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Special to the tribune 20 killed in Army offensive; fear of civil war looms large Larry Jagan in Bangkok Thailand’s capital remains a war zone after the security forces blazed their way into an anti-government rally in the city centre that effectively brought Bangkok to a halt on Wednesday, killing more than 20 persons and forcing most of the protesting leaders to surrender. The army was still mopping up, sources said. A curfew imposed on Wednesday night has been extended for three more days to allow the military to secure the city and route any more disaffected protesters who have taken things into their hands. Enraged Red Shirt supporters went on rampage, burning buildings, smashing shop windows and attacking telephone booths all over the city centre. The charred remains of more than 30 buildings dominate the skyline now, as clouds of thick black smoke still billow into the air, from smouldering piles of rubber tyres the protesters used as barricades to stop the soldiers pressing forward. Small-scale riots erupted right across northern Thailand, as angry Red Shirt supporters vent their ire at the violent dispersal of the main demonstration in Bangkok, raising fears that this could widen into a civil war. At least 40 buildings were badly burnt, according to the city’s fire department. Central World, one of South East Asia’s largest shopping malls, the stock exchange, a theatre in Siam Square, and a bank downtown have been targeted. A TV station, Channel 3, run by the military was surrounded and its staff held hostage.“This is what we had always feared, the protesters venting their anger at symbols of their discontent,” said Thai Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij. “We had always been careful not to be provoked,” Korn said. The protesters had been occupying key parts of Bangkok for more than 10 weeks now, demanding that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva should dissolve parliament immediately and hold fresh elections. In the first few days of the protest, two months ago, more than 200,000 Red Shirts had accepted the UUD’s call to mount a mass protest. But in recent days, the numbers had dwindled to less than 4,000 in the face of repeated threats by the government to send in the soldier, who had been issued live ammunition. “I cry for my country, what has it come to,” said a sad Red Shirt sympathiser. “But when they arrest our leaders ... we had no alternative but to show this government how upset we feel,” said 22-year-old accounting student Niratchai Sunthonsak. “This is the government’s fault,” she said. “See our leaders surrendered to save lives, but the soldiers are still shooting Red Shirts,” she added. For a week, the government had tried to squeeze the protesters out of their site in the city’s commercial centre - cutting off food, electricity and water - and preventing new supporters from joining the rally. But on Wednesday, the military moved against the Red Shirt rally and quickly sent the demonstrators scurrying - leaving 14 dead and more than 130 injured. Many of the Red Shirt supporters remain defiant even in the face of the soldiers’ gun-fire. “We are here to get democracy,” said Pichai Onwong, a taxi driver from the poor neigbourhood in Bangkok. “They can kill us, but they cannot make us give up our fight,” he told The Tribune. “This messy army crackdown will not be the end. It’s likely to be the beginning of a new phase,” said Professor Kevin Hewison, an expert on Thailand at the University of North Carolina. “The rifts and divisions now in Thai society will be difficult to heal.” In the current situation, where both sides detest and mistrust each other, an election won’t solve anything. It could just worsen the situation. Even the Thai Finance Minister conceded this when he admitted: “It is necessary to have an election, but there are a few things that we need to put to bed before an election can be held.” “The most important thing is to have an environment where a free and fair election can be held,” he said. “I cannot imagine after the events on the streets that anybody from either side would feel safe to hold an election.” Protesters’ voice This is government’s fault…. See our leaders surrendered to save lives, but the soldiers are still shooting Red Shirts. — A studentWe are here to get democracy. They can kill us, but they cannot make us give up our fight. — A taxi driverThis messy army crackdown will not be the end. It’s likely to be the beginning of a new phase. — A professorThe movement, the background The Red Shirts, called so because of the colour of clothes they wear, are predominantly the poor from the country’s north-east and Bangkok. Officially, the movement is called the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship or the UDD. Many of them are supporters of the fugitive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was overthrown by a military coup in 2006 and is living in self-exile abroad. The movement is opposed to the country’s wealthy middle-class and social elite that, they felt, had cheated on them. Ministerspeak
It is necessary to have an election, but there are a few things that we need to put to bed before an election can be held. I cannot imagine, after the events on the streets, that anybody from either side would feel safe to hold an election.
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