On Friday September 4, at a Red Shirt press conference, two protesters who were shot and injured during the songkhran crackdown at Din Daeng intersection in the early morning hours of April 13th were presented to the media. One of them was shot in the knee with a 9mm bullet. Sawai Thongom, a mechanic from Surin was shot in the arm by what might have been a round shot from an M16 as the entry wound was very small and the exit wound very large. Both are handicapped, and it is not sure yet to what degree they will recover.
11 responses so far ↓
1 Athita // Sep 6, 2009 at 6:01 pm
1). Did the Government use appropriate procedure to dissolve the protest?
No, the army personnel was deployed instead of riot police.
2). Why?
Because Abhisit didn’t trust the cops.
3). How did they do?
They used the M-16 and other firearms, shooting at the people.
4). The reaction?
Thai public was brain-washed by media again. The point is not how the red-shirt or whoever-wearing-red, did burn the bus, but it is why the Government ordered the army to drive out the tank on the road at first place? To show who is big? To scare off the red-shirt?
5). Thaksin’s behind?
Not at all. It’s the people who were angry at Thai double standard behavior.
And that is the root of the problem.
2 jonfernquest // Sep 6, 2009 at 8:30 pm
“The point is not how the red-shirt or whoever-wearing-red, did burn the bus…”
O really!
The ending of this year’s Songkran disturbances will go down in history as one of the most peaceful and skilled military operations in modern history.
It is a tragedy that these two people were injured but when you compare this with similar military or police actions in other countries or with the massive unexplained deaths of Thaksin’s “war on drugs” that only two protesters were injured is actually proof that the action was successful.
PM Abhisit should be commended for his balancing act.
If we had to rely on the intellectual flip-flop of left-leaning academics there would be absolute anarchy and the economy would grind to a halt.
3 Andy // Sep 7, 2009 at 7:18 am
I’m somewhat suspicious at how long it has taken to produce these casualties. Can their stories be backed up by hospital or doctor reports I wonder?
Even if these are genuine casualties given the circumstances it is amazing that there are so few.
It’s obvious why the police weren’t used, they can’t do anything relliably, this happened just after the Pattaya ASEAN meeting fiasco that the police were meant to protect and failed dismally at doing so.
The army were the ONLY people who could deal with the anarchy on the streets and they did a good job despite being attacked with runaway burning busses and threatened with gas tankers. Who can blame a soldier in this situation from firing to defend himself or his colleagues.
I wonder what these 2 casualties were doing when they got shot. My bet is they fully deserved it.
Where else would you see people happily riding on the APC’s with no fear of the soldiers at all. Doesn’t that say it all?
4 redrobin // Sep 7, 2009 at 1:28 pm
The government strategy worked well. When the Red Shirts were protesting at Pattaya they dressed up military personnel in blue shirts and attacked the peaceful protesters with iron bars, sticks and stones, and slingshot. this caused the expected riot. What happened later at the ASEAN meeting was the result of this attack. Now the government had a good riot going they called a state of emergency and brought out the army and cracked down on the protesters, which was their intention from the beginning.
5 Les Abbey // Sep 7, 2009 at 1:56 pm
But Nick, where are all the bodies? Did anybody ask at the press conference? I won’t embarrass anyone by digging into their Songkran comments.
6 Nick Nostitz // Sep 7, 2009 at 2:48 pm
“Les Abbey”:
Actually, i did ask one of the lawyers. He said that they have evidence which they are yet keeping to themselves.
If there is evidence coming forward or not, we will see. One thing though has been made clear: The government has clearly lied when at the time stating that no real bullets were used against protesters (for anyone who doubted my own experience at Din Daeng).
And when looking at the injured – if indeed there are no dead, it was not for lack of trying. One does not shoot at people without at least accepting that fatalities may occur.
In normal crowd dispersal tactics tear gas (the Chinese canisters have been withdrawn after the sad incidents last October and replaced) and rubber bullets are used in the most extreme case (and the equipment is available in Thailand). And the latter are as effective, yet not as lethal as real bullets.
I can only state what i have stated at the time – i have strong suspicions that there were some dead, but i have so far no proof. It would be highly unlikely if people did not die, and looking at the injuries presented here, my suspicions are only stronger.
Lets wait and see what else comes out.
7 Les Abbey // Sep 7, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Nick, why would the red-shirt’s lawyers keep the evidence to themselves?
So far, after all the claims by red-shirt supporters at the time, we still only know of two locals killed, possibly by red-shirts, and two possible red-shirts killed, possibly by government forces.
Those that were claiming a massacre just made themselves look rather silly. Governments lie? Of course they do. Were real bullets being fired? Most likely. Were troops told to fire into the crowds? Unlikely as we would expect a lot more dead and wounded in that case and recent history shows that is hard to hide, even if bodies are loaded into helicopters and never seen again.
Do the red-shirts/opposition/Thaksin lie? Would be interesting to know who made and who distributed the doctored Abhisit recording wouldn’t it?
8 Nick Nostitz // Sep 7, 2009 at 5:01 pm
“Les Abbey”
I am neither privy to the strategies of the lawyers, not to their information, and neither will i speculate about this.
I have never claimed a “massacre” took place. I have always stated that a have strong suspicions of some dead.
I can’t speak for people who claimed that a “massacre” took place, neither can i speak for the ones that say only fake bullets were used. I report what i see, what i believe to be true, and clearly state when i have no proof for my suspicions.
Yes, it would be interesting to know who has manufactured the tape, and who was the origin of the distribution. Again, i have only suspicions, and not enough evidence for those to voice them in public as they are based on only one source. I will not entertain speculation based on what i would at best describe on circumstantial evidence or pure rumor mongering.
That is all i can say about this.
9 athita // Sep 7, 2009 at 8:43 pm
jonfernquest
I visited the army base at Prachinburi province (east of Bangkok) after last Songkran. Along the road, you would see some forest. It’s dark at night.
Anyway, some of protester at Din Daeng were policemen, and they tried to stop the soldiers to hold their fire.
Two security guards of the Red-Shirt were found dead at Chao Praya river after the protest ended. The cause of death is mysterious.
A man with red-shirt and his girlfriend were dragged off motorcycle and beaten up by followers of Yellow Shirts, they are residents nearby government house.
If you want the truth, do some homework like Mr. Nick. Don’t let the Thai media do homework for you.
10 Les Abbey // Sep 7, 2009 at 9:02 pm
Apologies Nick. I wasn’t firing my rubber bullets at you, just at some of the more hot-headed posters who were so sure hundreds had been killed.
From experience in the Thai courts I can say That Thai lawyers are no more honest than those in the UK or the US. When one of them fails to produce the evidence I think I have the right to be very skeptical.
What I suspect there isn’t much argument about is that the red-shirt leadership and Thaksin in particular were out-smarted by Abhisit and whoever over Songkran. With so many supporters heading back upcountry for the holiday it really wasn’t the time to call for revolution and for the red-shirts to take over the various Bangkok intersections. If it had kicked off a week before or a week later then I suspect you may have got your bodies and a lot more wounded.
11 Nick Nostitz // Sep 7, 2009 at 9:51 pm
“Les Abbey”
No offense taken.
I would apply the same skepticism though also about the claims that there were no dead.
I wouldn’t really say that the Red Shirts were outsmarted by the government. The whole thing was a fuck up on many levels by all, both Red Shirts and government (and i will write about some of that in my next book, i still wait for one or the other bit of information).
One thing though that i have observed – the government did not come out very strong after the Songkran riots (both internationally and locally), and contrary to speculation i have not seen a decrease of support for the Red Shirts here, on contrary – i have seen both organization and mobilization capabilities only increase since Songkran.
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