webfact Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 Nine dead, hundreds injured in clashes in Bangkok by Anusak Konglang BANGKOK (AFP) -- Thai security forces launched a crackdown Saturday on anti-government protests in Bangkok, sparking violent clashes in the heart of the capital that left nine dead and almost 500 injured. "Nine people died -- four soldiers, four civilians and one journalist," Malinee Sukvechavorakit, the deputy governor of Bangkok, told AFP as almost a month of mass demonstrations turned bloody. The dead journalist was a Japanese cameraman, Thai television reported. Twenty soldiers were hurt in a blast while security personnel fired warning shots and tear gas after street fighting broke out in the city's historic district. Red-shirted demonstrators hurled rocks as troops tried to clear them from one of their two protest sites in the capital, which is under a state of emergency. The Thai military said it would pull back after the fierce clashes. "Soldiers will have to withdraw. There is no place to shelter. We cannot do anything," army chief General Anupong Paojinda told AFP. A grenade also exploded near to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's office in Government House but there were no initial reports of injuries in that blast. Abhisit remained holed up at an army barracks. Thousands more demonstrators were also refusing to leave another rally site in the main commercial district of the Thai capital, demanding Abhisit dissolve parliament. "Abhisit must leave Thailand," Reds' leader Veera Musikapong told the crowd. "We ask all government officials to stop serving this government." The protests also spread to the northern city of Chiang Mai, where hundreds of Red Shirts massed outside a provincial hall chanting anti-government slogans. Earlier, dozens of Reds tried to force their way into a military base in Bangkok but were repelled with water cannon. The army also deployed armoured personnel vehicles at some locations in the city. "It's an operation to reclaim areas from protesters under the state of emergency," said government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn. "The government has no other choice but to enforce the law and prosecute those who violated the law," he said. "The general public must avoid travelling to the area where the operation is taking place." Abhisit invoked emergency rule Wednesday after the Reds stormed parliament, prompting lawmakers to flee. The embattled premier has insisted he will not cede to the Reds' demand to dissolve parliament for elections. Tens of thousands of police and soldiers have been mobilised to restore order, but top Reds remained defiant. "I'd like to tell Abhisit that you can come and crack down on our rally anytime," a Red Shirt leader, Nattawut Saikuar, said from the rally stage set up in the commercial hub of Bangkok that has become the focus of the protests. "We want to stay until you dissolve the House." The Reds, many of whom support ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, accuse the government of being illegitimate because it came to power with military backing in 2008 after a court ousted Thaksin's allies from power. Arrest warrants have been issued for many of the top leaders of the red-clad movement, but so far none is reported to have been taken into custody. A grenade exploded at the Police Crime Suppression Division unit in a northern suburb of Bangkok early Saturday but nobody was hurt, officials said -- the latest in a series of minor blasts. The rallies are the latest chapter in years of political turmoil in Thailand pitting Bangkok's ruling elite against the mainly poor and rural Reds. The country has been riven by political tensions since a bloodless coup ousted telecoms tycoon-turned-premier Thaksin in 2006. -- ©Copyright AFP 2010-04-10 Published with written approval from AFP. [newsfooter][/newsfooter] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Who, me ? Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 So sad! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonQuest Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 After 1 month of peaceful protesting this was bound to happen, something better happen soon before it gets worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astral Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 I am amazed that it has remained so peaceful until now.................. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclejunta Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 So sad! More to come....CIVIL WAR NEXT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoshiwara Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 And where is Abhisit?!?People keep dying because of him. Actually they are dying because of your hero Thaksin. They are just cannon fodder for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insight Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 Said it before, but if the court ruled in favour of Thaksin last month and returned is billions, would this be happening now? I highly doubt it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintofsilence Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 If it is proven that some of these people that died were paid by Thaksin to be there I would think he could be up on some very serious charges ' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkfish Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 RIP To the soldiers and Reds who have Died today Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miiyai46 Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 People channel has just informed that the militars are trying to take back the dead bodies from the hospital?!? Is there anything to hide? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thai at Heart Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 And AFP does it again, way way less than a balanced report. Amazing. People are dying and you are worried which way the bias may or may not be on a report????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 And is there any truth in the report? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWalkingMan Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 Said it before, but if the court ruled in favour of Thaksin last month and returned is billions, would this be happening now?I highly doubt it. Could be true and if Thaksin had just said f' it, I confess just keep the money... It cuts both ways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetsetBkk Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 And where is Abhisit?!?People keep dying because of him. Actually they are dying because of your hero Thaksin. They are just cannon fodder for him. Interesting: Miiyai46's post claiming the deaths are because of Abhisit has been deleted. yoshiwara's post claiming the deaths are because of Thaksin still stands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timekeeper Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 After 1 month of peaceful protesting this was bound to happen, something better happen soon before it gets worse. peaceful? Arisman invading the EC commission Arisman invading parliament oh shit sorry, those were fake reds............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BNZ Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 Thaksin is calling room service now to order up more champagne and caviar. Ohhh what a grand celebration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peacefulwarrior Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 (edited) Sad for the people, no matter on which side they are told to fight! The democrats took some 236m Baht as a 'party contribution' plus X, which we don't know of, from a petrochemical company and Thaksin sold a whole company without even paying taxes plus his wives land deals. So what choice do they have? "There must be some kind of way out of here, said the joker to the thief..." The 'pawns' in the game for the big boys are the soldiers and policemen on the one hand and those poor buggers from the 'have not' class. Chess for the boys, pain for the people. When finally will people awake from the left-right paradigm. They're all crooks, so let's call the dog by it's name! Edited April 10, 2010 by peacefulwarrior Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozzieal Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 (edited) So sad! yes i agree the whole situation is sad....but we all know the reason for the problems...the red shirts are the elected government. (full stop) Edited April 10, 2010 by ozzieal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderpuff Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 Sooner the Reds go home the sooner the killing stops. They came here looking for a fight & now they have got their wish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaiman Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 (edited) So sad! More to come....CIVIL WAR NEXT Cool! Maybe the baht will crash and all the tourists will leave and the beaches will be uncrowded again. LOL Thais are violent people and violence is the only answer, unfortuantely. Most of the people fighting probably don't even know what a democracy is. "You cant handle the truth" Better yet: "You can't handle a democracy" Edited April 10, 2010 by thaiman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schuimpje Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 This is a very sad day in Thai history. Those people died because 1 person is after money. At the same same time those people died, you hear an MP...yes a Member of Parliament...screaming on stage that there "Will be no more negotiations"!! That person is one of the reasons people died out there. 4 soldiers, 4 Red Shirts, 1 journalist. If those protesters where peaceful, then please explain to me why there's 4 dead soldiers?! Sad day.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain_Bob Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 Said it before, but if the court ruled in favour of Thaksin last month and returned is billions, would this be happening now?I highly doubt it. It would just mean he has those more billions to feed into his paid herds of supporters and corrupt would-be cabinet. Thaksin's motivation is more about face than money and giving him back more previously confiscated funds would not placate him as long as the government (and those not to be named above it) regard him as a fugitive. He is vengful to the end, even if it will tear the country to pieces. That makes him too dangerous to even consider until he either dies or runs out of support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miiyai46 Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 And where is Abhisit?!?People keep dying because of him. Actually they are dying because of your hero Thaksin. They are just cannon fodder for him. We should leave Thaksin out of this mess it is not going to help, we need democracy, we do not need a coup or a PM handled by the militars = your hero Abhisit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scorecard Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 And where is Abhisit?!?People keep dying because of him. Actually they are dying because of your hero Thaksin. They are just cannon fodder for him. And what's thaksins response to this shameful and sad scenario which is a result of his massive corruption, abuse of power etc? One poster says abhisit is to blame for the deaths which happened this day, but of course the fact that thaksin supervised the deaths of 2,500 fellow Thais and had oversight repsonsibility for the death of 250 young men dying of suffocation, and more, is not mentioned by the red supporters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
londonthai Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 with 3 hospitals not taking any more injured, because of the lack of space, there are more than 500 injured, and there will be many more deaths of those already injured Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redsunset Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 Obviously there are a lot of cynical people here, but I guess that is the price we pay for freedom of speech. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farangteachercliche Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 An incredibly sad day for Thailand. RIP to all that have died. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redsunset Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 with 3 hospitals not taking any more injured, because of the lack of space, there are more than 500 injured, and there will be many more deaths of those already injured Yes, "injured" might mean anything from a cut on the arm, to near death... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chadintheusa Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 After 1 month of peaceful protesting this was bound to happen, something better happen soon before it gets worse. [/quote How can people say these lies. Shooting grenades at public buildings is violent. Storming government offices is violent. Seizing the Thaicom office was an act of violence. The since the initial rallying in the outer provinces members of the red leadership have been advocating violence. This was the plan all along. Pull your head out of the sand. They wanted a violent confrontation to force the PM to quit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moresomekl Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 And where is Abhisit?!?People keep dying because of him. Actually they are dying because of your hero Thaksin. They are just cannon fodder for him. And because of Abhisit as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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