyers and prosecutors on whether to file a lawsuit against Mr Jatuporn for disclosing classified state documents.

The ministry is also looking into who leaked the documents.

There are at least 20 people to be investigated.

The UDD said its rally on Sunday would be held at Sanam Luang with member Jakrapob Penkair's phone-in "being the highlight".

Mr Jakrapob lives abroad after fleeing lese majeste charges.

Somyos Prueksakasemsuk, a leader of the Group of June 24, a red shirt faction, said the rally would centre on the government's failure to tackle problems.

Early yesterday, about 300 red shirt supporters rallied in front of the Election Commission offices to protest against the agency's delay in deciding whether to seek the dissolution of the ruling Democrat Party.

The protesters were led by Puea Thai Party member Arisman Pongruangrong, the leader of the red shirt protesters who laid seige to the Asean summit in Pattaya in April and forced the hurried evacuation of regional leaders.

The UDD protesters slammed the EC for its alleged use of double standards and for being indecisive in the case against the Democrat Party. The party is accused of unlawfully obtaining a 258 million baht donation from TPI Polene.

The EC has refused to vote on whether to seek the dissolution of the ruling party and referred the matter to EC chairman Apichart Sukhagganond, in his capacity as ex-officio political party registrar.

Mr Apichart is expected to bring down a decision after the New Year.

Red shirts return

Red Shirt protesters gather at Sanam Luang in Bangkok on Saturday. -- PHOTO: AFP

More than 20,000 protesters in peaceful protest to show govt they are still a potent force

June 28, 2009
By Nirmal Ghosh, Thailand Correspondent
The Straits Times (Singapore)

BANGKOK - RED-SHIRTED United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) supporters returned to Bangkok's Sanam Luang grounds in force on Saturday, for the first time since demonstrations turned violent in April.

More than 20,000 of them packed about a third of the sprawling site, which is around the size of two football fields, braving heavy rain and slush. Over 2,000 police and soldiers were on standby, but maintained a discreet presence at the rally itself.

The government had warned the UDD that attempts to block Government House or instigate violence would not be tolerated, but the group's leaders said they would not protest beyond the rally site and that reports of plans for violence were propaganda.

The rally, essentially designed to lift the morale of supporters and send a signal that the movement is still a force to be reckoned with, had a new theme. It is exhorting people to keep the spirit of 1932 alive and overthrow the current 'aristocrat' government, a reference to the Democrat Party, which is largely backed by the capital's old elites.

In their speeches, UDD leaders told the crowd the event was a celebration of 77 years of true democracy - invoking the change from absolute to constitutional monarchy wrought through a revolution and coup in 1932.

While the 'red shirts' had been staging smaller events across the country regularly in recent weeks, they still lacked a national- level organisation, Mr Jaran Ditta-apichai, a former national human rights commissioner who is one of the UDD's ideologues, admitted. But the UDD's propaganda machine is cranking into gear after being shut down by the government in April.

Saturday's rally was beamed 'live' on the movement's new 'People's Channel' TV station. A red shirt newspaper has also been launched, featuring articles and columns by key red shirt leaders and ideologues.

One objective of the rally was to give moral support to supporters of the opposition Puea Thai party ahead of a by-election on Sunday in Si Saket province. There is considerable overlap between the red shirt movement and the opposition Puea Thai.

'We (the party) will win but we want to win by a wide margin,' a UDD insider said. 'We have to show that people still think that the Abhisit government is not legitimate.'

The rally was peaceful and festive - but drenched in heavy thunderstorm an hour before former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra called in to speak to the crowd via telephone.

In an impassioned speech, the ousted premier blasted the government, saying it was good for only three things - 'borrowing, hiking taxes and hounding Thaksin'. The fugitive leader told his supporters that he was travelling around, but said he was lonely and appealed to them not to leave him 'dying in the desert'.

Thai Clashes End, Protesters Disperse

Leaders of demonstrations that plunged the Thailand's capital Bangkok into chaos called off their protests following rioting and clashes that left two dead and more than 120 injured across the city. (April 14)

Thai Unrest Has Regional Impact

Supporters of former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra protest in front of hotel hosting ASEAN meeting, April 10, 2009. (AFP)

2009-04-14
Radio Free Asia

"Indonesia now becomes much more important to the United States in terms of...cementing a strong alliance with a stable partner in Southeast Asia." - Asia scholar Sheridan Prasso

Violent unrest in Thailand may have a lasting impact on its neighbors and on how Western governments operate in the region.

BANGKOK—The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has welcomed the end of several days of violent protests in Thailand.

The protests had humiliated Bangkok by disrupting a planned leadership summit during Thailand's chairmanship of the regional grouping.

"I am confident that Thailand as well as ASEAN will emerge from this chaos stronger and more determined to promote dialogue and cooperation," ASEAN chief Surin Pitsuwan said.

"I hope and pray for normalcy to return to Thailand quickly,” Surin said in a statement.

Red-shirted supporters of former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra stormed security cordons in the southern Thai town of Pattaya at the weekend, forcing ASEAN leaders to flee the venue, some by helicopter.

The protesters had already staged a three-week rally outside the office of the current prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, agreeing finally to disperse on Tuesday following pitched battles with riot police in the nation's capital.

Thai police said the protest organizers would be prosecuted for violating a state of emergency banning large gatherings.

State of emergency

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva declared the state of emergency on Sunday to curb mass protests calling for his resignation.

But protesters gathered across Bangkok on Monday and lobbed petrol bombs at security forces, which responded with volleys of automatic weapons fire and tear gas.

ASEAN's Surin praised the Thai government's response to the unrest in Pattaya, calling it a sign of the government's integrity.

"I am grateful to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva of Thailand and the Thai government for the safe evacuation of the leaders of ASEAN member states and their dialogue partners," he said.

What happened in Pattaya and Bangkok would not erode the credibility and dignity of Thailand's chairmanship of ASEAN, Surin added.

"On the contrary, the restrained government responses showed the integrity of the Thai government in restoring law and order with admirable respect for life, safety, and constitutional rights of all," he said.

Long-term effects

Sheridan Prasso, an author and associate fellow at the Asia Society in New York, said the Thai unrest could have broad and lasting implications for the region.

Indonesia, “long neglected under the previous U.S. administration, now becomes much more important to the United States in terms of the necessity of cementing a strong alliance with a stable partner in Southeast Asia,” Prasso said.

“As last week’s elections in Indonesia show, the country has become a strong, stable model of a regional democracy, quite the opposite of the situation in Thailand. The U.S. needs a strong alliance with a stable democracy like Indonesia more than ever,” she said.

But the unrest in Thailand could also serve as a warning to some of Southeast Asia’s more authoritarian regimes, Prasso said.

For Burma, Laos, and Vietnam, and to some extent Cambodia, “Thailand’s instability is an example of how free-wheeling democracy can descend into political chaos, and is likely to increase the resolve of their governments to maintain a strong hold on power,” she said.

“Singapore as well, which has long restricted gatherings of five or more people, recently proposed to further tighten its restrictions on public gatherings ahead of its APEC summit in November. It wants no repeat of what happened last weekend … in Thailand,” Prasso added.

Warnings

Analysts say the protests have already done considerable damage to Thailand's economy, which is already reeling from the global recession and from political chaos last year.

Global credit agencies Standard & Poor's and Moody's said the unrest would put downward pressure on Thailand's already weak ratings despite an otherwise healthy financial system.

Economic analysts also said investors would now tread warily in Thailand following the red-shirt violence.

Several countries issued fresh warnings against travel to Thailand during the demonstrations, potentially damaging the country's crucial tourist industry.

Thaksin, a billionaire businessman who lives in exile overseas, has urged protesters to continue with their anti-government struggle. The threat he poses to Thailand's precarious stability does not appear to have faded, commentators said.

Original reporting by RFA's Southeast Asian services. Executive producer: Susan Lavery. Written and produced in English by Luisetta Mudie and Sarah Jackson-Han.

Thailand protests 'breaking up'

Tuesday, 14 April 2009
BBC News

Monday saw an escalation in violence following days of protest

An anti-government protest in the centre of Thailand's capital, Bangkok, has begun to break up, a BBC correspondent at the scene says.

Demonstrators who had been camped around the Government House have been walking away from the area.

The news follows calls by protest leaders for people to leave the area, after thousands of police and soldiers moved to tighten a cordon overnight.

Two people died in clashes involving demonstrators and residents on Monday.

Red-shirted protesters are demanding the resignation of PM Abhisit Vejjajiva - but he has refused and had urged them to go home.

Protester Kannika Saikaew, 37, said: "I'm sad that we've not received justice but if we'd have stayed we would have been in danger."

On Tuesday, protest leader Prateep Ungsongtham Hata told the AFP news agency: "We held talks among the leaders since last night and have agreed that we will disperse our protesters for a while."

Ms Prateep said the leaders wanted to prevent any loss of life, saying the protesters "really want to fight and sacrifice themselves so we wanted to prevent a catastrophe".

"We are not surrendering, we are just dispersing the gathering because we have done nothing wrong," she said.

Another protest leader, Jatuporn Pronpan, told Reuters: "We have to stop because we need to look after the lives of our supporters."

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: Songkran 2553, Year of the Ox

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

Thai Troops Surround Protesters

April 15, 2009
By THOMAS FULLER
New York Times

BANGKOK — Troops surrounded thousands of anti-government protesters in downtown Bangkok early Tuesday after a day of running street battles that left two people dead and more than 113 people wounded.

Armored vehicles and ranks of soldiers with riot shields and automatic weapons sealed off the roads leading to the prime minister’s office, where the protesters are now concentrated.

“First we will negotiate,” Col. Seksan Kaewkumnerd, a military spokesman said on national television on Tuesday morning. “If that doesn’t work we will use water along with tear gas,” he added, in a reference to water cannons.

“I can assure you that heavy weapons such as guns will be used only to shoot in the air in case of self-defense,” the colonel said.

Major shopping malls were assessing whether to stay closed Tuesday after they shut their doors Monday, Thai media reported. Foreign governments advised their citizens in Bangkok, the capital, to stay inside and the government banned the sale of gasoline in the center of the city in an effort to stop protesters from making Molotov cocktails.

The protesters, many of them supporters of Thaksin Shinawatra, the prime minister ousted in the Sept. 2006 coup, are demanding that the current prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, step down. Gen. Songkitti Jaggabatara, the supreme commander of Thailand’s armed forces, vowed Monday to use “every means to end the chaos.”

The violence on Monday came on what is normally a day of animated celebration, the New Year’s water festival. Street parties and revelry continued in some Bangkok neighborhoods untouched by the strife, but the center of the city remained tense. At least a dozen streets were barricaded by protesters, many of whom were armed with clubs and slingshots.

In a televised address on Monday, Mr. Abhisit sought to reassure the nation that the government was carrying out a “step-by-step process to restore order and stop the violence.”

He said he would “take care of the situation with the least damage possible.”

The unrest has pitted security forces against protesters known as the “red shirts,” who coalesced around their opposition to the military coup against Thaksin. But there are fears that the violence could spread if other groups become involved.

Mr. Thaksin, who lives abroad and faces a two-year prison sentence on charges of abuse of power if he returns to Thailand, said in an interview on Monday with CNN that the government was concealing “many” deaths in the clashes. “They even take the bodies on the military trucks and take them away,” he said. The government denied the assertion.

The “red shirts” are defying the government’s decree of a “severe emergency situation,” including a ban on blocking any traffic, imposed in Bangkok on Sunday, a day after protesters breached security and entered a hotel complex where Asian leaders were gathering for a summit meeting, causing the talks to be canceled. They have vowed to continue their demonstrations, which have grown increasingly violent, until Mr. Abhisit steps down.

The prime minister’s whereabouts have remained secret since Sunday, when his motorcade was attacked and an aide was dragged out of his car by protesters and reportedly beaten.

Thai protesters say will disperse to end standoff

April 14, 2009
Anusak Konglang
The Age (Australia)

Anti-government protesters massed outside the Thai premier's offices in Bangkok said that they would disperse as troops backed up by armoured vehicles tightened their grip on the city.

A day after running street battles left two dead and 113 injured, soldiers encircled thousands of protesters dug in around Government House, the offices of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, AFP reporters said.

"We held talks among the leaders since last night and have agreed that we will disperse our protesters for a while," Prateep Ungsongtham Hata, who is a core protest leader, told AFP, adding they wanted to avert loss of life.

"We are not surrendering, we are just dispersing the gathering because we have done nothing wrong," she said, after reports that the protesters loyal to ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra would give themselves up.

The announcement came after security forces tightened a cordon around the estimated 2,000 protesters left at the site.

The government said it wanted a peaceful end to the crisis, after security forces Monday used tear gas and automatic weapons to clear the rest of Bangkok -- which remains under a state of emergency -- of pro-Thaksin demonstrators.

"Today we will rely on negotiation and pressure with the protesters. We still have time although we want the situation to end swiftly," government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn told AFP earlier.

He added that the government was ready to compromise with demonstrators by allowing them to rally in agreed areas so Abhisit can return to work at his offices by Thursday.

Hundreds of soldiers brandishing assault rifles and carrying riot shields moved closer shortly after Panitan spoke, and armoured personnel carriers and Humvees blocked off all access points to Government House.

The military used loudspeakers mounted on trucks to issued further warnings to disperse or face the consequences.

The number of protesters at the site fell to around 2,500 overnight as the pressure appeared to tell on Thaksin's so-called "Red Shirts" after hours of running battles in sweltering heat on Monday.

"The situation at the rally site last night was very tense because we were surrounded by soldiers and there were constant rumours that they would start a crackdown," protest leader Chinawat Haboonpard told AFP by telephone.

Army spokesman Colonel Sunsern Kaewkumnerd said protesters opened fire on two security checkpoints during the night, critically injuring one soldier.

He also said troops had suppressed protests in three provinces on Monday, during which demonstrators took control of a television station and a railway terminal.

Abhisit has hailed the success of the military campaign to dislodge the protesters, amid fears of a repeat of the violence in Bangkok last October in which two people died and 500 were injured.

He remains under huge pressure to end the crisis quickly to prevent further damage to Thailand's international image, after years of unrest following the military coup that ousted Thaksin in 2006.

Several countries advised tourists not to travel to Thailand or to exercise caution if they are already there, while the US State Department condemned the "unacceptable violence" by the protesters.

Bangkok emergency services on Tuesday confirmed that the toll from clashes between security forces, demonstrators and local residents stood at two dead and 113 people wounded, with 44 still being treated in hospital.

On Monday, troops unleashed volleys of gunfire and hurled tear gas at the protesters, who sent buses hurtling towards lines of soldiers and torched a government ministry with petrol bombs.

The protesters were forced to retreat to Government House, where as night fell residents erected roadblocks and armed themselves with guns and swords, setting the stage for a deadly confrontation with the "Red Shirts".

The Red Shirts want Abhisit to quit and call new elections, saying he came to power through an undemocratic parliamentary vote following a court ruling that drove Thaksin's allies from office.

Analysts say there is little hope of a long-term solution to Thailand's problems so long as it remains divided between Thaksin's mostly poor supporters and his foes in the power circles of the palace, military and bureaucracy.

Thai v Thai in the streets [-A reprieve for Khmer troops along the border?]

Angry residents repel invading protesters

13/04/2009
Bangkok Post Reporters

Angry residents took violence into their own hands on Monday to help soldiers and police disperse United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) protesters in their neighbourhoods.

In Din Daeng, apartment residents helped soldiers remove a gas tanker used by red shirt protesters to thwart government forces.

About 50 residents of the flats asked the demonstrators and truck driver to move the tanker away from their homes because of the presence of children and the elderly.

The protesters refused and the ranting of the drunken tanker driver only angered the residents.

One resident, who gave his name only as Tanawat, said he did not want to interfere in the rally but did not think the protesters should hold people hostage.

The red shirts opened the valves of the gas containers and prepared to set the tanker alight, Mr Tanawat said. They also parked a bus near the tanker, apparently to use it to feed the planned fire.

Some protesters threw petrol bombs into the apartment compound, he said, but the residents managed to put out the fire.

"Fire cannot force us out. This is our home," Mr Tanawat said.

Other residents attacked the red shirts for only thinking of themselves and not caring about the danger they were causing others.

The ageing Din Daeng flat compound is a sizeable community made up of many buildings each housing 80 rooms.

Soldiers stationed in the area since the morning removed the tanker in the late afternoon.

Villagers near Wat Somanas Rajavaravihara near Ratchadamnoen Nok Avenue yesterday also expressed anger at the red shirt protesters after they fired on and threw petrol bombs at the army headquarters.

They also torched tyres and five buses at the intersection.

Residents armed themselves with whatever was at hand to use against the protesters. But soldiers intervened and told them "to let officers keep order and peace", one resident said.

The troops then fired on the protesters and a gunfight took place lasting about an hour. The protesters eventually fled after trying to set fire to buses and the nearby Forest Industry Organisation office.

Also, about 200 Muslims gathered near Phetchaburi road to attack red shirts who had destroyed their shops and cars on Phetchaburi Soi 5 and 7 while returning to Government House.

At least 1,000 rioters, who were pushed from Ratchaprarop road by the military, broke shop windows and destroyed four cars and 10 motorcycles as well as fired guns at a mosque, Daral Amarn.

The angry residents brandished wooden clubs, knives and iron bars in preparation to fight the red shirts.

Cars holding red shirts were attacked with sticks before the residents returned to their homes as police forced the red shirts to withdraw.

Sompong Potisiri, a coffee vendor, said the red shirts smashed her pushcart.

"I was shocked and don't know who to ask for compensation," she said. "I never thought there would be something like this."

A Muslim leader said the action was unacceptable. The mosque was sacred to the Muslim community.

"They've done too much to us," he said. "We feel very angry."

The military led by Col Apirak Kongsompong, deputy chief of staff of the 1st Division of the King's Guard, turned up later at Uruphong intersection to tell residents the red shirts' action was not a fight for democracy but rioting pure and simple. He called on the residents to resist the rioters.

Some local people angered by the red shirts' actions clapped their hands in support of the officers.

In a related development, 500 residents living near the Yommarat intersection and Nang Loeng market also forced out the protesters.

The residents joined the police to disperse the rioters, shouting: "This is my home. You all should get out."

Thai Army Chief Vows to End ‘Chaos’ as Protests Widen

Protesters pulled Niphon Promphan, secretary of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, out of his car after attacking him at the Interior Ministry in Bangkok on Sunday. (Associated Press)

April 14, 2009
By SETH MYDANS and THOMAS FULLER
The New York Times (USA)

BANGKOK — Soldiers armed with assault rifles fought running street battles with anti-government protesters in Bangkok on Monday as unrest spread through a wider swath of the Thai capital, and the chief of Thailand’s armed forces vowed to use “every means to end the chaos.”

Two people were killed and more than 113 people were wounded in the clashes, according to hospital officials. Included among the wounded were 23 security officers and other government personnel.

Major shopping malls shut their doors, foreign governments advised their citizens in Bangkok to stay inside and the government banned the sale of gasoline in the center of the city in an effort to stop protesters from making Molotov cocktails.

“We will not use weapons unless it is necessary to defend ourselves,” said Gen. Songkitti Jaggabatara, the supreme commander of Thailand’s armed forces. “We will not use them excessively.”

By late evening, security forces had cleared most major intersections and the protesters were facing off against army and police units in the streets around the prime minister’s office. Hundreds of pro-government vigilantes armed with machetes and clubs were also in the area.

In a separate clash earlier Monday at a major intersection, soldiers fired shots from automatic rifles and tear gas at the protesters, who answered with gasoline bombs. The gunfire appeared to be aimed in the air above the protesters, but hospitals reported more than 70 injured, many from tear gas, and some news reports said that two demonstrators and two soldiers had been shot and wounded.

The violence came on what is normally a day of animated celebration, the Buddhist new year and water festival. Street parties and revelry continued in some Bangkok neighborhoods untouched by the strife, but the center of the city remained tense and at least a dozen streets were barricaded by protesters, many of whom were armed with clubs and slingshots. By late afternoon, security forces had cleared most major intersections.

In a televised address, the prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, sought to reassure the nation that the government was carrying out a “step-by-step process to restore order and stop the violence.”

The unrest has pitted security forces against protesters known as the ”red shirts” who are linked to Thaksin Shinawatra, the prime minister ousted in a 2006 military coup. But there are fears that the violence could spread if other groups become involved.

Mr. Thaksin, who is overseas and faces a two-year prison sentence on charges of abuse of power if he returns to Thailand, said in an interview Monday with CNN that the government was concealing “many” deaths in the clashes. “They even take the bodies on the military trucks and take them away,” he said. The government did not immediately respond to his assertion.

The red shirts are defying the government’s decree of a “severe emergency situation,” including a ban on blocking any traffic, imposed in Bangkok on Sunday, a day after protesters breached security and entered a hotel complex where Asian leaders were meeting, causing the talks to be canceled. They have vowed to continue their demonstrations, which have grown increasingly violent, until Mr. Abhisit steps down.

The prime minister’s whereabouts have remained secret since Sunday, when his motorcade was attacked and an aide was dragged out of his car by protesters and reportedly beaten.

After three years of political crisis, including the 2006 coup and a weeklong closure by protesters of Bangkok’s two airports late last year, many business leaders had hoped for a period of calm under the government of Mr. Abhisit, who came to office in December. But the prospect of continued instability and the images of soldiers and military vehicles on the streets of the Thai capital over the past two days seems sure to further damage an economy already badly battered by the global economic downturn.

“This is definitely going to hurt Thailand for a long time,” said Pornthip Hiranyakij, secretary general of the Tourism Council of Thailand, an industry association. “It’s a matter of safety and security for people. What is happening on the streets of Bangkok right now is scary for many customers coming in.”

The Tourism Authority of Thailand, a government agency, sought to play down Sunday’s emergency decree, which among other measures bans gatherings of more than five people. “The measure does not in any way apply to the organization of local and international corporate meetings, incentive events, conventions and exhibitions,” the tourism authority said.

Foreign governments appeared more alarmed. The French Embassy in Bangkok posted a warning on its Web site “strongly recommending French citizens to stay at home or in their hotel until the situation becomes clearer.” South Korea advised its citizens to return to their country if they had no urgent business in Thailand; the United States Embassy advised its citizens to “exercise caution anywhere in Bangkok.”

Janesara Fugal contributed reporting.

Red shirts run amok

PM narrowly avoids protesters' attack / Furious UDD supporters vow to `fight to the death'

12/04/2009
Bangkok Post Reporters

Military and police forces were on alert Sunday night as the government stood firm behind its order for rioters to clear the streets or face harsher measures under a state of emergency.

Armed soldiers supported by armoured personnel carriers and police in riot gear were deployed across the city on Sunday as members of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship vowed to fight to the death to overthrow the Democrat-led government.

The government declared a state of emergency over Bangkok and surrounding provinces after red shirt protesters went on a rampage, attacking senior government officials, bodyguards and police.

The prime minister narrowly escaped himself after protesters stormed the Interior Ministry where he had just addressed the nation on television.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva warned in his television address that the red shirts had crossed the line and this required a firm response.

"I want to tell protesters that you have no right to break the law or to restrict other people's rights," Mr Abhisit said. "Otherwise the government must implement further measures under the state of emergency.

"I ask the public to remain calm. I'm confident the government will restore normalcy to our country."

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban also appeared on television, telling soldiers and police to strictly enforce the law against the protesters.

"I am now in charge," he said. "I will take full responsibility for your actions in enforcing the law to restore peace."

The trouble began when the demonstrators blocked traffic in front of the Criminal Court on Ratchadaphisek road and the Royal Thai Police Office on Rama I road to demand the release of a key UDD leader, Arisman Pongruangrong, who was arrested at his home yesterday morning.

Bands of red shirt protesters, angered by the arrest, held rallies in several areas of the capital to demand his release.

The government replied by declaring a state of emergency over Bangkok, Samut Prakan, Pathum Thani and Ayutthaya.

About a thousand red shirts responded by surrounding the Interior Ministry in a bid to capture Mr Abhisit and Mr Suthep who used the venue to make their televised announcements.

The two narrowly escaped the protesters who stormed into the ministry compound and smashed the prime minister's limousine and other cars with wooden sticks and pavement slabs.

They believed the leaders were in the vehicles The attack caused serious damage to the vehicles but the prime minister and Mr Suthep managed to slip out of the compound in a separate car unharmed.

A gunshot was heard as the crowds were trying tried to stop the motorcade. The prime minister's limousine was able to get away but a station wagon belonging to his bodyguard was stopped and smashed.

One of the prime minister's security guards and a police officer were assaulted and taken to the red shirts' demonstration site at Government House.

A dozen other people including red shirt protesters were also injured in the brief clash.

The prime minister's guard and the policeman were locked in a container close to the UDD stage at Government House before being given first aid and released.

Also attacked and injured was the prime minister's secretary-general, Nibhon Phromphan.

Mr Nibhon was taken to hospital after red shirt protesters chased his car as it was about to leave a parking building inside the Interior Ministry compound.

They dragged him from the car and beat him. His driver was also injured.

After leaving the Interior Ministry, Mr Abhisit was reached by a reporter on the telephone.

"I am safe and unhurt but my people were arrested," the prime minister said. "The gunshot was an accident ... a guard's gun was being snatched and it went off accidentally. We did not mean to fire at people."

Despite the possibility the army and police might use force to disperse them, demonstrators continued to join the UDD rally at Government House and separate rallies at intersections throughout late yesterday.

Some rioters seized at least two armoured personnel carriers from troops who were sent to guard public areas, while others seized public buses to set up road blockades.

More road blocks were also reported at key intersections around the main rally ground as night fell, in open defiance of the government's order for the protesters to disperse.

The demonstrators' spirits were kept high by UDD leaders' speeches and phone-in messages from former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

In one phone-in, Thaksin said he would return to Thailand if authorities dispersed his supporters using violence.

Thaksin said he was closely monitoring the state of emergency.

"I will monitor the situation and if necessary I will return to Thailand and lead a long march of people. I will not allow them [authorities] to use force," Thaksin said.

Thailand descends into chaos amid calls for revolt

April 13, 2009
BY AMBIKA AHUJA and GRANT PECK
ASSOCIATED PRESS

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Thai soldiers unleashed hundreds of rounds of automatic-weapons fire to clear rock-throwing antigovernment protesters from a major intersection in the capital in the predawn darkness early today.

Forty-nine people were reported hurt in the first serious clash between the two sides in ongoing protests that have roiled the southeast Asian nation and came a day after the country's ousted prime minister called for a revolution.

While the government has declared a state of emergency, protesters controlled many streets in the capital of Bangkok. They had earlier commandeered public buses and swarmed triumphantly over military vehicles in defiance.

In the starkest example of the chaos, a mob of the red-shirted protesters smashed cars carrying Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his aides.

The clash began between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. today, as troops in full combat gear lined up and advanced to disperse the protesters, television footage showed.

The official Erawan emergency coordination center said 49 people were injured on both sides and taken to hospitals.

Police Gen. Vichai Sangparpai said up to 30,000 demonstrators were scattered around the city. Police vans at some intersections were abandoned and looted.

Ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, regarded by most of the protesters as their leader, called for a revolution and said he might return from exile to lead it.

Thaksin fled the country last year, before a court convicted him in absentia of violating a conflict-of-interest law.

Red shirts repay in kind to the yellow shirts?

Protesters attack the car of Niphon Promphan, secretary of prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, at the Interior Ministry in Bangkok (Photo: Getty Images)
Protesters on the rampage in Bangkok (Photo: Getty Images)

Thai troops fire on protesters in Bangkok

The Thai army has renewed its offensive against hundreds of anti-government protesters who had taken control of large parts of Bangkok and forced the prime minister to declare a state of emergency.

13 Apr 2009
By Thomas Bell in Bangkok
The Telegraph (UK)

Witnesses on the scene in the capital said the army, which earlier used tear gas on the crowds, had started firing at the demonstrators, in an attempt to force them back and disperse them.

Reports said at least 70 people had been injured in the first wave of clashes.

The army stepped up its response after rioters set fire to a bus and hurled petrol bombs at soldiers. The troops were also using water cannons against the protesters.

An army spokesman said that violence broke out when soldiers trying to clear the Viphavadi-Rangsit thoroughfare were shot at by protesters before dawn, and had fired back.

Colonel Sansern Kaewkamnerd told a radio station that troops fired into the air first in response to tear gas and smoke bombs thrown at them by protesters but then fired real bullets.

Witnesses on the scene said fires blazed in the middle of the junction as protesters retreated into side streets.

Before the offensive began, the army had been mobilised and hospitals placed on standby for casualties.

For the last two weeks, protests demanding the resignation of Abhisit Vejjajiva, the British-born and Oxford-educated prime minister, have swept the capital.

The first clashes on Sunday took place at the interior ministry while Mr Abhisit was inside the building, formally declaring the state of emergency. Angry protesters – who wear red to show their anti-government credentials - attacked a Mercedes limousine with stones, bricks, paving slabs and flower pots, wrongly believing that Mr Abhisit was inside. Trapped, the armoured vehicle could only take this punishment, which abated when the crowd discovered that the prime minister was not in the passenger seat.

This incident sent rumours spreading across the city. Protest leaders outside Government House, Mr Abhisit's office, told thousands of their emotional followers that three demonstrators had been shot dead at the interior ministry.

If the false claim was a deliberate attempt to manipulate the protesters, it worked. The crowd was duly enraged. Shortly afterwards one of the prime minister's bodyguards was brought along in handcuffs.

His captors put a motorcycle helmet on his head to protect him, yet angry blows rained down as he was led through the crowd. His white collar was soon soaked with blood. When the helmet was removed, he seemed concussed from the assault. The protesters later gave him medical treatment.

Leaders of the demonstration outside Government House pledged to resist any attempt by the army or police to remove them, by force if necessary. Jakrapob Penkair, an opposition leader, described the state of emergency as a "declaration of war against the people of Thailand" and said: "We will be aggressively defending ourselves." He added: "People know the risks they are taking." Tanks and armoured cars rumbled through the streets as soldiers deployed at 50 sites around the capital.

Yet bands of red-shirted protesters roamed unopposed all over central Bangkok. They commandeered buses to block roads and even clambered over tanks and armoured cars, without any protest from the soldiers.

"It's total chaos. It is scary and the military are doing nothing. Who can guarantee our safety?" asked Martin Liu, a 36-year-old American tourist watching the scene.

The anti-government protesters are mostly followers of Thaksin Shinawatra, the deposed prime minister and former owner of Manchester City. The populist politician, with a power base among the poor, was deposed in a bloodless military coup in 2006.

Mr Thaksin and his followers claim the coup was a conspiracy of elite interests in the army, palace and bureaucracy to sabotage his challenge to Thailand's rigid social hierarchy.

But Mr Thaksin's many enemies believe he is corrupt, autocratic and unfit to rule. After his allies were re-elected at the end of 2007, thousands of "yellow shirt" protesters came onto the streets, causing months of chaos before that government was dissolved by a court.

The army then helped Mr Abhisit form the current coalition. The "red-shirts" claim his "illegitimate" government represents only the political elite. Mr Abhisit, who was educated at Eton and Oxford, insists that he stands for democracy.

"We can die for democracy," said one protester, who gave her name as Benjawan, a 50-year-old taxi driver. "If the children after us get full democracy, okay, we can die."

At Government House, protesters prepared wooden staves and petrol bombs to ward off an expected attack from the security forces.

Earlier, the atmosphere had often been convivial where lines of riot police met demonstrators. The two groups exchanged bags of surgical masks and impregnated cotton wool, designed to cope with the effects of tear gas.

The crisis came to a head on Saturday when protesters invaded a summit of Asian leaders, forcing some to flee by helicopter from the hotel roof and humiliating Mr Abhisit, who was chairing the gathering.

His dwindling authority has been even further tested by protesters who seem to have the run of Bangkok.

Suthep Thaugsuban, the deputy prime minister, appealed last night for police and soldiers to enforce the state of emergency. If and when that happens, the risk of bloodshed seems high.

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: Thailand on April 11, 2009

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

Pro-Thaksin protesters continue to block traffic in Thai capital

Friday April 10, 2009

(Kyodo) - Thousands supporters of ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra continued to block traffic in Bangkok on Friday, despite government vows to take legal action against them. The protesters swarmed Victory Monument, one of Bangkok's busiest traffic points, and some main roads in Bangkok even though Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva declared Friday a national holiday to ease traffic turmoil in the capital. He also vowed to legal action against any act that "hurts national security."

Abhisit rejected demands by the pro-Thaksin protesters for his resignation and insisted he will not dissolve the lower house for an election. On Thursday night, Abhisit met with military and police leaders and agreed they will use security forces to open traffic lanes, but no action has been taken yet.

Thaksin told his supporters via video-link Thursday night to continue the protest until they topple the government. The ousted premier also suggested he may return to Thailand to lead the protests himself if the government uses force to end the demonstrations. The protesters have also declared they will try to obstruct this weekend's East Asia Summit in the beach resort Pattaya because the government has refused to meet their demands.

According to local media, nearly 1,000 protesters arrived in Pattaya on Friday morning and prepared to demonstrate near the meeting venue, but with an estimated 5,000 police and soldiers in the city it is unclear if the protesters will be allowed to mount any viable action. The East Asian Summit and other meetings to be held in Pattaya on Friday through Sunday will be attended by leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations as well those of China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India. ASEAN comprises Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar.

The Thaksin supporters want Abhisit to either resign or dissolve the lower house of parliament. Their demands also include the resignation of three members of the Privy Council that advises King Bhumibol Adulyadej, citing improper involvement in politics by the trio. The protesters have been holding mass demonstrations outside Government House since early this year and they have continued round-the-clock protests since March 26.

Thaksin, now fugitive overseas, was ousted by a military coup in 2006 and his party was dissolved by a court order in 2007 after he was convicted of electoral fraud. The People Power Party, consisting mostly of Thaksin loyalists, won a post-coup general election in late 2007, but it too was dissolved by a court order, last December, after one of its executives was convicted of vote-buying. Abhisit, leader of the Democrat Party, came to power after some lawmakers from the defunct People Power Party joined the Democrats in voting him into office in the wake of massive anti-Thaksin protests that shut down Bangkok's two main airports for days and besieged government offices for months.

Thailand braced for huge protest

"Red Shirt" protesters stage a demonstration on Tuesday.

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- Anti-government demonstrators say they will gather in the thousands in the capital city Wednesday in a bid to force Thailand's prime minister from office.

The massive demonstration is the culmination of a movement that has intensified in recent weeks to destabilize the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

On Tuesday, the "Red Shirt" protesters -- named for the color of their shirts -- attacked Abhisit's motorcade as it was struck in traffic. He escaped unharmed.

Abhisit was leaving a Cabinet meeting in the beach resort city of Pattaya when the protesters pelted plastic water bottles and sticks at the car, a government official said.

The prime minister's security detail shielded him and moved him to another vehicle. Television footage showed protesters unsuccessfully trying to grab the driver of the second car. They also smashed the second vehicle's rear window.

The Red Shirt protesters have declared Wednesday their D-Day, claiming they will draw up to 300,000 people from the eastern and northern part of the country.

Those two regions are a stronghold of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, to whom the Red Shirts owe their allegiance.

Thaksin was deposed from power in a coup in 2006, but still wields considerable clout. A party loyal to him, the People Power Party, assumed office in 2007 elections.

Those opposed to Thaksin took to the streets, dressed in yellow shirts and earning the moniker, the "Yellow Shirts."

They staged sit-ins for more than two months last year -- occupying the headquarters of the government and blockading Bangkok's major international airport.

The demonstrations ended December 2 when a court ruled the People Power Party was guilty of electoral fraud.

The move paved the way for Abhisit to assume the prime ministership.

Now, the tables are turned -- with Thaksin supporters demonstrating.

They maintain Abhisit's government was not democratically elected. They want him to leave office and schedule new elections.

Thai protesters demand premier resign

Supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra sit on the road outside the Government House during an anti-government protest in Bangkok February 24, 2009. Thousands of protesters marched on Thailand's seat of government on Tuesday to demand that Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva step down, adding to his troubles as the economy slides into recession. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom

Supporters of an exiled populist prime minister surround a key government building in Bangkok, a move similar to one by their opponents last year that led to the current premier's being chosen.

February 24, 2009
By Charles McDermid and Thammarat Lomthong
Los Angeles Times

Reporting from Bangkok, Thailand -- Thais took their politics back into the streets of Bangkok on Tuesday, with a sea of red-shirted protesters surrounding government headquarters and demanding that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva step down.

The prime minister responded with a pledge to defy the demonstrators by walking through them into Government House.

Protest leader Jatuporn Prompan described the siege as a peaceful protest meant to expose what he described as Thailand's dictatorship in disguise. Members of the United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship, or UDD, known for its red shirts and fierce allegiance to deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, say the 2-month-old Thai administration was not democratically elected.

The UDD is also demanding the prosecution of key figures linked to the yellow-clad People's Alliance for Democracy, or PAD, the group that occupied Bangkok's two airports for eight days in November and December, and for three months occupied the same government compound the UDD now encircles. The two groups have had violent clashes and street battles in the past.

"The real enemy of Thailand is the PAD, the government, the Democrat Party [of Abhisit] and bureaucrats," Jatuporn told the crowd outside Government House. "Today we proved Thailand is run by our UDD."

As the anti-government mob swelled to a reported 20,000, thousands of riot police and soldiers were deployed and barbed-wire barricades erected to keep back the protesters.

The current ruling coalition was formed in December after a court ruling that ousted a pro-Thaksin government. Some feel the coalition is held together only by the political poise of Abhisit, a 44-year-old Oxford-educated economist whose Democrat Party came in second in the most recent balloting at the end of 2007.

The rally came just days before the annual meeting of the 10-member Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations is set to open in Hua Hin, a beach resort about 85 miles southwest of Bangkok, the capital. After Thailand's tumultuous 2008, which included the high-profile PAD protests and a border skirmish with Cambodia, the prestigious event has been viewed as a way to reassure regional allies that Thailand is free from political turmoil.

Abhisit was in Hua Hin on Tuesday to inspect the summit's venue, but has told local media that he intends to return to work at Government House today.

"We will not use violence," Abhisit told reporters. "I am ready to walk into [Government House] as long as there are no weapons."

Thaksin, a flamboyant telecommunications tycoon, remains popular in rural areas on account of his populist programs. He was removed in a 2006 military putsch and now lives in self-imposed exile while facing charges for corruption and abuse of power.

Jatuporn told local media that the UDD would camp outside Government House before marching again to demand the resignation of Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya for his links to the PAD's airport occupations.

McDermid and Lomthong are special correspondents.

Pro-Thaksin Protesters Vow To Block Asean Summit In Thailand

Tuesday January 6th, 2009

BANGKOK (AFP)--Supporters of Thailand's exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra said Tuesday they would hold rallies to block a summit of Southeast Asian nations, but the government brushed off the threat.

Red-clad Thaksin loyalists have held a series of protests since new Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva came to power in mid-December, following a court ruling that removed the former pro-Thaksin government from power.

They have threatened to seal off February's Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean, meeting in protest at the new foreign minister, who was involved in a recent blockade of Bangkok's airports by anti-Thaksin protesters.

"We will write to all nine Asean ambassadors to ask them to convey our message that the red-shirts will not allow Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya to host the Asean meeting," core pro-Thaksin leader Jatuporn Prompan said.

"We will not allow the terrorist Kasit to host the summit. We will mobilize hundreds of thousands to rally to show that the majority of Thai people do not accept him," said Jatuporn, who is also an opposition lawmaker.

The summit was originally due to take place in December but was postponed due to the airport blockade by the yellow-shirted People's Alliance for Democracy protest movement late last year.

The PAD accused the previous government of being a proxy for telecommunications tycoon Thaksin, who was ousted in a military coup in 2006 and currently lives abroad to avoid a jail sentence on corruption charges.

Abhisit's new government has since repeatedly rescheduled the meeting, with the latest unconfirmed dates being in late February.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, who is responsible for national security, quickly dismissed the threat and promised not to move the summit out of Bangkok.

"I am not concerned and insist that the meeting will be held in Bangkok and not moved to Phuket," he said, referring to Thailand's southern tourist island which had been mooted as an alternative venue.

"The red-shirts are trying to make a move, but I don't think it will make Asean members boycott the meeting in Thailand," he said.

Abhisit had hoped to use the delayed summit to regain international confidence after three years of political turmoil in Thailand including the unprecedented shut down of Bangkok's airports.

Asean groups Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Myanmar, Brunei, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.