A SOLDIER was killed and 18 people were injured yesterday in clashes in the northern suburbs of Bangkok between security forces and red-shirted anti-government forces.
The political crisis, which has devastated Thailand’s tourism industry, has been going on for seven weeks now and the government’s patience is said to be running thin.
Yesterday’s violence took place 40km from downtown Bangkok, on a road connecting the northern suburbs to the city. Thousands of red shirts, supporters of exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, arrived in a convoy of pick-up trucks and motorbikes to stage a rally as part of the opposition leadership’s attempts to widen protests across the city.
The soldier who died was believed to have been the victim of friendly fire after security forces shot at a group of military who were joining the fight.
“We brought force out to stop them. At this point, society finds it unacceptable to have protesters travelling in a motorcade like this. We try our best to prevent losses,” said Sansern Kaewkamnerd, a spokesman for the military.
There is little appetite for bloodshed among the security forces, many of whom sympathise with the opposition group.
The red shirts want Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to stand down and declare elections, saying he took power without any legitimate mandate. Mr Thaksin was ousted by a military coup in 2006 and Mr Abhisit was installed a few years later after army-engineered parliamentary machinations removed political parties supportive of Mr Thaksin.
Mr Abhisit insists he wants to end the conflict peacefully, but there is no clear indication of how he plans to do this, particularly since he called off negotiations with the red shirts days ago.
Troops fired rubber bullets at the protesters, then live rounds as some demonstrators tried to remove razor wire blocking their access.
The red shirts are mostly made up of poor farmers and the urban working class, and they see Mr Abhisit’s government as representing an elite that is indifferent to their situation.
Rumours abound in Bangkok about when the security forces will move in to remove the red shirts from behind their barricade on the Silom Road downtown. Some said that the attack would come overnight, although riot police said that there would be no crackdown anytime soon.
The atmosphere is extremely tense. A firecracker near the intersection, which made an explosion-like sound, prompted panic in both camps.
On one side of the road, riot police stationed in the grounds of the luxury Dusit Thani hotel line up in their protective gear, awaiting orders to launch a possible offensive. The opposition protesters have support among the police in particular, some of whom say that they are not planning to fight and kill the red shirts.
Further along the street, soldiers in full battle dress with assault rifles and shotguns stand outside the shopping malls and bars of the area. One of the city’s legendary party zones, Patpong, is right beside the occupied area, and business has been badly affected by the unrest.
Between the hotel and the barricades, traffic along the thoroughfare continues to flow, and normal life is continuing in Bangkok despite the tension. The barricade is made up of tyres, bamboo sticks and blue netting. The protesters have doused the structure with petrol and say they will set it on fire if the security forces attack. They have piles of rocks, bags of bolts and sharpened bamboo sticks to defend the occupation zone.
At least 26 people have been killed and hundreds wounded since the red shirts began occupying parts of Bangkok in mid-March.