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No laughing matter. Soldier on guard at Silom Road. |
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On 19 April the Red Shirts announced they would march into Silom Road (the heart of Bangkok's Business District) the next day. As a result the army is taking precautions and has positioned soldiers (at most a few hundreds on 19 April) along Silom Road, with special protection planned for the Bangkok Bank branch there and CP Tower. We guess these businesses are supposed to support the government's position.
When we arrived there (for once, carrying our camera with us), we were greeted by loud speeches when emerging from the subway station. The exit from Rajadamri Road onto Rama IV road was blocked by heavy flower pots and barbed wire and a few hundred Red Shirts were already there as an advanced force of more to come. Please, foreign correspondents sympathetic to the Red Shirts's cause, note that there was no permission granted for this protest, the Red Shirts just go where they please. For all we know, this is illegal in most 'democratic' countries.
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Red Shirts on Rajadamri Road, behind a makeshift barricade. |
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Soldiers and army vehicles, some stockpiles of razor wire, were positioned along Silom Road. It was all a bit bizarre, with both foreigners and Thai taking snapshots. The sidewalk had to be abondoned for walking on the road itself, because some barbed wire was deployed around important buildings.
The soldiers present appeared to us a bit older than we had imagined, suggesting that most of them are professional forces, and not conscripts. Most seem to have a physionomy (square faces and dark skin) , suggesting country side origin, interestingly like most of the Red Shirts protesters.
The walkway above ground between the subway station and the skytrain station on Silom Road was closed with barbed wire and soldiers preventing access.
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Soldiers in front of a Mexican restaurant on Silom Road. |
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This is just a day in the life of Bangkok. The Red Shirts protests have been going on for more than a month now. On 10 April and later a total of 25 people died as a result of clashes between protesters and the army along Ratchadamnoen road. Soldiers then abandoned their positions, even leaving behind weapons and army vehicles. Likely, no one wants a repeat of this event. On 19 April itself, it is quite unclear what will happen tomorrow. Will the army retreat again and leave Silom Road at the mercy of the Red Shirts? Will it be just a push and shove situation, without the army using real weapons (a no win situation for the army, since the soldiers will be outnumbered)? Will we witness again a bloody event? And really, will the Red Shirts show up? They are quite flexible in their decision making, and may find another less protected target.
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Red Shirts on a small truck. |
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What is happening in Thailand now certainly is unique. Where in the world do you have a month long occupation of important parts of the capital city, without permission, and without the government really imposing law and order? Imagine, protesters pouring out human blood on the steps of 10 Downing Street, or the White House. Yet, that is what happened in Bangkok, when they targeted the residence of the prime minister. Imagine, protesters storming into the parliament building in London, or trespassing onto Capitol Hill in Washington. The Red Shirts did exactly that in Bangkok, invading the parliament compound, and forcing parliamentarians to flee even by helicopter from the grounds. Foreign correspondents can take this into consideration, before expressing sympathetic views for the protesters, who want 'democracy'.
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Soldiers behind barbed wire, preventing access to the walkway above ground on Silom Road. |
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More and larger pictures
Follow Up :
There is a standoff between the Red Shirts and the security forces. Things got quite a bit more complicated when Silom residents and sympathizers started venting their anger at the Red Shirts. Projectiles started being thrown, both groups provoking each other with megaphones etc.
In the evening of 22 April a major accident occurred, when grenates were launched along Silom Road. They targeted the people protesting against the Red Shirts and exploded mostly around (on?) the Saladaeng Skytrain station, while at least one exploded close to the entrance of Dusit Thani Hotel, with visible damage to the Au Bon Pain outlet closeby. At least one person (at various times 3 victims were claimed) died as a result, and many were seriously wounded and ended up in hospitals (the Bangkok Christian Hospital and Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital are very closeby). Police communicated that the grenates were launched from the Red Shirts' site.
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