Thai police confront ‘red shirts’
THAILAND: Hundreds of Thai riot police moved on Friday in
front of a barricade erected by anti-government protesters in Bangkok’s
Silom business district, a day after grenade attacks in the area killed
three people.
Thai television said police asked the “red shirts” to dismantle the
barrier. They made no move to do so, and TV pictures showed protesters
pouring what a reporter said was fuel onto the barricade, which is made
up largely of tyres.
The government said the grenades on Thursday, which also wounded 75
people, were fired from the red shirt protest area.
Leaders of the red shirts, who have been demonstrating in Bangkok for
six weeks seeking new elections, denied they were to blame.
The grenade blasts came 12 days after clashes between troops and
protesters killed 25 people and wounded more than 800 in the country’s
worst street violence in 18 years.
The protesters, supporters of ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra, have also been occupying an upmarket shopping area for three
weeks.
Any attempt to disperse them risks heavy casualties and the prospect
of clashes spilling into high-end residential areas.
However, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said there would be
no crackdown Thursday night because women and children were in the area.
Adding to the volatile mix, a new “multi-coloured” group is planning
a demonstration of 50,000 people in Bangkok’s old quarter on Friday to
demand the “red shirts” end their rally.
Demonstrations by this group have increased the tension in the Silom
business district this week.
“There are now two conflicting groups and this kind of confrontation
could create havoc and turmoil,” said Somjai Phagaphasvivat, politics
and economics professor at Thammasat University.
Under growing pressure to restore order, the army warned the red
shirts on Thursday their “days are numbered”.
Bangkok, Friday, Reuters
|