An emergency protest in held in Sydney on Sunday May 16, 2010, in solidarity with the Thai Red Shirt protestors who were facing a brutal military assault in Bangkok. We called on the Australian government to condemn the illegitimate, military-installed, Ahbisit government for its brutal repression of peaceful protestors, to cut all diplomatic ties with the Thai government until the repression stops, and to end all military ties with the Thai government and armed forces
“After three days of wild street fighting that left 29 people dead and hundreds wounded, the leader, Nattawut Saikua, also offered to withdraw militant fighters from the streets and negotiate if the government called a cease-fire and withdrew its troops.
But he put forward a condition that was immediately rejected by the government, insisting that any talks be mediated by the United Nations. Mr. Nattawut’s offer suggested a closer relationship with the violent side of the protests than he had previously acknowledged. ”
To all who passed by this page. I would like to tell you that you are getting one-side information, and from the too-far point of view. I am Thai and has been living here in Bangkok for whole life, want to share some information to you.
About 8 – 9 years ago, at least 50% of Thai people, including scientists and spiritual/religious leaders had supported Thaksin Shinnawatra. A few years later, almost of them has changed their mind after finding his dark side. Nowadays, at least 80% of Thai people are against him who is undeniably behind the red-shirt rally. Almost of his supporters are people in rural areas, mostly less educated. We cannot deny that there is too big social gap in Thailand, as in many other countries. But the violence is not the answer for this problem.
Currently it is the red-shirt leaders who arouse their people to fight violently and is uncontrollable now. And the soldiers are trying to bring peace back to our city. M79 were really used. The rally tried to get into the hospital and acted rude to doctors and nurses. It is not just a lie.
Statistically, you can easily compare the 193-dayyellow-shirt rally without deadly weapon like M79, while this 60-day red-shirt with more than 10 M79 since the first 30 day.
Please do not judge anyone TOO SOON. Be a good listener.
Sincerely yours,
[…] fascinating and enlightening. (c) Agnes Dherbeys for The New York Times Though these tweets I found this first hand account of photographing a group of red shirts being shot at by government troops by photographer Nick Nostitz. He said of […]
Thanks for the nice comments.
To be honest, this thing has shaken me up considerably, and i have taken off the day, doing nothing but picking up my motorcycle, which fortunately was still OK.
This article is the result of me having made a wrong call yesterday. I Thought the situation would develop like the two days before at Rama IV / Wireless intersection (where i photographed the protester who was shot in the head by the military), and the following afternoon at Wireless Road at Lumphini Police station (where Nelson Rand, the Matichon photographer and several protesters were shot – by the military as well). In both those incidents one could still work relatively safely when staying in cover. Military then shot only when protesters made moves towards them, and did not move themselves.
This one though turned out quite different – a barrage of shot carefully aimed at anything that moved (especially the group of protesters in front of me).
Unfortunately my wife had to see me on Thai television running from the soldiers shooting at me while i was still stuck in the house – one of the channels had some coverage of this, somehow.
This was a most terrifying experience. Presently i am far more scared of the soldiers than of the “Guys in Black” (yes – they are existing) who i had a brief encounter with the night before. One of them asked me politely not to take any images of him, and then walked off into no man’s land, a grenade launcher hidden under his jacket, not too long after followed by automatic rifle fire and several grenade blasts into the direction of the military. I am not condoning what they are doing, but as the situation is right now, i believe we have to begin to readjust our analyzes of the situation, and also on safety.
Ideological or political convictions aside (they don’t really matter while trying to cover this mess on the ground) – while working, we have to think about who is targeting us, and who is not likely to target us. So far, the military has not given me much reason to feel safe, especially their use of snipers on many of the high rises and bridges. But this is just my personal experience – others may feel different.
This story is also a strong warning on anyone covering this now, how quickly things may get out of hand. I have to think very hard on how, and if i keep covering this mess as working somewhat safely as a journalist is almost impossible now, which i learned the hard way.
And by the way, if anybody has or can get some information on the guy with the gut shot, if he possibly made it, and if – in which hospital he is, in that case – i would be very grateful. I am quite haunted by the terrible suffering he had to endure, and which i could not make any easier.
thailand is a failed state
from poorest to wealthiest monarchy in 60 yrs!
there are no independant government parties with manifestos to elect
thaksin would win an election and fool most of the people a lot of the time, the social elit might change but only to be replaced by a richer dumber and more elitist group such as the sickening heirs of the khmer rouge in cambodia
a large percentage of thais believe that rama 9 is and should be the last king of his dynasty
by whom will he be replaced and how?
when will ‘farang’ stop looking at thailand as a retirement option and resort and start thinking of it as a country where to maintain low priced holidays at high end standards staff are paid peanuts.
abhisit could, if free from military, yellow, familial etc ties be a force for good, and maybe a single party system given a period of grace to reform while new parties are encouraged to form for a true election monitored by outside groups………………etc etc etc
does anyone actually have an idea where they can start?
Thank you for a story that is totally different from Thai medias. What this government has done is far worse than I have imagined. The UDD just asked for an election from a questionable, if not illegitimate,я╗┐ government. Don’t say that the government is totally legitimate. Back in 2008, ifя╗┐ it was just only the coalition party who changed sides this would not be a case.
What made it ugly was after the party dissolution resulted from coup-appointed judges’ ruling, some of the former People’s Power party members spinned-off and joined the coalition government with the Democrats as a result of the military’s interference. This has disappointed the voters and it is the reason why they demands a fresh new election. I don’t think they have asked for too much.
More over, neither Abhisit has already negotiated nor the UDD has rejected the negotiation. The keyя╗┐ of negotiation is that one gives his own proposal and the other gives another and both parties come to concensus.
What really happened is that the group already accepted Abhisit’s proposals but Abhisit scrapped the plan and suppressed them right after the groupя╗┐ asked Suthep to report to the CSD first. But then Suthep just wanted to play a trick by reporting himself to the DSI. It might be important to note that Suthep himself is the head of DSI at the moment. What a Joke?! It is clear that Abhisit just gave the UDD one choice only and scrapped the plan right after the UDD proposed theirs. What was that? Negotiation? Abhisit did not even show his sincerity.
Moreover, we can see that Abhisit has lied so many times, e.g. the suppression of protestors atя╗┐ Rajdumnern when he told that it would be at Rajprasong, or even from this coverage. Only shotguns? That raised a question: what if he would not dissolve the parliament as promised? I think it is reasonable for the UDD to be prudent.
I can’t see any concrete reason why Abhisit should not give the people a fresh new election. For such situation, he should have dissolved the parliament and called for an election before things gets deep into crisis like this. Thaksin did this once for the sake of those Yellow Shirts in 2006.
Given that he got back into position after the election, and there still were protestors threatening him to dissolve the house again, he shall be able to exercise the law accordingly. The only reason I could see is that he fear he will lose again in the election just like in the past decade.
Last but not least, the coalition party should be able to stop this well before it has happened, in a very democratic way also. I just don’t catch why they still support the current government. This is just unbelievable.
Sorry for the real long entry:
I got out in Suan Phlu, completely calm during the day, and found a woman selling sweet bread who told me that the people in Bon Kai cannot exit their home to buy food so she is roaming the area selling food door to door. I greeted her and drove to Ngan-Dumphli. The soi was more filled with people than yesterday, maybe also for the later hour. Everybody was tucked again to a wall on the right side of the soi, to hide from snipers. The front of the soi had been closed with a barricade of tires, this time not burning. Without smoke is possible to see the other side of Rama IV, where a similar group of red shirts was cluttered at the beginning of a small soi. From a nearby house a family was leaving the house, with some belonging stuffed into a big green bag, moving for some days to friends’ house in another part of Bangkok. Many people in the area, Thais and foreigners, are doing the same, scared away by the potential expansion of the conflict, or stocking food and beverages in the house, ready to be cut off from the rest of the city. The people hidden behind the barricade throw once in a while a firework in the direction of a building on the other side of Rama IV, where they say snipers have been seen. Every successful shoot is met with a cheer from the other people and a clap to the launcher. On the other side the military, about a 100 meters away down Rama IV keep shooting in this direction, without really doing much damages. “They have finished the rubber bullets” one man tells me, as he pulls down is white mask “now is just the real ones”. The motortaxi guy who has been organizing the movement of people there is still shouting directions to everybody, from few meters away. The groups at the front is made up of six or seven young Thais in black shirts and an equal numbers of journalist in blue bullet proof vests and a blue reinforced helmet. The number of journalist compared to the protesters gives the scene a funny taste, perfectly emblematic of the incestuous relationship between reality and perception through media. After a while a tuk-tuk stuffed with food and water arrives in the soi and drops four big bags filled with the white carton containers filled with rice and plain omelets. I sit there for a while watching the people taking turns in the front and coming back to eat something as a young man arrives with about ten fireworks. I decided then to move down to the Rama IV intersection toward Klong Toei. Here about 500 people are gathered, too far they say to be reached by the bullets of the army, but constantly watching the buildings, especially the Siam Commercial Bank down Rama IV, from which snipers have been shooting the day before. Early in the morning, an old man says, two people have been shot here by a yellow shirt guy from one of the building. The area have been totally claimed by the protesters who have build tires barricades on each of the four entrances and exits to the elevated highway and two lines of barricades extending for the whole of Rama IV. Three of those barricades are burning, as people from the side of Rama IV, protected under the highway make tires roll to the people hiding behind the barricade who constantly refurnished the burned ones. On the back, in the direction of Klong Toei a line of parked motorcycles divide the “dangerous area” from the “safe one” as people explain to me, but the distinction seems hardly real. Behind this line a huge crowd of probably a couple of thousands of people stretches down the road where a rudimental stage has been set a couple of days ago. Motorcycles are parked everywhere peppered by some cars and taxis. The police booth right under the highway has been claimed as a sort of “war room” in which some of the leaders discuss and come out occasionally to direct the constant delivery of new tires with big pick-ups and to tell the crowd to take it easy and stay calm. As I talk there to some motortaxi drivers whom I know a big pick-up brings food to the area and a motortaxi drivers uses a traffic cone to direct people into making a chain to unload the food and tell everyone to come get food, one box each and one water bottle. As the process goes on another man in black gear comes around and start calling people to take their bikes and go with him to an undisclosed place. He wants fifty of them. The call awakes the crowd as people frantically run to take their motorcycles and join the group that is forming underneath the highway. Every new bike is welcomed by the cheering crowd. The people around are shouting not to take pictures in this moment so I take away my camera and walk around, as people are covering their license plates with opened boxes and the motortaxis in the crowd take down their vests. One man in the middle of the group tucks a big axe into his paints pushing on his bear torso and puts on a military jacket to hide it. As they get ready as the deaf sound of a sniper gun, a scream. and people running away from the corner with Rama IV breaks the moment. An ambulance car drives through the crowd hastily and picks up an injured man down Rama IV, I run in that direction but is too late to see where he was hit. When I turn around the small motorcycle battery is already gone. I decide to drive back in the direction of Bon Kai, as the red light of sunset refract and disperse into the smoke coming from that direction. As I drive there s black guard with a visible headphone coming out of his ear stands in front of a tires shop, maybe patrolling their tires source. I arrive from the back streets of Soi Ngan-Dumplhi the air is filled with the scent of burning tires. Here the scene looks exactly like yesterday in Ngan-Dumplhi : a small soi with a thick wall of smoke and fire at the end and constant launches of Molotovs to keep the tires burning. Again the sound of bullets from the military fills Rama IV. The only difference is that here people seem not to be concerned of snipers and move freely in the soi. I sit there for a while as the darkness conquers the area. Shapes of man carved into the red flames. I decide to go back to Ngan-Dumplhi and check the situation there. The soi now is almost empty and totally dark, no fire, no light. I sit with a group of people on motorcycles that sit middle way through the soi and tells me is too dangerous to go forward. Today all of this back sois are filled with people, discussing or just listening to the evolving events. An older woman comes to me and shows me a xeros copy of an indistinguishable picture of dead bodies, claiming they belong to soldiers who refused to shoot and were brought back to their military camps and shoot dead. To me it looks like some grey image with a couple of distinguishable faces. She asks me to take a picture of it and tell the people in the world. I tell her I can barely see anything and I go back to the motorcycle crowd. One of them offers to show me where the snipers are and give me a tour of Soi Goethe, explain to me how to recognize what weapon the people are using. Short dry sound, sniper. Longer clear sound, rifle. Dry loud explosion, M-79. As he explains he mimes with his mouth the sounds and translates the noises that we hear around. He speaks quietly, hiding in the blackness and moving careful wherever a wall of a residence ends. A loud explosion sound fills the air. “This is us” he smiles “when is this loud is just fire-crackers”. The soi is interrupted by low barricades made of sand backs, covered with dark green cloth. “To prevent the army to come here from Sathorn soi 1” he says as he points in silence to a tall building on overlooking the area. “They are there” he whispers “be very careful”. This section of the soi, right before the Goethe Institute, is really dark I can just feel people wearing black moving around me but without really seeing them. I don’t like this place so I decide to go back and go check again at the Rama IV intersection. The situation is pretty much the same as before but the crowd is much smaller and the frequency of the shootings has relaxed. The tenth person today (prize) comes in my direction and asks me if I think that the UN will intervene and I give my standard answer now, explaining the problem for the UN in intervening in internal matters. He looks at me discouraged, lights a cigarette and stares into the empty. I leave the area, way too dangerous at this point, and walk down in the direction of the stage. People sit around a small stage made up of what looks like a very big table where speakers, mostly organizers from the nearby slum, step for a short while demanding that the government “stops killing the population”, spaced out by red shirt songs, to which some of the listeners sitting on the street pavement around the stage dance. The atmosphere is similar to a village fair in the middle of this gigantic city: street vendors, families hanging around, people sitting on motorcycles, and a constant flow of people walking up and down. I see there a couple of motorcycle taxis whom I know and chat with them, showing my pictures and explaining what I was down Rama IV, everytime this happens a small crowd comes around to watch the pictures, ask information, and tell me that in Ding Deng some soldiers are not Thai but Khmer people brought in by Newin and paid to so a job that fellows Thais refuse to. Whether true or not, these rumors tells, as the other myriads flooding around the protesters, are a fantastic commentary on collective fears, nationalistic sentiments, and perceived enemies of the red shirts and their personal attempts to make sense of the ongoing situation. I walk to the stair and a local Klong Toei organizer tells me that they are going to build stages like this all around the city, as they already did in Victory Monument, he claims, reproducing and fragmenting the peaceful protest in Ratchaprasong. The peaceful village fair atmosphere, however, takes a minute to transform in dense and silencing fear. As I stand behind the stage the light goes out, as in the rest of Rama IV, and a loud explosion breaks tears the joyful mood. Silence comes, with people frantically taking the speaker down stage, and stand up from the pavement. The minute of dense tension, with people running around is eased by the return of the light, as the next speaker comes to the stage.
The main man said Thailand would have no peace if he was punished by Thai court which he tried to grease/lawyers came with 2mln baht stuffed in confectionary boxes. The sicko has a phd in criminology, remember that. He is always a few steps ahead of his adversary. Made many honest mistakes during his tenure.
I spent an entire month in Chiangmai and attended anti-govt every night. More sickos were seen punching the filthy air of his hometown everytime hatred was suggested. I must say all those speeches were addictive and mind-blowing. Imagine getting these poison since Mar 12×24 hours.
The safest place on Planet Earth for Taksin is Cambodia. Try to stomach the notion that H.H. Hun Sen has a fallout with him. I won’t be surprized that Taksin might have been in Bkk.. It takes a police general “tomato” and his car! The late Pol Pot did it every fortnight while was along the border.
The plot is very clear–topple AV govt.. Like any good and successful terrorist organization compartmentalization is standard. Then the phases of the revolution is like shifting of gears. Misleading the press and all others is also necessary. Doesn’t this remind you the Vc demanding changes to the shape of the truce talk table while they boomed the hell out of their enemy? All the time for deal making and delay tactic put lots of pressure on the govt.. Judging from the confiscated weapons it does point to restive southern brand of terrorism if the current phase doesn’t work. Now that the mask of the peaceful protest is off UDD agree to the suggestion of the press and ngo. The govt made similar suggestion but it fell on deaf ears. Whatever it takes to win! They love the body count and that may tempt them to kill their own or others.
I am one of the Red Shirt Supporters. I feel hopeless here in England and not sure how to help them. I went back to Thailand last April to visit my family and had joined the protesters with my daughter. I do understand their cause as I was one of the students who fought for democracy 35 years ago. I would be deeply sad that all the efforts the students had done will be in vain!
Do keep up with your good work and show the world what Thai Priminister and his cronies are like – they are murderers! they should be brought to justice.
Is this partly from the same location as Nick’s experience here? There is horrible amount of gun fire, is the truck driver shot and fallen on the car horn?
Andrew, Perhaps you think the answer is obvious and so do all ecxept me when you ask:
Thanks Absolutely Anonymous. “If the majority has been bought, then is it a true, legitimate majority?” A perfect illustration of what we are arguing.
Perhaps that is why no response has come.
In the West ( e.g UK latest election) money and monied media proprieters largely determine the result which your readers mostly consider leigitmate so why not here?
“he admitted that men in military uniform had infiltrated and killed red shirt protesters to incite violence”.IS someone having a laugh here. what are they saying? Men in uniforms infultrated the army? God help the army if they ever had a real battle on their hand instead of picking off inocent civilians.
The Thai government continues disseminating the news regarding the protesters equipped with heavy weapons. Colonel Sansern stated that the photos regarding the murdered civilians had been doctored and altered. (The famous body that lied on the walkway near Century Hotel.)
As far as we know, we had not seen the government confiscated the heavy weapons or any machinery from the protesters. We saw the videos and pictures of the snipers on the tall buildings and soldiers carried M16.
If there are over 500 terrorists, just like the government had stated, we should have seen the heavy casualty from the military as well.
We wish the Human Rights organization can put some more pressures toward the government.
We do not know that actual death tolls after the army collected the corpses into their trucks.
We mourned with the families who had lost their loves one. May peaceful resolutions happen really soon…
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Abhisit’s iron fist – Sunday
An emergency protest in held in Sydney on Sunday May 16, 2010, in solidarity with the Thai Red Shirt protestors who were facing a brutal military assault in Bangkok. We called on the Australian government to condemn the illegitimate, military-installed, Ahbisit government for its brutal repression of peaceful protestors, to cut all diplomatic ties with the Thai government until the repression stops, and to end all military ties with the Thai government and armed forces
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1tHeNmd66c&feature=player_embedded
Abhisit’s iron fist – Sunday
Update: at 1:18 a.m.
Dead toll to 31, (earlier was 29)
– At Rajprasong stage, protest leaders still talking to people
– Nearby Klong Teoi, few shootings
– Earlier tonight, Dusit Thani hotel got attacked by series of M-79
Abhisit’s iron fist – Sunday
“After three days of wild street fighting that left 29 people dead and hundreds wounded, the leader, Nattawut Saikua, also offered to withdraw militant fighters from the streets and negotiate if the government called a cease-fire and withdrew its troops.
But he put forward a condition that was immediately rejected by the government, insisting that any talks be mediated by the United Nations. Mr. Nattawut’s offer suggested a closer relationship with the violent side of the protests than he had previously acknowledged. ”
Via: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/17/world/asia/17thai.html?src=mv
peaceful farmers wanting democracy???
Abhisit’s iron fist – Sunday
You said the Reds are unarmed?
http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-444838
Nick Nostitz in the killing zone
To all who passed by this page. I would like to tell you that you are getting one-side information, and from the too-far point of view. I am Thai and has been living here in Bangkok for whole life, want to share some information to you.
About 8 – 9 years ago, at least 50% of Thai people, including scientists and spiritual/religious leaders had supported Thaksin Shinnawatra. A few years later, almost of them has changed their mind after finding his dark side. Nowadays, at least 80% of Thai people are against him who is undeniably behind the red-shirt rally. Almost of his supporters are people in rural areas, mostly less educated. We cannot deny that there is too big social gap in Thailand, as in many other countries. But the violence is not the answer for this problem.
Currently it is the red-shirt leaders who arouse their people to fight violently and is uncontrollable now. And the soldiers are trying to bring peace back to our city. M79 were really used. The rally tried to get into the hospital and acted rude to doctors and nurses. It is not just a lie.
Statistically, you can easily compare the 193-dayyellow-shirt rally without deadly weapon like M79, while this 60-day red-shirt with more than 10 M79 since the first 30 day.
Please do not judge anyone TOO SOON. Be a good listener.
Sincerely yours,
Nick Nostitz in the killing zone
[…] fascinating and enlightening. (c) Agnes Dherbeys for The New York Times Though these tweets I found this first hand account of photographing a group of red shirts being shot at by government troops by photographer Nick Nostitz. He said of […]
Nick Nostitz in the killing zone
Doughcampa: Too bad that one could show side by side the guys saying that lies on tv with the pics and videos of the same places. Amazing Thailand.
Nick Nostitz in the killing zone
[…] Nick Nostitz in the killing zone Posted in Thaiuknews. Leave a Comment […]
Nick Nostitz in the killing zone
welcome to Thailand
Nick Nostitz in the killing zone
Thanks for the nice comments.
To be honest, this thing has shaken me up considerably, and i have taken off the day, doing nothing but picking up my motorcycle, which fortunately was still OK.
This article is the result of me having made a wrong call yesterday. I Thought the situation would develop like the two days before at Rama IV / Wireless intersection (where i photographed the protester who was shot in the head by the military), and the following afternoon at Wireless Road at Lumphini Police station (where Nelson Rand, the Matichon photographer and several protesters were shot – by the military as well). In both those incidents one could still work relatively safely when staying in cover. Military then shot only when protesters made moves towards them, and did not move themselves.
This one though turned out quite different – a barrage of shot carefully aimed at anything that moved (especially the group of protesters in front of me).
Unfortunately my wife had to see me on Thai television running from the soldiers shooting at me while i was still stuck in the house – one of the channels had some coverage of this, somehow.
This was a most terrifying experience. Presently i am far more scared of the soldiers than of the “Guys in Black” (yes – they are existing) who i had a brief encounter with the night before. One of them asked me politely not to take any images of him, and then walked off into no man’s land, a grenade launcher hidden under his jacket, not too long after followed by automatic rifle fire and several grenade blasts into the direction of the military. I am not condoning what they are doing, but as the situation is right now, i believe we have to begin to readjust our analyzes of the situation, and also on safety.
Ideological or political convictions aside (they don’t really matter while trying to cover this mess on the ground) – while working, we have to think about who is targeting us, and who is not likely to target us. So far, the military has not given me much reason to feel safe, especially their use of snipers on many of the high rises and bridges. But this is just my personal experience – others may feel different.
This story is also a strong warning on anyone covering this now, how quickly things may get out of hand. I have to think very hard on how, and if i keep covering this mess as working somewhat safely as a journalist is almost impossible now, which i learned the hard way.
And by the way, if anybody has or can get some information on the guy with the gut shot, if he possibly made it, and if – in which hospital he is, in that case – i would be very grateful. I am quite haunted by the terrible suffering he had to endure, and which i could not make any easier.
Reds’ fatal flaw: Thailand’s fatal flaw
thailand is a failed state
from poorest to wealthiest monarchy in 60 yrs!
there are no independant government parties with manifestos to elect
thaksin would win an election and fool most of the people a lot of the time, the social elit might change but only to be replaced by a richer dumber and more elitist group such as the sickening heirs of the khmer rouge in cambodia
a large percentage of thais believe that rama 9 is and should be the last king of his dynasty
by whom will he be replaced and how?
when will ‘farang’ stop looking at thailand as a retirement option and resort and start thinking of it as a country where to maintain low priced holidays at high end standards staff are paid peanuts.
abhisit could, if free from military, yellow, familial etc ties be a force for good, and maybe a single party system given a period of grace to reform while new parties are encouraged to form for a true election monitored by outside groups………………etc etc etc
does anyone actually have an idea where they can start?
Nick Nostitz in the killing zone
Thank you for a story that is totally different from Thai medias. What this government has done is far worse than I have imagined. The UDD just asked for an election from a questionable, if not illegitimate,я╗┐ government. Don’t say that the government is totally legitimate. Back in 2008, ifя╗┐ it was just only the coalition party who changed sides this would not be a case.
What made it ugly was after the party dissolution resulted from coup-appointed judges’ ruling, some of the former People’s Power party members spinned-off and joined the coalition government with the Democrats as a result of the military’s interference. This has disappointed the voters and it is the reason why they demands a fresh new election. I don’t think they have asked for too much.
More over, neither Abhisit has already negotiated nor the UDD has rejected the negotiation. The keyя╗┐ of negotiation is that one gives his own proposal and the other gives another and both parties come to concensus.
What really happened is that the group already accepted Abhisit’s proposals but Abhisit scrapped the plan and suppressed them right after the groupя╗┐ asked Suthep to report to the CSD first. But then Suthep just wanted to play a trick by reporting himself to the DSI. It might be important to note that Suthep himself is the head of DSI at the moment. What a Joke?! It is clear that Abhisit just gave the UDD one choice only and scrapped the plan right after the UDD proposed theirs. What was that? Negotiation? Abhisit did not even show his sincerity.
Moreover, we can see that Abhisit has lied so many times, e.g. the suppression of protestors atя╗┐ Rajdumnern when he told that it would be at Rajprasong, or even from this coverage. Only shotguns? That raised a question: what if he would not dissolve the parliament as promised? I think it is reasonable for the UDD to be prudent.
I can’t see any concrete reason why Abhisit should not give the people a fresh new election. For such situation, he should have dissolved the parliament and called for an election before things gets deep into crisis like this. Thaksin did this once for the sake of those Yellow Shirts in 2006.
Given that he got back into position after the election, and there still were protestors threatening him to dissolve the house again, he shall be able to exercise the law accordingly. The only reason I could see is that he fear he will lose again in the election just like in the past decade.
Last but not least, the coalition party should be able to stop this well before it has happened, in a very democratic way also. I just don’t catch why they still support the current government. This is just unbelievable.
Abhisit’s iron fist – Sunday
Sorry for the real long entry:
I got out in Suan Phlu, completely calm during the day, and found a woman selling sweet bread who told me that the people in Bon Kai cannot exit their home to buy food so she is roaming the area selling food door to door. I greeted her and drove to Ngan-Dumphli. The soi was more filled with people than yesterday, maybe also for the later hour. Everybody was tucked again to a wall on the right side of the soi, to hide from snipers. The front of the soi had been closed with a barricade of tires, this time not burning. Without smoke is possible to see the other side of Rama IV, where a similar group of red shirts was cluttered at the beginning of a small soi. From a nearby house a family was leaving the house, with some belonging stuffed into a big green bag, moving for some days to friends’ house in another part of Bangkok. Many people in the area, Thais and foreigners, are doing the same, scared away by the potential expansion of the conflict, or stocking food and beverages in the house, ready to be cut off from the rest of the city. The people hidden behind the barricade throw once in a while a firework in the direction of a building on the other side of Rama IV, where they say snipers have been seen. Every successful shoot is met with a cheer from the other people and a clap to the launcher. On the other side the military, about a 100 meters away down Rama IV keep shooting in this direction, without really doing much damages. “They have finished the rubber bullets” one man tells me, as he pulls down is white mask “now is just the real ones”. The motortaxi guy who has been organizing the movement of people there is still shouting directions to everybody, from few meters away. The groups at the front is made up of six or seven young Thais in black shirts and an equal numbers of journalist in blue bullet proof vests and a blue reinforced helmet. The number of journalist compared to the protesters gives the scene a funny taste, perfectly emblematic of the incestuous relationship between reality and perception through media. After a while a tuk-tuk stuffed with food and water arrives in the soi and drops four big bags filled with the white carton containers filled with rice and plain omelets. I sit there for a while watching the people taking turns in the front and coming back to eat something as a young man arrives with about ten fireworks. I decided then to move down to the Rama IV intersection toward Klong Toei. Here about 500 people are gathered, too far they say to be reached by the bullets of the army, but constantly watching the buildings, especially the Siam Commercial Bank down Rama IV, from which snipers have been shooting the day before. Early in the morning, an old man says, two people have been shot here by a yellow shirt guy from one of the building. The area have been totally claimed by the protesters who have build tires barricades on each of the four entrances and exits to the elevated highway and two lines of barricades extending for the whole of Rama IV. Three of those barricades are burning, as people from the side of Rama IV, protected under the highway make tires roll to the people hiding behind the barricade who constantly refurnished the burned ones. On the back, in the direction of Klong Toei a line of parked motorcycles divide the “dangerous area” from the “safe one” as people explain to me, but the distinction seems hardly real. Behind this line a huge crowd of probably a couple of thousands of people stretches down the road where a rudimental stage has been set a couple of days ago. Motorcycles are parked everywhere peppered by some cars and taxis. The police booth right under the highway has been claimed as a sort of “war room” in which some of the leaders discuss and come out occasionally to direct the constant delivery of new tires with big pick-ups and to tell the crowd to take it easy and stay calm. As I talk there to some motortaxi drivers whom I know a big pick-up brings food to the area and a motortaxi drivers uses a traffic cone to direct people into making a chain to unload the food and tell everyone to come get food, one box each and one water bottle. As the process goes on another man in black gear comes around and start calling people to take their bikes and go with him to an undisclosed place. He wants fifty of them. The call awakes the crowd as people frantically run to take their motorcycles and join the group that is forming underneath the highway. Every new bike is welcomed by the cheering crowd. The people around are shouting not to take pictures in this moment so I take away my camera and walk around, as people are covering their license plates with opened boxes and the motortaxis in the crowd take down their vests. One man in the middle of the group tucks a big axe into his paints pushing on his bear torso and puts on a military jacket to hide it. As they get ready as the deaf sound of a sniper gun, a scream. and people running away from the corner with Rama IV breaks the moment. An ambulance car drives through the crowd hastily and picks up an injured man down Rama IV, I run in that direction but is too late to see where he was hit. When I turn around the small motorcycle battery is already gone. I decide to drive back in the direction of Bon Kai, as the red light of sunset refract and disperse into the smoke coming from that direction. As I drive there s black guard with a visible headphone coming out of his ear stands in front of a tires shop, maybe patrolling their tires source. I arrive from the back streets of Soi Ngan-Dumplhi the air is filled with the scent of burning tires. Here the scene looks exactly like yesterday in Ngan-Dumplhi : a small soi with a thick wall of smoke and fire at the end and constant launches of Molotovs to keep the tires burning. Again the sound of bullets from the military fills Rama IV. The only difference is that here people seem not to be concerned of snipers and move freely in the soi. I sit there for a while as the darkness conquers the area. Shapes of man carved into the red flames. I decide to go back to Ngan-Dumplhi and check the situation there. The soi now is almost empty and totally dark, no fire, no light. I sit with a group of people on motorcycles that sit middle way through the soi and tells me is too dangerous to go forward. Today all of this back sois are filled with people, discussing or just listening to the evolving events. An older woman comes to me and shows me a xeros copy of an indistinguishable picture of dead bodies, claiming they belong to soldiers who refused to shoot and were brought back to their military camps and shoot dead. To me it looks like some grey image with a couple of distinguishable faces. She asks me to take a picture of it and tell the people in the world. I tell her I can barely see anything and I go back to the motorcycle crowd. One of them offers to show me where the snipers are and give me a tour of Soi Goethe, explain to me how to recognize what weapon the people are using. Short dry sound, sniper. Longer clear sound, rifle. Dry loud explosion, M-79. As he explains he mimes with his mouth the sounds and translates the noises that we hear around. He speaks quietly, hiding in the blackness and moving careful wherever a wall of a residence ends. A loud explosion sound fills the air. “This is us” he smiles “when is this loud is just fire-crackers”. The soi is interrupted by low barricades made of sand backs, covered with dark green cloth. “To prevent the army to come here from Sathorn soi 1” he says as he points in silence to a tall building on overlooking the area. “They are there” he whispers “be very careful”. This section of the soi, right before the Goethe Institute, is really dark I can just feel people wearing black moving around me but without really seeing them. I don’t like this place so I decide to go back and go check again at the Rama IV intersection. The situation is pretty much the same as before but the crowd is much smaller and the frequency of the shootings has relaxed. The tenth person today (prize) comes in my direction and asks me if I think that the UN will intervene and I give my standard answer now, explaining the problem for the UN in intervening in internal matters. He looks at me discouraged, lights a cigarette and stares into the empty. I leave the area, way too dangerous at this point, and walk down in the direction of the stage. People sit around a small stage made up of what looks like a very big table where speakers, mostly organizers from the nearby slum, step for a short while demanding that the government “stops killing the population”, spaced out by red shirt songs, to which some of the listeners sitting on the street pavement around the stage dance. The atmosphere is similar to a village fair in the middle of this gigantic city: street vendors, families hanging around, people sitting on motorcycles, and a constant flow of people walking up and down. I see there a couple of motorcycle taxis whom I know and chat with them, showing my pictures and explaining what I was down Rama IV, everytime this happens a small crowd comes around to watch the pictures, ask information, and tell me that in Ding Deng some soldiers are not Thai but Khmer people brought in by Newin and paid to so a job that fellows Thais refuse to. Whether true or not, these rumors tells, as the other myriads flooding around the protesters, are a fantastic commentary on collective fears, nationalistic sentiments, and perceived enemies of the red shirts and their personal attempts to make sense of the ongoing situation. I walk to the stair and a local Klong Toei organizer tells me that they are going to build stages like this all around the city, as they already did in Victory Monument, he claims, reproducing and fragmenting the peaceful protest in Ratchaprasong. The peaceful village fair atmosphere, however, takes a minute to transform in dense and silencing fear. As I stand behind the stage the light goes out, as in the rest of Rama IV, and a loud explosion breaks tears the joyful mood. Silence comes, with people frantically taking the speaker down stage, and stand up from the pavement. The minute of dense tension, with people running around is eased by the return of the light, as the next speaker comes to the stage.
Abhisit’s iron fist – Sunday
The main man said Thailand would have no peace if he was punished by Thai court which he tried to grease/lawyers came with 2mln baht stuffed in confectionary boxes. The sicko has a phd in criminology, remember that. He is always a few steps ahead of his adversary. Made many honest mistakes during his tenure.
I spent an entire month in Chiangmai and attended anti-govt every night. More sickos were seen punching the filthy air of his hometown everytime hatred was suggested. I must say all those speeches were addictive and mind-blowing. Imagine getting these poison since Mar 12×24 hours.
The safest place on Planet Earth for Taksin is Cambodia. Try to stomach the notion that H.H. Hun Sen has a fallout with him. I won’t be surprized that Taksin might have been in Bkk.. It takes a police general “tomato” and his car! The late Pol Pot did it every fortnight while was along the border.
The plot is very clear–topple AV govt.. Like any good and successful terrorist organization compartmentalization is standard. Then the phases of the revolution is like shifting of gears. Misleading the press and all others is also necessary. Doesn’t this remind you the Vc demanding changes to the shape of the truce talk table while they boomed the hell out of their enemy? All the time for deal making and delay tactic put lots of pressure on the govt.. Judging from the confiscated weapons it does point to restive southern brand of terrorism if the current phase doesn’t work. Now that the mask of the peaceful protest is off UDD agree to the suggestion of the press and ngo. The govt made similar suggestion but it fell on deaf ears. Whatever it takes to win! They love the body count and that may tempt them to kill their own or others.
Nick Nostitz in the killing zone
Dear Nick
I am one of the Red Shirt Supporters. I feel hopeless here in England and not sure how to help them. I went back to Thailand last April to visit my family and had joined the protesters with my daughter. I do understand their cause as I was one of the students who fought for democracy 35 years ago. I would be deeply sad that all the efforts the students had done will be in vain!
Do keep up with your good work and show the world what Thai Priminister and his cronies are like – they are murderers! they should be brought to justice.
Kind regards
Jip
Nick Nostitz in the killing zone
Is this partly from the same location as Nick’s experience here? There is horrible amount of gun fire, is the truck driver shot and fallen on the car horn?
Hope to hear if this is same location:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w9YJVR_HEM
Abhisit’s iron fist – Sunday
Important post by Bangkok Pundit about the concerns of Abhisit’s coalition partners.
Reds’ fatal flaw: Thailand’s fatal flaw
Andrew, Perhaps you think the answer is obvious and so do all ecxept me when you ask:
Thanks Absolutely Anonymous. “If the majority has been bought, then is it a true, legitimate majority?” A perfect illustration of what we are arguing.
Perhaps that is why no response has come.
In the West ( e.g UK latest election) money and monied media proprieters largely determine the result which your readers mostly consider leigitmate so why not here?
Abhisit’s iron fist – Sunday
“he admitted that men in military uniform had infiltrated and killed red shirt protesters to incite violence”.IS someone having a laugh here. what are they saying? Men in uniforms infultrated the army? God help the army if they ever had a real battle on their hand instead of picking off inocent civilians.
Nick Nostitz in the killing zone
The Thai government continues disseminating the news regarding the protesters equipped with heavy weapons. Colonel Sansern stated that the photos regarding the murdered civilians had been doctored and altered. (The famous body that lied on the walkway near Century Hotel.)
As far as we know, we had not seen the government confiscated the heavy weapons or any machinery from the protesters. We saw the videos and pictures of the snipers on the tall buildings and soldiers carried M16.
If there are over 500 terrorists, just like the government had stated, we should have seen the heavy casualty from the military as well.
We wish the Human Rights organization can put some more pressures toward the government.
We do not know that actual death tolls after the army collected the corpses into their trucks.
We mourned with the families who had lost their loves one. May peaceful resolutions happen really soon…