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Bangkok Dangerous, Fears of Imminent Violence
April 22, 2010
Bill Tarrant
Bangkok. Thailand’s tense political standoff was nearing a climax on Thursday with antigovernment protesters preparing for imminent battle in central Bangkok against tens of thousands of armed troops.
The “red shirt” uprising showed the first signs of spreading beyond Bangkok to the protesters’ stronghold in the northeast after they blocked a train carrying troops and military vehicles.
Tens of thousands of red-shirted supporters of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra have fortified their redoubt in a Bangkok commercial district with home-made barricades, expecting the army to evict them any time.
“We’ve heard from insiders in the government that April 26 is their deadline,” Kwanchai Sarakam, 57, a red shirt leader from the northeast told Reuters.
Neither side shows any sign of backing down after the army’s chaotic attempt to evict protesters from another site on April 10 that led to the deaths of 25 people and wounded more than 800.
Red shirt leaders say another such attempt would be futile.
They say they will only leave Bangkok when the prime minister announces a dissolution of parliament and early elections.
“I’m sending a signal (by remaining at the site and fortifying it) that I want to see their cards,” said Nattawut Saikuar, one of the three top red shirt leaders, on Wednesday.
“You cannot issue an order because the soldiers won’t listen,” he added, citing last Friday’s bungled attempt to arrest red shirt leaders as an example.
The central bank left interest rates at a record low on Wednesday, noting political risks were “affecting confidence, tourism, private consumption and investment”.
Any attempt to disperse the protesters risks heavy casualties and the prospect of clashes spilling into nearby high-end residential areas. It may also lead the red shirts to step up action elsewhere in the country, particularly in their strongholds in the north and northeast where there has been little unrest so far in the six-week campaign.
“The risk for Abhisit is that even a successful dispersal, while assuring the near-term survival of his government, will not in any way ease — and in fact may even worsen — the disenchantment of the red-shirts,” risk consultancy Eurasia Group said in a note. “In that case, their next rally, and the next round of volatility, will only be a matter of time.”
Thai media reported that a “multi-coloured” pro-government group planned a demonstration of up to 100,000 people on Friday demanding a dispersal of the red shirts, splitting the capital into opposing groups.
April 22, 2010
Bill Tarrant
Bangkok. Thailand’s tense political standoff was nearing a climax on Thursday with antigovernment protesters preparing for imminent battle in central Bangkok against tens of thousands of armed troops.
The “red shirt” uprising showed the first signs of spreading beyond Bangkok to the protesters’ stronghold in the northeast after they blocked a train carrying troops and military vehicles.
Tens of thousands of red-shirted supporters of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra have fortified their redoubt in a Bangkok commercial district with home-made barricades, expecting the army to evict them any time.
“We’ve heard from insiders in the government that April 26 is their deadline,” Kwanchai Sarakam, 57, a red shirt leader from the northeast told Reuters.
Neither side shows any sign of backing down after the army’s chaotic attempt to evict protesters from another site on April 10 that led to the deaths of 25 people and wounded more than 800.
Red shirt leaders say another such attempt would be futile.
They say they will only leave Bangkok when the prime minister announces a dissolution of parliament and early elections.
“I’m sending a signal (by remaining at the site and fortifying it) that I want to see their cards,” said Nattawut Saikuar, one of the three top red shirt leaders, on Wednesday.
“You cannot issue an order because the soldiers won’t listen,” he added, citing last Friday’s bungled attempt to arrest red shirt leaders as an example.
The central bank left interest rates at a record low on Wednesday, noting political risks were “affecting confidence, tourism, private consumption and investment”.
Any attempt to disperse the protesters risks heavy casualties and the prospect of clashes spilling into nearby high-end residential areas. It may also lead the red shirts to step up action elsewhere in the country, particularly in their strongholds in the north and northeast where there has been little unrest so far in the six-week campaign.
“The risk for Abhisit is that even a successful dispersal, while assuring the near-term survival of his government, will not in any way ease — and in fact may even worsen — the disenchantment of the red-shirts,” risk consultancy Eurasia Group said in a note. “In that case, their next rally, and the next round of volatility, will only be a matter of time.”
Thai media reported that a “multi-coloured” pro-government group planned a demonstration of up to 100,000 people on Friday demanding a dispersal of the red shirts, splitting the capital into opposing groups.
