Here is a new open thread on the latest developments in Bangkok. The most recent incident seems to be a major clash at the Kok Wua intersection as the army pushes to clear Rathadamnoen. Thulsathit reports on twitter that both sides are firing at each other and serious injuries.
[GENERAL WARNING: some of the images and videos linked to in comments are very graphic and disturbing. View with caution.]
106 responses so far ↓
1 Spockusse // Apr 11, 2010 at 12:33 am
Nattawut claims one of the protester died from Kok wua clash, Now UDD have declared war between UDD and the government, No more peace?.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
2 Andrew Walker // Apr 11, 2010 at 12:44 am
From Nirmal Ghosh on twitter: “damn, at internet cafe in kaosan soldiuers are fleeing in here panic all round”
http://twitter.com/karmanomad
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
3 tyrell haberkorn // Apr 11, 2010 at 12:58 am
Just reported via Prachatai’s Facebook page:
20.43 น. ศูนย์เอราวัณรายงานว่ามีผู้บาดเจ็บ 171 ราย ประกอบด้วย ทหาร 55 ราย ตำรวจ 9 ราย พลเรือน 107 ราย ทั้งหมดบาดเจ็บจากเหตุปะทะ แก๊สน้ำตา กระสุนยาง และถูกตี
If http://www.prachatai.net is not working, then use http://www.facebook.com/prachatai [you do not need a facebook account to access the page]
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
4 Andrew Walker // Apr 11, 2010 at 1:07 am
Nation reporters ordered out of war zone.
http://twitter.com/suthichai
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
5 Welcome2Anarchy! // Apr 11, 2010 at 1:09 am
It will be good to see PT back in power again. We already know they are only in it for what they can extort from us
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
6 Andrew Walker // Apr 11, 2010 at 1:09 am
From Bankok Pundit. Col. Sansern: “Troops have retreated to a certain extent. So we hope protesters at the scene will be told to retreat as well.”
http://twitter.com/bangkokpundit
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
7 Spockusse // Apr 11, 2010 at 1:14 am
Nattawut claims there is ceasefire agreement between UDD and the goverment.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
8 patiwat // Apr 11, 2010 at 1:16 am
Less than five minutes ago (a few minutes past 9pm, Bangkok time), an Army spokesman went on TV saying that troops were pulling back.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
9 Jason // Apr 11, 2010 at 1:20 am
NBT reporting that 2 protesters dead in hospital.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
10 Tiptop // Apr 11, 2010 at 1:20 am
Channel 9 confirm someone died at pan fah bridge.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
11 Srithanonchai // Apr 11, 2010 at 1:24 am
Hi Rajada:
Changed Internet shop. Now (2123), message is
ERROR
The requested URL could not be retrieved
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
12 anthapan // Apr 11, 2010 at 1:27 am
From Facebook page of UDDThailand:
UDDThailand (Alert Update) Police and Army troops shoot at other Army troops NOW!
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
13 anthapan // Apr 11, 2010 at 1:30 am
Pick-up truck with red shirts arrived at stage at Pan Fa with corpses wrapped in sheets.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
14 Ratchada // Apr 11, 2010 at 1:30 am
Nathawut was heard giving instructions that the remains of the dead red protester be brought to the stage at Phan Fa. Good idea.
Let the whole world see the brutality of this blood-thirsty regime.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
15 anthapan // Apr 11, 2010 at 1:36 am
Here are the pics:
http://i777.photobucket.com/albums/yy52/gdt_2010/Picture5.png
http://i777.photobucket.com/albums/yy52/gdt_2010/Picture4-2.png
http://i777.photobucket.com/albums/yy52/gdt_2010/Picture3-1.png
http://i777.photobucket.com/albums/yy52/gdt_2010/Picture1-1.png
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
16 Welcome2Anarchy! // Apr 11, 2010 at 1:36 am
“Lek // Apr 11, 2010 at 12:48 am
If you turned to Thai TV shortly before 8PM tonight, you’d have seen two soap operas, one game shows, one talk show about food, a tennis match, and the official ceremony welcoming a Thai royal visitor to Berlin. Of eight TV channels on the satellite feed , one channel dif feature two ladies in pink blouses bouncing “kahs’ off each other, reading furiously from approved scripts, without a single video or photo. I have seen better new coverage in Burma.”
Sounds rather like still life in the Shinawatra home theater by the sounds of things. So what did you do today, Maew? Oh, just encouraged off-duty policemen to shoot a few thousand low-rent punks in the back. Pathongtae has to be protected!
All forgotten now of course. Even Lek can’t wait to sweep it under the carpet.
You haven’t seen ANY coverage from Burma!
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
17 Spockusse // Apr 11, 2010 at 1:36 am
anthapan // Apr 11, 2010 at 1:27 am
From Facebook page of UDDThailand:
UDDThailand (Alert Update) Police and Army troops shoot at other Army troops NOW!
UDD supporter said it was mistaken, Army intended to shoot at red shirt but bullets just hit wrong targets.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
18 Anitchang // Apr 11, 2010 at 1:37 am
From Twitter
http://twitter.com/journotopia
# French photographer tells me she saw troops open fire on medics trying to evacuate wounded. vor 1 Minute via mobile web
# Shooting continues even as ambulances arrive to take away the injured. vor 16 Minuten via mobile web
# Colleague says he saw one man shot in the groin. The tarmac around Democracy Monument spattered with blood. vor 16 Minuten via mobile web
# The Royal Thai Army is killing its people. Again. vor 18 Minuten via mobile web
# Eyewitness reports of other injuries. Soldier dead or near dead. Man with brain blown out. vor 19 Minuten via mobile web
# People are dying now. Just saw a red shirt, looking very dead, taken away in ambulance. vor 20 Minuten via mobile web
# Cars and buildings in Khao San riddled with bullet holes. vor 26 Minuten via mobile web
# Barricades going up at Khao San. Reds preparing for soldiers’ return. Several pools of blood on road. vor 27 Minuten via mobile web
# Don’t listen to bland Thai govt reassuarances. Khao San is a dangerous place. I’ve seen 2 tourists with injuries. vor 41 Minuten via mobile web
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
19 anthapan // Apr 11, 2010 at 1:40 am
Nice work Abhisit, all this because you’re afraid of an election…
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
20 Jason // Apr 11, 2010 at 1:42 am
UDDThailand facebook page has pictures of the dead RedShirts. Warning – EXTREMELY GRAPHIC.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
21 The Frog // Apr 11, 2010 at 1:42 am
Five people killed? (bangkokpundit’s twitter)
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
22 Jason // Apr 11, 2010 at 1:46 am
via Tulsie – director of Hua Chiew Hospital – five dead including a Japanese reporter from Reuters – shot in the chest
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
23 The Frog // Apr 11, 2010 at 1:47 am
Including a reporter???
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
24 The Frog // Apr 11, 2010 at 1:48 am
Photos of the dead on UDD facebook site: http://www.facebook.com/UDDThailand#!/UDDThailand?v=wall Be warned, VERY graphic content…
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
25 Srithanonchai // Apr 11, 2010 at 1:48 am
#16
And when the Thai government at that time tried to enforce a court order to clear Makawan Bridge and Government House of the PAD protestors, opposition leader Abhisit went there supposedly very upset to comfort the victims of the government’s “brutality.” I wonder what word Prime Minister Abhisit will use now.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
26 Welcome2Anarchy! // Apr 11, 2010 at 1:48 am
‘Ratchada // Apr 11, 2010 at 1:30 am
Nathawut was heard giving instructions that the remains of the dead red protester be brought to the stage at Phan Fa. Good idea.
Let the whole world see the brutality of this blood-thirsty regime.”
Did you do anything when Thaksin encouraged the police to shoot several thousand people in the back? Yes, of course you did! You applauded without even giving it a single thought as to whether any of them were actually guilty or not. These drug-dealers are nasty people. (Especially when they are aware that a lot of VIPS are also complicit in the trade.) And the world never really did get to hear about THAT blood-thirsty regime. I’m not sure the world cares anyway. They’ve heard it all before from Thailand, and have pretty much concluded that it’s pointless getting upset over something the locals will conveniently forget over the space of 3 days during Songkram.
Thaksin has said that he wants it over by then. wonder why Ratchada?
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
27 Somchai // Apr 11, 2010 at 1:49 am
10 เมษา. 2553 20:32 น.
เมื่อเวลา 20.25 น. ผู้สื่อข่าวรายงานว่าบริเวณสี่แยกคอกวัว มีการปะทะกันระหว่างเจ้าหน้าที่ตำรวจกับกลุ่มผู้ชุมนุม โดยกลุ่มผู้ชุมนุมได้ปาระเบิดเข้าใส่ทหารได้รับบาดเจ็บหลายราย ขณะเดียวกันต่อมากลุ่มทหารได้ใช้ปืนยิงเข้าใส่กลุ่มผู้ชุมนุมโดยตรงและไม่ยิงขึ้นฟ้าเหมือนเดิม ปรากฎว่ามีผู้บาดเจ็บหลายราย ถูกยิงเข้าขา ทั้งหญิงชาย ขณะนี้กำลังนำตัวส่งโรงพยาบาลเช่นกัน อย่างไรก็ตามเสียงระเบิดและเสียงปืนได้ดังขึ้นอย่างต่อเนื่อง ขณะนี้ไม่ทราบว่า ระเบิดและปืนดังมาจากฝ่ายไหน เนื่องจากดังขึ้นทั่วบริเวณ เป็นเหตุให้สือมวลชนถูกกักบริเวณไปอยู่ยังอีกที่ๆปลอดภัย แต่ก็ใกล้เคียงระเบิดซึ่งตกอยู่โดยรอบการปะทะ
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
28 Welcome2Anarchy! // Apr 11, 2010 at 1:52 am
“anthapan // Apr 11, 2010 at 1:40 am
Nice work Abhisit, all this because you’re afraid of an election…”
Nice try Anthapan. All this because Mr Moneybags wants his assets back …..
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
29 Athita // Apr 11, 2010 at 1:53 am
Reuters’s reporter is reported by Nuttawut, is now dead at the hospital. @ 10 p.m. local time
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
30 Spockusse // Apr 11, 2010 at 1:53 am
They control all Media in Thailand but not social network and international journalist. They not gonna come clean like last year again cuz that day there were no one report the clash at Dindang.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
31 George // Apr 11, 2010 at 1:53 am
9:50PM Bangkok Saturday April 10th:
Report that Japanese reporter has been killed in the clashes.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
32 George // Apr 11, 2010 at 1:56 am
9:30PM Bangkok April 1oth Saturday:
From Prachatai, report of deaths in Bangkok, possible cease fire:
21.39 Two dead bodies of red shirts have been brought on the stage at Phan Fah
21.19 Red shirts leaders announced another death, Wasant Phuthong and that the fight has come to an end. They asked the military to stop shooting the people.
21.10 Nuttawut Saikua announced on Phan Fah stage that Kobsak Sapawasu, PM’s Secretary, informed him that the military was ordered to ceasefire. Nuttawut asked the red shirts to retreat from clash sites.
21.10 Prachatai reporter from Kok Wua intersection reported that two foreign tourists were injured by soldiers. One was shot at the chest after having shouted ‘Fuck You!’ to the soldiers. They have been sent to hospital.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
33 George // Apr 11, 2010 at 1:59 am
9:30PM Bangkok Saturday Evening April 10th:
Report from eyewitness that traveling from Chidlom to Phan Fah area was striking: redshirts control many intersections along that route.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
34 George // Apr 11, 2010 at 2:01 am
9:50PM Bangkok Saturday Evening April 10th:
Report dead Japanese Reuters reporter, Hiroyuki Miramoto, shot in the chest.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
35 George // Apr 11, 2010 at 2:05 am
9:50PM Bangkok April 10th Saturday Night:
Thai government sponsored TV station TBS reports 5 civilians killed; 4 shot and one clubbed to death.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
36 anthapan // Apr 11, 2010 at 2:06 am
“Nice try Anthapan. All this because Mr Moneybags wants his assets back …..”
Sure, it was Thaksin who ordered these people killed — like in 1973, 1976, and 1992.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
37 MediaWar // Apr 11, 2010 at 2:06 am
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
38 patiwat // Apr 11, 2010 at 2:07 am
One of the security forces spreading leaflets by helicopter was shot in the leg! “Friendly fire is most accurate”
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
39 Spockusse // Apr 11, 2010 at 2:07 am
Welcome2Anarchy!
Oh yeah, it’s all about money politics again what a cult!!!
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
40 Andrew Walker // Apr 11, 2010 at 2:07 am
Apologies, but I have to get some sleep. It may be a few hours before the next comments appear.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
41 Welcome2Anarchy! // Apr 11, 2010 at 2:08 am
“Srithanonchai // Apr 11, 2010 at 1:48 am
#16
And when the Thai government at that time tried to enforce a court order to clear Makawan Bridge and Government House of the PAD protestors, opposition leader Abhisit went there supposedly very upset to comfort the victims of the government’s “brutality.” I wonder what word Prime Minister Abhisit will use now.”
Try twittering him to find out. But if he copied a few of the Red Shirt excuses, he wouldn’t go too far wrong. We are all very aware that almost all Thai politicians are worse than a waste of space. I wonder if you can disprove that Srithanonchai?
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
42 George // Apr 11, 2010 at 2:08 am
9:40PM Bangkok Saturday Evening April 10th:
Bangkok Post reports General Prayuth, direct Commander of Military Crackdown in Bangkok today, Insists Red Shirt must abandon their positions. Deputy Prime Minister Korbsak assigned to negotiate ceasefire.
Published: 10/04/2010 at 09:41 PM BANGKOK POST
————————————————
Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha, deputy army chief, sounded worry that several securities personnel were injured in the clash with the red shirts.
In a telephone interview, Gen Prayuth who was assigend by Gen Anupong to supervise the securities personnel, insisted that the demonstrators must obey the law and must leave the area, returning the country to normalcy.
In another development, the government assigned deputy prime minister Korbsak Sabhavasu to talk with the UDD leaders to resolve the situation.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
43 George // Apr 11, 2010 at 2:12 am
10PM Bangkok Saturday Evening April 10th:
Photo of dead red demonstrator wrapped in Thailand flag……..
http://twitpic.com/1eks1m
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
44 George // Apr 11, 2010 at 2:14 am
10PM Bangkok Saturday Evening April 10th:
Report of Thai soldiers shooting two foreign tourists. One was shot in the chest after shouting ‘Fuck You!’ to soldiers.”
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
45 Ratchada // Apr 11, 2010 at 2:14 am
Latest report said two red shirts (maybe more) have been shot dead in the chest. Tomorrow the international press will be enraged too because one Japanese journalist is also reported dead. One friend living near the temple in that area said the sound of gunfire was like the Iraq war.
Funnily, one moron cannot control himself and tried to intrude into this forum by blaming Thaksin. My goodness, but let him continue posting because he is alone and can be ignored.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
46 George // Apr 11, 2010 at 2:15 am
10PM Bangkok April 10th Saturday Night:
Report eyewitness cars and buildings in Khao San riddled with bullet holes.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
47 George // Apr 11, 2010 at 2:16 am
10PM Bangkok Saturday Night April 10th:
Report Huroyuki Muramoto is the name of the Japanese reporter killed by Thai soldiers today in Bangkok.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
48 MediaWar // Apr 11, 2010 at 2:17 am
Red-shirts celebrate 2010 Thai New Year Songkran “water festival” … under water cannons !
(from BBC video)
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
49 patiwat // Apr 11, 2010 at 2:19 am
Yellow shirts are trying to have Facebook delete photos showing the UDD dead (http://www.facebook.com/UDDThailand?v=photos <– warning, EXTREMELY GRAPHIC).
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
50 The Frog // Apr 11, 2010 at 2:19 am
It was all so jockular before.
“Where the King’s photos used to be, just empty golden frames — held up by scaffolding.” from Journotopia
Not sure what to say. Feel horrible about the UDD facebook page.
Apparently 4 soldiers dead now.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
51 George // Apr 11, 2010 at 2:19 am
9:30PM Bangkok Saturday Night April 10th:
Report from Hua Chiew Hospital Director that One Hundred may have been injured and brought to his hospital.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
52 Apr 10 Updated: Role of Thai MSM in social unrest; govt curbs alternative media « Media War // Apr 11, 2010 at 2:20 am
[...] [...]
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
53 Welcome2Anarchy! // Apr 11, 2010 at 2:23 am
“Oh yeah, it’s all about money politics again what a cult!!!”
Try disproving it and you will soon realize you are wasting your time.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
54 George // Apr 11, 2010 at 2:23 am
10:15PM Bangkok Saturday Night April 10th:
Report it might still be possible to get live video from UDD TV at http://www.uddthai.com
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
55 George // Apr 11, 2010 at 2:28 am
10:20PM Bangkok Saturday Night April 10th:
Report from pro-government newspaper THE NATION Erawan Emergency Medical Center has announced 486 people were injured from clashes and 8 killed. Unclear if they are referring to all of Bangkok or just their own Medical Center.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
56 George // Apr 11, 2010 at 2:31 am
10:25PM Bangkok Saturday Evening April 10th:
Report from Vachira, Mission, General and Hau Chiew hospitals have stopped admitting patients due to full capacity.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
57 Mungo Gubbins // Apr 11, 2010 at 2:32 am
So now Thaksin and the leftist ideologues now have the martyrs they so desperately craved. The gleeful outpouring of righteous indignation will undoubtedly commence before the corpses are even cold. Words fail me in my efforts to express my revulsion and contempt.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
58 George // Apr 11, 2010 at 2:39 am
10:30PM Bangkok Saturday Night April 10th:
Thailand’s Ch5 government controlled TVsays there are no deaths among UDD protestors today in Bangkok.
Minister of Information Panitan would be very proud that they are refusing to broadcast any “wrong” information that would “hurt the feelings” of the “Thai people”.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
59 George // Apr 11, 2010 at 2:52 am
10:45PM Bangkok Saturday Night April 10th:
Photo of two dead red demonstrators on the stage at the main Shopping Center Site….
http://twitpic.com/1elbjl
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
60 George // Apr 11, 2010 at 3:04 am
11PM Bangkok Saturday Night April 10th:
Report from government controlled TV channel 3 that 3 soldiers are dead so far.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
61 George // Apr 11, 2010 at 3:25 am
11PM Bangkok Saturday Night April 10th:
Report from the government-biased THE NATION on Government Troops Retreat and Informal Cease-Fire and Prime Minister’s Secretary General Korbsak Assigned to Negotiate with Red Demonstrators
——————————————————–
The government has assigned PM’s Secretary General Korbsak Sapavasu to negotiate with red shirts’ leaders as clashes between soldiers and protesters continued.
Emergency Operations Command’s spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said at 9pm that Korbsak will seek ceasing of all actions by both sides.
“We believe that at the moment, negotiation is needed to prevent further damage to properties and lives of both sides,” he said.
He said the soldiers and police have strictly followed the rules by starting the countering measures from using shields, water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets.
However the protesters have used all means particularly explosives, guns and rifles, which caused the injuries. He also accused them of firing live rounds and throwing grenades during the fighting.
“The security forces have now retreated to a certain extent from the red shirts,” Sansern said.
The Command did not want to retaliate as the move will certainly cause more violence and more damage to the country.
In a national television Saturday night Sansern asked the protesters to retreat, saying the negotiation with the protesters “to bring back peace” and urged them to back away to avoid more violence.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
62 George // Apr 11, 2010 at 3:32 am
11:20PM Bangkok Saturday Night April 10th:
Prime Minister Abhisit on Thai TV apologizing for loss of life in Bangkok today……
——————————————————————-
…well, it’s “nice” to apologize for the loss of life but how about apologizing for his own and his government’s colossal mis-judgement in initiating such an extremely violent crackdown at 2PM Saturday afternoon against a more or less unarmed and relatively peaceful group of Thai citizens demonstrating in an otherwise relatively peaceful Bangkok?
…and how about offering to resign in disgrace, dissolve the Parliament and call for new elections which his party, the so-called “Democrat Party” will agree to respect and accept.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
63 George // Apr 11, 2010 at 3:34 am
11:30PM Bangkok Saturday Night April 10th:
Government sponsored TV Station TBS now TBS TV reporting 11 deaths in Bangkok street battles today.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
64 George // Apr 11, 2010 at 3:45 am
11:30PM Bangkok Saturday Night April 10th:
Prime Minister Abhisit on Thai TV does not apologize for ordering the extremely violent but totally failed crackdown Saturday afternoon in Bangkok.
He does not announce his resignation.
He does not agree to dissolve Parliament and hold new elections.
Instead he says his unelected government must not lose this battle and that the Redshirts insult all the “institutions” (Thai code for the Red Shirts are against the King)
——————————————————
For a Prime Minister who had just caused hundreds of people to be injured, some people killed and a massive loss and damage to property in Bangkok on an otherwise quiet Saturday afternoon and evening, he gave the appearance of being remarkably indifferent and intransigent……..
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
65 George // Apr 11, 2010 at 3:52 am
UK Times article on Saturday’s events in Bangkok:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article7094179.ece
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
66 George // Apr 11, 2010 at 3:55 am
New York Times on Saturday’s events in Bangkok:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/world/asia/11thai.html
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
67 George // Apr 11, 2010 at 3:56 am
Singapore Straits Times on Saturday’s events in Bangkok:
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_513038.html
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
68 George // Apr 11, 2010 at 3:57 am
TIME Magazine on Saturday’s events in Bangkok:
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1981059,00.html?xid=rss-topstories
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
69 George // Apr 11, 2010 at 3:59 am
The UK Financial Times on Saturday’s events in Bangkok:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fef69a0a-4495-11df-9615-00144feab49a.html
——————————————————————
Thai troops open fire on red-shirt protesters
By Tim Johnston in Bangkok
Published: April 10 2010 14:16 | Last updated: April 10 2010 16:57
Eight people were killed and more than 500 people were injured in the Thai capital Bangkok on Saturday when security forces and anti-government demonstrators fought running street battles after troops tried to end more than a month of protests.
More than six hours of clashes in the heart of old Bangkok came to an end long after dark when the head of the army called off the assault, dealing a further blow to the authority of Abhisit Vejjajiva, the increasingly beleaguered prime minister.
Troops used live rounds, tear gas and baton charges in their unsuccessful attempt to shift the red-shirted demonstrators from the streets surrounding Phan Fah Bridge. The protesters responded with a hail of petrol bombs, rocks, water bottles, and – according to the security forces – gunshots.
Malinee Sukavrejworakit, the deputy governor of Bangkok, said that four soldiers and four protesters had died in the clashes. There were also unconfirmed reports that a Japanese television cameraman had died.
Late on Saturday night, the army said it was pulling back to avoid more bloodshed.
“If this continues, if the army responds to the red shirts, violence will expand,” Mr Sansern said.
The protesters have been demonstrating for a month in support of their demand for the resignation of Mr Abhisit, who came to power in a controversial parliamentary vote 16 months ago. The prime minister had offered to resign in nine months, but the protesters had insisted on a deadline of 15 days.
On Saturday night, the emboldened leaders of the protests increased their demands.
“We are changing our demand from dissolving parliament in 15 days to dissolving parliament immediately,” Veera Musikapong, one of the leaders, told a cheering crowd on Saturday night. “And we call for Abhisit to leave the country immediately.”
The bloodshed and the failed attempt to clear Phan Fah – the smaller of two protest sites being occupied by the red shirts – will leave Mr Abhisit severely weakened.
Saturday’s move against the Phan Fah site came a day after security forces were humiliated by a crowd which forced them to give up a satellite uplink station they were guarding on the outskirts of the city, giving extra impetus to the demonstration.
There is a deep taboo in Thai political culture against government forces shedding the blood of protesters. The violence and death on Saturday evening will be read by many voters as further undermining his right to run the country.
Mr Abhisit came to power vowing to unite a country that has been deeply divided since Thaksin Shinwatra, the populist prime minister beloved of the country’s legions of impoverished rural farmers, was removed in a military coup in 2006.
But the divisions have grown. Mr Thaksin, who currently lives in exile to avoid a two-year sentence for corruption, has repeatedly called on his supporters to undermine the government, and many protesters blame Mr Abhisit for the country’s economic problems, which are largely the result of the global crisis.
The demonstrations started at the Phan Fah Bridge a month ago, but the stakes were raised at the beginning of last week, when the bulk of the protesters took over the key Rachaprasong intersection in the centre of the city, shutting down some of the country’s biggest shopping malls, disrupting trade for half a dozen five-star hotels and adding to Bangkok’s already severe traffic woes.
Groups of police in riot gear gathered around the fringes of the Ratchaprasong demonstration site on Saturday but did not attempt to advance against the crowds.
The news of the assault has mobilised red-shirt supporters in other parts of the country, with protesters breaking into a local government office in the town of Udon Thani, in the country’s northeast, and of crowds gathering in the northern city of Chiang Mai.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
70 Zaw Tun // Apr 11, 2010 at 4:17 am
this is a pretty pathetic website. thank god i wasn’t admitted to ANU. you all claim to be experts of democracy and understand democracy and i am just speechless to read what many of you have written.
there are underlying problems in Thai society that needs to be addressed. But what the Reds are doing is to get Thaksin’s 46 billion back and bring him back to Thailand as a dictator.
You all should be ashamed of yourself in not trying to be honest with yourselves and try to address the issue of the rich and poor gap and try to educate the rural population of what democracy really is instead of rallying for the person who considers himself created democracy and owns it. Yeah, I am talking about Thaksin. He was just a dictator when he was in power. If you have have the brain, you could have figured it out yourself.
God, have you all forgotten what Thaksin did to the judiciary and the media and all those other government institutions when he was in power????
And I am especially disappointed with Thais who have contributed on this, who considers the red movement will solve all the problems in Thailand. Well, it has to do with arrogance of Thais and non-Thais alike, just like Thaksin considers himself as the last savior of Thailand.
You people are so much more educated than the regular Thais, why don’t you consult your lawyers or suggest Thaksin to do something legally either at ICJ or ICC. Many of you believe that the Thai courts are biased and stand with the elite. Well, you do have an alternative. Go international and shame this current government and see how the international bodies will respond to your requests.
Good luck everyone.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
71 George // Apr 11, 2010 at 4:18 am
Bangkok Sunday Morning 12:1oAM April 11th:
Erawan Medical Center reports that on Saturday in Bangkok 678 people were injured and 11 people killed. two soldiers and nine civilians.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
72 George // Apr 11, 2010 at 4:21 am
BBC report on Saturday’s events in Bangkok:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8612783.stm
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
73 Zaw Tun // Apr 11, 2010 at 5:38 am
@ patiwat, i have been out of burma since i was 18 because i thoroughly despised the military. and i have been working in the burmese democratic movement since then. i have no qualms about not getting accepted into ANU because there are better schools that i can go to where my background and what i have done all my adult life would be appreciated.
i have unfanned myself from UDD Thailand and thus can’t reply what you have said. it is a democracy patiwat, i can have my own opinion in a civilized manner and we can all agree to disagree. if that is not how you perceive it, then it is too bad.
but the facts are out there about the sincerity of the red movement and who bankrolls the whole thing. you will of course disagree with me but i have seen enough and i know what it really is.
i have nothing more to say than “i feel terribly sorry that many intellectual thais got so hung up on the military and the elite and missing the whole point here”.
like i have said, i recognize the problems in thai society, and it has to be solved by the whole thai society. not buy thaksin or a bunch of people in red shirts.
don’t live in a nutshell patiwat.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
74 chris beale // Apr 11, 2010 at 6:25 am
Zaw Tun #69 – with your pathetic prejudices, you’d never stand a chance of qualifying to enter ANU, ranked 16th top university in the world.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
75 Leeyiankun // Apr 11, 2010 at 6:42 am
Zaw Tun, please take your opinion elsewhere. I came here for news update, not your babble. If you don’t have the decency to post NEWs, then you should just go.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
76 Tiptop // Apr 11, 2010 at 6:49 am
Zaw Tun: most reds don’t care about Thaksin, all this is not really about him anymore.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
77 Bh. V. // Apr 11, 2010 at 7:02 am
Dear Zaw Tun,
I, for one, and listening seriously to your message, which is perhaps somewhat garbled by ANU moderator. Or maybe not
So glad, too, that New Mandala is not some Internet-age university of the air that is collecting tuition fees from the netizens. They might make lots of money.
“I am talking about Thaksin. He was just a dictator when he was in power. ”
Fortunately or unfortunately, my impression is that most New Mandala readers would agree. They might add a footnote of several pages-length, but they seem to agree.
“God, have you all forgotten what Thaksin did to the judiciary and the media and all those other government institutions when he was in power???? ”
No, alas. Nobody forgot.
Please contribute often to share your ideas.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
78 Tarrin // Apr 11, 2010 at 7:04 am
Zaw Tun and Welcom2Anarchy
Both of you need to get a life and stop talking about Thaksin.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
79 Justin Alick // Apr 11, 2010 at 7:36 am
I have just returned from the Pan Fa Bridge, after deciding to go and get a dose of reality on what I had been reading and writing about all day.
For starters, it was impossible to get close to in a taxi- since the Army retreat the Red Shirt guards have pushed out their perimeter and checkpoints a good three blocks or so, and the roads leading into it was jammed up with tens of thousands of protesters and sympathisers who had come to join the massive crowd already there.
Walking toward the protest, I noticed that there was a feeling of defiance in the air, but also weariness. All those walking back in the other direction looked extremely tired, and many were covered in grime, if not cuts and bruises. I also noticed here and there individuals (as well as an entire family, children included) who appeared to have “souvenired” some police helmets, riot shields and batons somewhere along the way.
I arrived at the stage area just in time for the commencement of a very moving commemoration for the dead, some of whom were physically present on stage, draped in Thai flags. Their names (including that of the Japanese journalist) were called out, and they were all hailed as heroes. The UDD leaders appeared to prostrate themselves before the bodies while monks chanted (and the crowd responded in unison) and people filed past before the stage to pay their respects.
All the while, Red Shirt guards were bringing in seized weapons, including a machine gun heavy enough that it could almost be classified as light artillery (and which I would later discover the origin of), and were piling them up on the corner of the stage. It is worth noting that the protesters have seized weapons before from the police and military during previous clashes. At one point they actually seized a prized LRAD sound weapon mounted atop a Humvee. In those cases they returned the weapons after agreements had been reached with the military. I realised that they would not be returned in this case.
I then began moving through the crowd (which by then had expanded to at least 50 000 in the immediate vicinity alone) toward Democracy Monument, remembering that it was in that area that some of the worst fighting had been reported. The Monument itself had been wrapped in red cloth, a powerful image if I ever saw one. But nothing could prepare me for what I saw next:
A column of Armoured Personnel Carriers extending into one of the side streets. Swarming all over them were hundreds of red shirts, who were literally tearing them to pieces with their bare hands. Occasionally, they would stop so a middle-class Bangkok family could come and pose in front of the APC’s, perhaps lifting their children up on top for a better shot, but it wasn’t long until the demolitions began again in earnest.
At one point, a smiling local offered me “a chair from a Thai tank.” It was a truly amazing scene, and thankfully I wasn’t alone to witness it: hundreds of tourists from Khao San were capturing every second on their expensive cameras mine, (mine unfortunately, wasn’t working.)
I talked to one English backpacker who looked a little too pale, and he told me that he had seen someone shot in the head in front of him and had captured it all on film.
But one didn’t need video evidence to know that violence had taken place there. The doors of all the shop-houses up and down the streets were riddled with the dents of rubber bullets. The streets themselves had been transformed into a mosaic of broken glass, stones and other debris. And then there was the blood.
The spots in which people had been killed had been transformed into shrines, fenced off, already littered with money, food and other offerings, and with Red Shirt storytellers on hand to relate to the sightseers the epic tale of their final hours. Being a hot country, the blood had not even congealed yet, and was sitting on the ground for everyone to plainly see.
There were more shrines and pools of blood at the entry to the haven of bohemians the world over, Khao San Rd. itself. That image of the road- the most desolate and empty I have ever seen it, blocked off by bullethole-ridden vehicles and makeshift barricades, will never leave my head, and nor would the sight of the bewildered tourists picking their way through the rubble, pulling their suitcases along behind them, clearly having gotten off the plane only hours earlier and wondering just what they had gotten themselves into.
The biggest shock of the night, however, was the missing portraits. You know the ones I mean. (Apologies, but I am writing this from inside Thailand and do not feel like a Computer Crimes charge.) The ones that you can see at least 3 of no matter which direction you look in while you are in the Old City. They had been taken down, leaving behind only empty frames and wooden scaffolding.
I dare not speculate what might have been the reason for this- I’ll leave that to you- but I will add that the massive golden banner with his face that usually hangs across the face of one of the buildings had been replaced by a purple one with a with his daughter on it.
By that time, rumours were spreading like wildfire that a coup and crackdown by the hardliners was imminent, so we decided it was time to go home. On the way, the Red Shirt roadblock warned our taxi driver that soldiers were incoming- and sure enough, they were everywhere to be seen along the sidestreets and back alleys from Dusit all the way to Victory Monument, looking hot and bothered and still carrying their M16′s.
So, that’s all for tonight. Returned home feeling very strange about having stepped into a moment in history that Thailand seems all too fond of revisiting. I hope for the countries sake that the Red Shirts get the change they are seeking. No other resistance in Thai history has ever accomplished what they have tonight. And I hope that noone will ever need to do the same again.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
80 not afraid // Apr 11, 2010 at 8:24 am
WILL HER MAJESTY ATTEND THE FUNERALS OUT OF DEEP LOVE FOR HER PEOPLE? YES OR NO?
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
81 patiwat // Apr 11, 2010 at 8:44 am
Excellent post, Justin. Hope those tourists post their photos soon, and the red cloud picks them up.
The degree of hatred among the elite in Bangkok is incredible. The crackdown and rumors that protesters will commit regicide are causing dozens of friends to call for more Red blood to be shed. It’s deeply disturbing. The tone of the messages to Abhisit’s fan page has gotten much uglier. If this continues, I fear that 6 October 2010 might be coming sooner than expected.
(don’t feed the trolls)
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
82 MediaWar // Apr 11, 2010 at 8:57 am
here are some comments on how Thai reporter(s) distort/ omit/ mistranslate ALREADY distorted things – as, in this case, the version presented by Abhisit in his speech.
thus someone has already rightly pointed out :
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
83 George // Apr 11, 2010 at 2:06 pm
Singapore Straits Times eyewitness account of last night in Bangkok by their astute correspondent Nirmal Ghosh:
http://bit.ly/9lJFBu
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
84 anthapan // Apr 11, 2010 at 2:38 pm
This is how Bangkok Post journalist Don Sambandaraksa responded to the reports of deaths on his twitter page last night (twitter.com/smartbrain):
RT @fishmyman: @smartbrain Are you happy now? that the reds have died? < Oh, I am elated, but I'm a bit busy on my Playstation now.
This is the Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/smartbrain?ref=ts
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
85 Tarrin // Apr 11, 2010 at 2:54 pm
I took this clip about 1:30 am of Sunday 11th, the person who was crying was the brother of the death person.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrcQia4RRZc
Warning Graphic!
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
86 Steve // Apr 11, 2010 at 3:45 pm
The most charitable thing I can say about Robert Horn’s “Time” piece ( http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1981059,00.html?xid=rss-topstories ) is that it shows all the signs of having been written in The Nation’s “news” room.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
87 Tom // Apr 11, 2010 at 4:20 pm
“When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty
-Thomas Jefferson”
The present Yellows shirt government and its propaganda machine, the Yellow media, are tyrants.
Nearly all media outlets in Thailand are under Yellow/Army control or influence.
Luckily Thailand is full of tourists with camera’s and video equipment, otherwise the truth would not get out. I have seen a more “free” press in Burma than presently is in Thailand.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
88 Srithanonchai // Apr 11, 2010 at 5:03 pm
When I left the Internet shop in my soi yesterday evening, there was an Australian living here sitting on the steps of a shop with a glass of beer. He uttered, “Now, finally something positive has happened.” My response of “Are nine dead positive?” earned me the politically sophisticated statement of “These fukin’ reds, kill them all.”
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
89 Andrew Walker // Apr 11, 2010 at 5:07 pm
“As for “third element’ -the M79 attack that killed a colonel/wounded a maj general overseeing the operations is prime cause of my suspicion.” From http://twitter.com/tulsathit
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
90 Srithanonchai // Apr 11, 2010 at 5:14 pm
# 41
Welcome2Anarchy
You seem to possess a highly sophisticated political mind. I have no way of telling whether it is with or without the intake of some alcoholic beverages…
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
91 Zaw Tun // Apr 11, 2010 at 5:15 pm
chris beale #74, thanks a lot for educating me. it was priceless.
leeyiakun #75, i thought this was a forum where people post their opinions, i am terribly sorry if this is exclusively news.
tiptop #76, thaksin bankrolls the whole red movement and you are telling me reds don’t care about thaksin???? i would be very disappointed if i am someone who bankrolls the whole thing. i would not say more.
tarrin #78, thaksin is the root cause of this mayhem taking place in thailand right this minute.
Bh V #77, if i can’t have an intelligent argument/debate where every side can present the facts to determine the right/wrong of a case presented by neutrals, i don’t suppose it is a fair or proper debate. thus, i am leaving this forum and would not make any more comments.
if any of you have any qualms about what i have said here, my email is zaw.tun@live.com
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
92 Andrew Walker // Apr 11, 2010 at 5:26 pm
Detailed account by Nirmal Ghosh here: http://blogs.straitstimes.com/2010/4/11/spiral-of-violence
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
93 Tarrin // Apr 11, 2010 at 5:51 pm
Zaw Tun – if you says that Thaksin is the cause of all this, it get to shows how little you know about Thailand’s history.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
94 laoguy // Apr 11, 2010 at 5:58 pm
Srithanonchai #88 If the identification is correct that he was Australian then
he was obviously a professor of political science.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
95 Srithanonchai // Apr 11, 2010 at 7:27 pm
Laoguy #94
Oh, common — the Australian professors of political science are not thaaaat bad!
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
96 Tom // Apr 11, 2010 at 8:06 pm
These are worrying times.
The government is under the control of Yellow, the courts are under the control of Yellow, the majority of the media is under the control of Yellow and is this situation there are now no “checks and balances” in Thailand.
I am very worried that the government has followed a strategy here.
Firstly taking out all opposition media outlets.
Secondly, invoking an amount of violence to scare people and also killing one and injuring other journalists/tourists to keep them scared too.
The last thing the government wants is lots of camera’s and video’s taking evidence that they cannot control.
There will be a lull whilst all sorts of finger pointing goes on and whilst the Yellow side manipulates and manufactures things to “prove” it was all the reds doing.
I worry now that we will see the use of “false flag” tactics to swing the situation around.
I would not be surprised to see a number of solidiers sacrified in order to swing attention back to the bad reds, as opposed to bad government forces.
Will we see a deliberate “ambush” of 50 or 100 uniformed solidiers, carried out by other solidiers out of uniform for the covert ops, in order to give the government the boost they need ?
They would likely love to headline something like “mass murder of solidiers”t, and given the Elites disregard for the commoners life, it would not be surprising now to see a staged slaughter of some troops.
If anyone should be worried, it should be the solidiers now as very likely some poor ‘privates” could well get thrown to the lions “for the greater good of the Yellow cause”…….
The government seems very keen on another round of violence, given the threats and warrants against the Reds you can hardly expect them to negotiate with the big Yellow controlled judicial stick waiting to smack them.
I fear the military will now carry out a “false flag” attack, watch carefully.
Anyone there keep taking photo’s and videos as deliberate violence on either side must be stopped and prevented where possible !
This government was formed by a court ruling and a parliamentary coup, it is illegitmate in the eyes of the Thai population. Why do they not simply accept that and have an election ? Are they really so greedy ? Or do they have something to hide ?
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
97 Tiptop // Apr 11, 2010 at 8:09 pm
Zaw Tun: I didn’t say Thaksin didn’t care about the red movement, it’s obviously in his interest that the reds win. I said most reds don’t care so much about him, and if you spoke with many of them you would know that too. Go on the rally sites, speak with people, and make you own judgement regarding their motives (no, it’s not money either).
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
98 Of Course I'm Anonymous // Apr 11, 2010 at 9:35 pm
My friends talk about how the “puppet-master” is behind all of this. But I was surprised (even though I shouldn’t have been) to learn that they think the puppet-master is Thaksin.
On a completely different note: what are the royal family up to? I saw in the news that Princess Sirindhorn is somewhere in the highlands of China.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
99 Various perspectives post-violence « Political Prisoners in Thailand // Apr 11, 2010 at 9:50 pm
[...] a yellow-shirted journalist’s response, from a reader at New Mandala (comment [...]
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
100 Welcome2Anarchy // Apr 11, 2010 at 11:40 pm
Srithanonchai // Apr 11, 2010 at 5:14 pm
# 41
W2A
You seem to possess a highly sophisticated political mind. I have no way of telling whether it is with or without the intake of some alcoholic beverages…
Stone cold sober. Sophisticated it is not. Political it is not. No apologies. I leave that kind of useless persiflage to the sold-out former idealists (no longer one real socialist amongst them) and bent cop business zealots who got us into this stupid mess.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
101 W2A! // Apr 11, 2010 at 11:46 pm
#98
“On a completely different note: what are the royal family up to? I saw in the news that ** is somewhere in the highlands of China.”
Nice comment! Saw that too. Probably a sensible move in light of the grudges a certain other person has against her. Preparing her bolthole, so to speak.
For that matter. What is HE doing? Nothing of course! He should definitely abdicate before he gets a job he won’t enjoy.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
102 Juan Carlos // Apr 12, 2010 at 2:21 am
Walking past Thammasat U this afternoon around 5pm there was a brief touch of a siren to clear some jumped up phrai driving a car (no less) out of the way and what do I see but the familiar silver be-decaled royal bodyguards car + one of their yellow/cream S-classes behind going past in the direction of the Grand Palace. Could see a guy in front passenger seat holding a large bouquet. Could not see who was in the back.
Judging by lack of outriders, no following heavies in the red cars, no ambulance or port-a-potty, I’d say this was actually not a real royal, but a royal representative going somewhere – perhaps to deliver a wreath to a wat? Who knows.
Anyway, did not appear to elicit any kind of response from the various red shirts in the vicinity.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
103 chris beale // Apr 12, 2010 at 4:00 am
W2A! @#101
You seem to be talking about the Crown Prince and Princess here.
“Probably a sensible move in light of the grudges a certain other person has against her. Preparing her bolthole, so to speak.”
What evidence do you have for any “grudges”? Anything more than malicious rumour ?
“What is HE doing? Nothing of course! He should definitely abdicate before he gets a job he won’t enjoy.” This appears to be a reference to the Crown Prince.
1) How can you know he is doing “nothing” ?
He may well have been trying to act as ago-between, moderator of the conflict between Thaksin and anti-Thaksin forces.
2)” He should definitely abdicate before he gets a job he won’t enjoy.”
Yes – being King of Thailand is an extremely difficult job – but how can you know how the Crown Prince will perform as King, until he does it ?
After all, nobody would have guessed Bumiphol would turn out to be the great King he undoubtedly is, at the time he became king.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
104 W2A! // Apr 12, 2010 at 1:18 pm
#103
(1) There was talk of a demise, which was sensibly scotched by an appearance. Not exactly a particularly proactive approach though. And one never sees any sign of solidarity there. Which would be yet another way they could make the nature of their interaction clear. They are in the limelight. If they can’t handle that, they are in the wrong job. And I say that from a position of some sympathy with her. Note, I definitely call it a job. The raw rumor would undoubtedly block this site. But, I observe that it never goes away, and is never chased away. That is hardly the mark of a serious contender. It’s a position that requires charisma. If one can’t swim, one is wasting one’s time as a lifeguard.
(2) It would be a step in the right direction for one to demonstrate one’s abilities to the public. After decades, this has never once happened. My guess is that even the current role is a burden. One has the wealth to retire any time. We mere mortals are judged by our public acts, not by what might have happened behind closed doors. Would you employ this person on the known record? In my case I would say no, unless good evidence is produced. Likely future performance, at well over 50 years old, is bound to be predicted by past appearances and actions.
Your last statement is arguable. I would basically agree with you. He certainly put some effort into it, and was at times conscious of public perception. Thus, employable.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
105 W2A! // Apr 12, 2010 at 1:37 pm
#91
Zaw Tun is right in questioning recent poster comment on this site which claims the man is past history in redshirt circles. For a start, I don’t think even Nick Nostitz has a direct line to the 3 Wannabes. Secondly, they have made no serious attempt to show their distance. And indeed may be living off past in-payments anyway.
Thaksin cannot and should not escape his share of the blame for the deaths of protestors, government employees and bystanders. Some of the blame should also fall on the victims. They knew only too well how vicious Thai security forces can be, but probably gambled on immortality through martyrdom. They would have been far better off living and educating the next generation how to survive the constant pitfalls of Thai politics.
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
106 anon // Apr 12, 2010 at 8:03 pm
Cameraman’s last videoshow:
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_513612.html
“BANGKOK – Seven minutes of film taken by Reuters cameraman Hiro Muramoto illustrate how a scrappy street protest turned deadly on a balmy Bangkok night.
It is some of the last video Muramoto, 43, a father or two young children, ever took. He died on Saturday from a gunshot wound to the chest, his killer unknown.”
Quality comment or not?
0 
0
Leave a Comment
Please note: New Mandala encourages vigorous debate. However, for the moment we will only be publishing high-quality comments that make original contributions to discussion. There will, of course, still be space for pithy, humorous, eccentric and cheeky input. Short and sweet will usually trump long and involved. Repetitive ranting, unimaginative point-scoring and idle abuse will not be entertained. Comments which carry a real name are also more likely to be approved. Thank you for your ongoing interest and contributions.