Thai red-shirt supporter Gen Khattiya 'shot'

[Prometheus]

A Thai general linked to anti-government rallies has been shot hours after a deadline for protesters to clear their Bangkok camp expired.
Khattiya Sawasdipol, better known as Seh Daeng (Commander Red), was seriously injured, according to an aide quoted by AP news agency.
The military had said it would start surrounding the protest camp at 1800 (1100 GMT) and advised people to leave.
Gunfire and an explosion were heard and there were reports of casualties.
It was not clear where the firing was coming from.
Earlier, a BBC reporter saw trucks unloading heavily-armed soldiers several blocks from the encampment.
Shops and businesses near the encampment were urged to close before the deadline and transport was suspended.
The protesters - who have been occupying parts of Bangkok for more than two months - want Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to dissolve parliament and call fresh elections.
The BBC's Rachel Harvey in Bangkok says a column of about 200 soldiers had been seen moving towards the camp.
Street lights have been switched off in the camp, plunging it into darkness, but protesters continue to defiantly blast out music, our correspondent says.

BBC News - Thai red-shirt supporter Gen Khattiya 'shot'

 

[Prometheus]

Thai troops clash with protesters

Thai security forces have fired live rounds after moving in to seal off a heavily defended encampment of protesters in the centre of Bangkok.
Protesters set fire to a police bus near foreign embassies as gunshots rang out, following clashes overnight that left one person dead in the capital.
A BBC correspondent says the area is like a warzone, with troops firing across a park at protesters.
The demonstrators want Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to step down.
Many of the red-shirts support former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup.
'Tightening the noose'
Overnight, security forces shut down the electricity supply to the area around the large protest camp in the city centre.
A renegade general backing the protest remains in a critical condition a day after he was shot by an unknown gunman.
On Friday, troops fired tear gas while advancing on dozens of protesters who had set up a checkpoint outside the Suan Lum night market to stop soldiers advancing on their main base.
Residents fled in panic as gunshots rang out and soldiers moved in to the area, which is popular with tourists.
Army spokesman Col Sunsern Kaewkumnerd was quoted by AFP news agency as saying: "They have intimidated authorities with weapons so security officials have asked the commander to disperse them."
The British embassy in the city has been temporarily closed amid the upsurge in violence.
Thousands of protesters, known as red-shirts after the colour they wear, have reinforced their bamboo barricades and vowed to maintain their camp in a commercial district of Bangkok until elections are called.
"They are tightening a noose on us but we will fight to the end, brothers and sisters," a protest leader, Nattawut Saikua, told a cheering crowd, reports news agency Reuters.
Guards were seen at the sprawling protest site armed with slingshots and arrows.
The authorities have also begun to cut public transport and some mobile phone services to the area occupied by the protesters.
'Expressionless'
The government has threatened for days to cut off power, water and food supplies to the red-shirt camp.
But the protesters have their own supplies and appear ready for a long siege, says our correspondent.
One protester was shot dead on Thursday night after a group of red-shirts confronted armed security personnel on the outskirts of the encampment.
The clashes followed the wounding of a renegade Thai general who had been organising the red-shirts' security.
Khattiya Sawasdipol, better known as Seh Daeng (Commander Red), was shot in the head and seriously injured.
Seh Daeng is part of the protesters' more radical wing and had accused red-shirt leaders - many of whom have distanced themselves from him - of not being hard-line enough.
Circumstances surrounding the shooting, near the Silom business area, are not clear.
A New York Times journalist, Thomas Fuller, was interviewing the general at the moment the shot rang out.
The reporter told the BBC's World Today: "He immediately dropped to the ground, his eyes were open but he was expressionless and his body wasn't moving at all."
A spokesman for the red-shirt movement blamed an army sniper but military officials said troops had orders to fire only in self-defence.
The protesters - who have been occupying parts of Bangkok for more than two months - want Prime Minister Abhisit to dissolve parliament and call fresh elections.
Their camp stretches from the city's shopping district south to its business hub.
Thailand's worst political unrest in nearly two decades has left some 30 people dead and more than 1,400 wounded.
Mr Abhisit is under severe pressure to end the protests, which have paralysed Bangkok since mid-March.
He had offered polls on 14 November - but the two sides failed to agree a deal because of divisions over who should be held accountable for a deadly crackdown on protests last month.

BBC News - Thai troops clash with protesters

 

[new wave]

Thai troops begin to clear "Red Shirt" rally site in Bangkok - People's Daily OnlineMay 14, 2010

Thai soldiers are deployed to ensure security around the Lumpini Park in central Bangkok, capital of Thailand, May 13, 2010, after a 25-year old man was killed in clashes between troops and anti-government protestors. (Xinhua/Thana Nuntavoranut)

Thai security forces Friday began to clear part of the capital of anti-government "Red Shirt" protesters following the violent clashes between troops and protestors last night in Bangkok.

Gunfire shots were heard in the Thai capital near an anti- government rally site. Thai troops fired tear gas to disperse some protesters who had set up a checkpoint outside a Bangkok night market.

The Thai army on Thursday night clashed with hardline "red- shirts" protesters, leaving one killed and over 10 people injured.

The clashes occurred around 08:40 p.m. (0140 GMT) after demonstrators were trying to remove the orange cones used to block traffic, the TPBS TV said. Then protesters tried to prevent the army from coming out of the Lumpini park, some 2km from the "red- shirts" rally site, by putting bonsai in front of one of the park'' s gates.

Shortly after that, gunshots were heard when the army fired rubber bullets to disperse the protesters, leaving many injured, the TPBS said. One protester was shot in the head and killed.

An anti-government leader, Maj-General Khattiya Sawasdipol, was also shot and suffered a severe gun wound on his head.

The clash came after Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva decided to end the two-month standoff following his withdrawal of the Nov. 14 election proposal Thursday.

Abhisit proposed his reconciliation roadmap and offered the Nov. 14 poll date on May 3. He later announced house dissolution date between Sept. 15 to 30.

"Red-shirts" movement accepted the house dissolution and poll date but refused to end the two-month-long rally unless Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thuangsuban surrenders to police.

On Thursday night, the Centre for Resolution of Emergency Situation (CRES) declared extension of state of emergency to more provinces, in addition to existing areas in capital Bangkok and nearby provinces, which was announced on April 7, 2010.

These additional provinces include eastern Chonburi province, northern Chiang Mai province, northeastern Udon Thani, and Nakhon Ratchasima province.

The state of emergency, which took effect immediately after it was announced, is imposed in a bid to ensure security for the general public. Also, cellphone signals around the Rathchaprasong area have been blocked.

Source: Xinhua

 

[jha]

Clashes, blasts for 3rd day in besieged Bangkok

BANGKOK: Thai troops clashed with protesters for a third day in Bangkok on Saturday as streets in the center of the Asian metropolis became battlegrounds and authorities struggled to contain demonstrators demanding the prime minister's resignation.

Explosions and street fighting have killed 17 people and wounded nearly 160 since the government attempted Thursday to seal off the 1-square-mile (3-square-kilometer) zone the Red Shirt protesters have occupied in one of the capital's most upscale areas.

Fighting spread Saturday to several streets leading to the encampment, and the army set up barricades in an attempt to seal off the area, where all shops, hotels and businesses were closed.

Demonstrators, meanwhile, accused government snipers of picking people off with head shots.

The spiraling violence has raised concerns that Thailand - a longtime tourism magnet that promotes its easygoing culture as the "Land of Smiles" - was teetering toward instability. The political uncertainty has spooked foreign investors and damaged the vital tourism industry, which accounts for 6 percent of the economy, Southeast Asia's second largest.

Troops have used tear gas, rubber bullets and live rounds on demonstrators after they set fire to tires and a police bus on Friday. The government accuses them of using guns, grenades and firebombs.

On Saturday, soldiers unrolled razor wire across roads leading to the Ratchaprarop area - a commercial district north of the main protest site - and pinned Thai and English-language notices saying "Live Firing Zone" and "Restricted Area. No Entry."

Ratchaprarop houses high-rise buildings, posh hotels and designer shops. It was the scene of some of the worst fighting Friday night between troops and anti-government protesters.

Sporadic clashes resumed in several parts of the city Saturday, and explosions once again echoed through streets emptied of shoppers and tourists, as plumes of black smoke rose amid skyscrapers and hotels.

The army says it is not shooting to kill, but protesters crawled along sidewalks to slowly drag away corpses of three people near the city's Victory Monument traffic circle in the Ratchaprarop area. They told an Associated Press photographer army snipers had shot all three in the head.

The latest violence erupted Thursday after the Red Shirts' military strategist - a former army general - was shot in the head and critically wounded, apparently by a sharpshooter, as he spoke to foreign journalists.

"The situation right now is getting closer to civil war every minute," a protest leader, Jatuporn Prompan, said. "We have to fight on. The leaders shouldn't even think about retreat when our brothers are ready to fight on."

In a message from New York, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appealed to both sides to "do all within their power to avoid further violence and loss of life."

The Red Shirts, mostly rural poor, began camping in the capital March 12 to try to force out Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. About 10,000 have barricaded themselves in a protest zone in Rajprasong, Bangkok's premier shopping and diplomatic enclave. They have set up a perimeter of tires and bamboo stakes, refusing to leave until Abhisit dissolves Parliament and calls new elections.

They claim his coalition government came to power through manipulation of the courts and the backing of the powerful military, and that it is indifferent to the poor.

In several rounds of violence since then, a total 46 people have been killed and at least 1,620 wounded, according to a government toll that includes the most recent clashes.

"I am gravely concerned that a bloody suppression will only further entrench the culture of ... violence in Thailand," Tyrell Haberkorn, a political scientist with The Australian National University, said by e-mail.

She said the protests stem from the outrage the marginalized majority feel at the lack of say they have in governance, which is largely in the hands of the elites.

"If one listens to the protesters ... people are willing to risk their lives because they believe that they are making a more just Thai society for themselves, their children and their grandchildren," she said.

Another protest leader, Weng Tojirakarn, demanded the government declare a cease-fire and pull back its troops because "we don't want to see a civil war. If it does happen, I don't know how many years it will take to end."

The Red Shirts especially despise the military, which had forced Thaksin Shinawatra, the populist premier favored by the Red Shirts, from office in a 2006 coup. Two subsequent pro-Thaksin governments were disbanded by court rulings before Abhisit became prime minister.

The Red Shirts' occupation has forced luxury hotels and high-end shops to close for weeks. Major roads around the protest site were blocked to traffic Saturday, and the city's subway and elevated train shut down.

The US embassy said it will evacuate family members of its staff who want to leave the volatile Thai capital.

The crisis had appeared to be reaching a resolution last week when Abhisit offered to hold elections in November, a year early. But the hopes were dashed after Red Shirt leaders made more demands.

Clashes, blasts for 3rd day in besieged Bangkok - Rest of World - World - The Times of India

 

[Evil Flare]

I dont know what the Fcuk was happening in Thailand

Whats the reason for so much fight & fcuked their very own country ?

 

[Prometheus]

I dont know what the Fcuk was happening in Thailand

Whats the reason for so much fight & fcuked their very own country ?

politics

Red shirt party wants re-election..............where as yellow shirt govt. dont want it

 

[Prometheus]

Rogue Thai general dies as Redshirts given new deadline

Anti-government protesters in Thailand have been ordered to leave the area they are occupying in central Bangkok by 3pm local time (9am GMT) as the spiralling violence spread to other cities in Thailand.

The new deadline is the latest in a series of clearance and curfew orders. Last night the government lifted a curfew order which was to be put in place after deciding it made life too difficult for residents inside the elite area occupied by the Redshirts for the last several weeks.

It comes as a rogue Thai general who helped anti-government Redshirts died in hospital after being shot by a sniper while he was being interviewed by a journalist.

Major General Khattiya Sawasdipol, a renegade army officer accused of creating a paramilitary force for the Red Shirt anti-government protesters, was speaking to a reporter from The New York Times inside the parameter of the protest zone in central Bangkok on Friday when he was shot in the head. The bullet also grazed the head of the reporter.
The attack on Mr Khattiya, which his family claim was planned in advance, triggered bloody street battles between anti-government protesters and the army that has led to 36 deaths.

As anti-government protest spread to other areas of the capital and to other cities in Thailand last night there were fears that news of Mr Khattiya's death would lead to new violence.

Chiaranai Matchakijborikarn, Mr Khattiya’s elder sister, claimed today that her brother's assassination was planned, although she would not say by whom. “My brother had learned that he would be assassinated in one month”, Mrs Chiaranai told the Bangkok Post.

In Chiang Mai, hundreds of protesters rallied in support of the Redshirts, while hand grenades were hurled at two banks in the city.

Yesterday, the Thai military has defended its use of force, and the government flatly rejected protesters' demands that the United Nations intercede to end the chaos.

Panitan Wattanayagorn, a government spokesman, said a ceasefire was unnecessary since troops were "not using weapons to crack down on civilians." The government maintains it is targeting only armed 'terrorists' among the demonstrators.

The heart of the Red Shirt movement is in the Ratchaprasong district, where the protests against Prime Mnister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his government take their most symbolic form. The Red Shirts, who want Mr Abhisit to resign and dissolve his party are an increasingly broad movement, but at their core are poor farmers from the northern provinces.

The area they have occupied for the last few weeks is one of the glitziest in South-East Asia, a consumer paradise of department stores and five-star hotels, as well as foreign embassies. Now, however, it more resembles a war zone with bodies strewn in the street, rubbish piling hgh and smoke from burning tyres hanging over the city.
Rogue Thai general dies as Redshirts given new deadline - Times Online

 

[Prometheus]

 

[Prometheus]

Thai students squat near a shop for safety during the clashes

Riot police discharge their weapons

Thai Government supporters rally against the anti-government protesters at the Silom Road in Bangkok

Anti-government protesters hold portraits of the Thai king and queen as they leave their fortified camp in central Bangkok for a rally in the outskirts of the capital

 

[Prometheus]

Thai Government supporters hold a photograph of King Bhumibol Adulyadej while shouting "We Love Thai King" as they rally against the Red Shirts

A Buddhist monk sits on the back of a motorcycle with a Thai national flag as he travels in a convoy towards Bangkok’s northern suburbs with anti-government Red Shirt protesters

 

[Prometheus]

Thai troops enter red-shirt protest camp in Bangkok

Thai soldiers with armoured vehicles have stormed the barricaded camp occupied by anti-government protesters, after days of clashes in Bangkok.

At least four people have been killed, including an Italian photojournalist, and dozens wounded as demonstrators and army units exchange fire.

Troops have gained control of an area south of the site and some protesters have fled, said a government spokesman.

The government said the security operation would be continuing all day.

It insists talks are only possible if the protesters leave the streets.

"We are still ready to talk. My line is open but protest has to end first," said government advisor Korbsak Sabhavasau.

The military made loudspeaker announcements on Wednesday morning: "Please leave the site immediately. Officials are about to conduct an operation."

Continue reading the main story
Bangkok clashes: Map
Protests: Eyewitness account
Armoured personnel carriers and soldiers later entered the southern perimeter of the red-shirt protesters' site, after smashing through the bamboo-and-tyre barricades.

"This is D-Day," one soldier was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.

Several thousand people - including women and children - are believed to be inside the camp, which stretches from the shopping district south to the business area.

The troops' move followed six days of clashes around the camp, triggered by a government operation to seal the area and the subsequent death of renegagde general who backed the protests.

About 40 people have been killed in clashes since last week.

In a separate development, ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra warned that "a military crackdown can spread resentment and these resentful people will become guerrillas".

Mr Thaksin was speaking in a telephone interview from an unknown location.

On Tuesday, red-shirt leaders accepted the offer of fresh talks to be overseen by senior Senate figures, but they floundered on the government insistence that the protesters must first leave the camp.

The two sides have been trading increasingly bitter accusations in recent days.

RED-SHIRT PROTEST

Continue reading the main story
14 Mar: Red-shirts converge on Bangkok, occupy government district
16 Mar: Protesters splash their own blood at Government House
30 Mar: Talks with government ends in deadlock
3 Apr: Occupy Bangkok shopping district
10 Apr: Troops try to clear protesters; 25 people are killed and hundreds injured
13-17 May: 36 killed in Bangkok clashes
Protests day-by-day
Thai protests: Eyewitness accounts
The government accuses hard-liners within the red camp of using women and children as shields.

The red-shirts, meanwhile, accuse government troops of firing indiscriminately on them, although the army said troops were firing live rounds only in self-defence.

The government has decreed a public holiday until Friday to allow time to resolve the crisis.

The red-shirts have been protesting in Bangkok since 14 March, occupying the shopping district, forcing hotels and shops to close.

They are a loose coalition of left-wing activists, democracy campaigners and mainly rural supporters of Mr Thaksin, who has lived overseas since he was convicted of conflict of interest.

They are demanding fresh polls because they say the government - which came to power through a parliamentary deal rather than an election - is illegitimate.