world

Bangkok burns after protest leaders arrested

34 Comments

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

© Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

34 Comments
Login to comment

These troops are serious. Scary situation.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

this is a little voice from bangkok resident where some of world most famous news medias like to skip. got some english translation there along with thai language

http://www.oknation.net/blog/supawan/2010/05/18/entry-2

to me those bkk resident are the real victim of violence. all of this should never happen if the red keep their promise and leave town when their own leader agree with the new election date almost 2 weeks ago.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

An Associated Press photographer has seen three foreign journalists shot during the army operation in Bangkok, and one of them appears dead.

Open season on foreign journalists?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_thailand_politics

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Open season on foreign journalists?

Just in from a young German journalist at the scene: For other journalists at DinDaeng: get rid of camera and green batch otherwise you get caught by reds!

One dead Italian journalist is confirmed.

Newest updates from the scene: http://twitter.com/vaitor http://twitter.com/freakingcat

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It does indeed look like the military wants to end this now. But will it really end simply by breaking up and arresting/killing a certain number of the group while not holding talks in the end? I doubt it. We'll see them lay low for a while, regroup, rearm, and possibly try it again in the near future.... or at the very least, if the same person wins the election in a couple of years.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

What a clumpsy, disaster way to settle the account by Thai government. Sure they will be defeated today but these protesters will no doubt try other ways in the future. It is rather unfortunate for Thailand that UN offer was flatly rejected by this troubled government.Bad.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Thanks @tigris Pretty crazy following those brave (crazy?) guys on Twitter.Wish they were using #hashtags to lump all their tweets together

@smithinjapan Agree.This will not go away soon.Lots more violence reported on Twitter in the past few minutes

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@michaelgtodd

Your welcome. Thailand was my second home from 1995-2008. Experienced the coup and was at the airport during the occupation. Have lots of friends, colleagues and former neighbors there I am worried about.

The many peaceful protesters who have justified claims are gone since last week. What's left is the militant wing of the reds, many of them who armed and dangerous. As a journalist I would be now more worried about them because the propaganda that all protesters are peaceful and unarmed is blown. The tweets of vaitor and freakingcat (and other major news orgs) confirm that. Hope they are careful and not too crazy. I am sure they don't wear vests and helmets because that would give them away.

As long as Thaksin is fomenting and financing the unrest (now from Montenegro) this will not end. He is absolutely ruthless and will do anything to get back his power and money in Thailand. He is also a master of propaganda with unlimited funds. Many people who know the situation well are angry about the major western news outlets who portrait this as a Robin-Hood style uprising. It is far from being that simple.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

reading from the twitter link that tigris gave earlier, now that crazy.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Now it's really open season on journalists - not just foreign ones:

Thailands Channel 3 TV is sending SOS to troops/police for protection against red shirts.

From a Thai journalist: Angry Din Daeng reds going after reporters. http://twitter.com/tulsathit

It is those fearless guys who provide us with news from the spot. They should be highly commended.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

speechless seeing bangkok today. hope all of my friend over there safe, the freakingcat's twitter dude too. and tigris, i hope people you know over there will be safe too.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

another people's movement betrayed by the purported leaders... was all this for nothing in the end? i sure hope a genuine international solidarity movement emerges soon, maybe from these very protests? plus south europe?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@ thedeath

Thanks for your concern. All the people I know seem to be ok. Everybody is shaken. The 3 journalists at twitter are fine too. tulsathit is still active, the 2 others at home.

Unfortunately this will not be the end. It will continue as a well financed terror and guerilla campaign. As the mastermind said many years ago: "Democracy is just a tool, not our goal" (Thaksin in an interview with The Nation 2003-12-11). He knows how to you use this "tool" well and is a master in propaganda. What is so sad, that people are so gullible and I mean not only Thais. The reporting in the main media, BBC, CNN...etc etc has been terrible. They hail Thaksin as a democratically elected leader who got thrown out, forgetting that he had hundreds of his opponents executed, not speaking about the atrocities in South Thailand under his regime. No word about him dismantling democratic institutions, check and balances, election fraud, vote buying on a massiv scale, tax fraud, intimating critical media or just buying them up and firing the journalists, or in the worst case making them disappear. Most say, he was corrupt, but hey there was 'democracy' and peace. Truely sad.

This is a war between the HAVE plenty (the 'elite') and the HAVE loads (Thugsin and his leaders), but is fought over the backs of the HAVE NOTHING's (soldiers and police) and the HAVE EVEN LESS's (the poor). from a poster in Bangkok

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@ Bholder

I doubt it. What will probably happen is that there will be some form of 'elections' in the near future and another scumbag, no matter from which side will take over. That's how it works these days in the 'information' age.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

"The Red Shirt protest leadership surrendered to authorities Wednesday afternoon and the army declared itself in full control, but fresh violence soon erupted across central Bangkok and unrest boiled over in the northeastern countryside, where the protests draw many of their mostly poor, rural supporters."

Boom. Exaclty what I indicated would happen early. The Red-Shirts calling it quits in their barricaded space has caused the riots as a whole to spread out. Now instead of a relatively contained protest you have spread out chaos, and it looks like it's turning more violent in terms of Thais destroying property, though it may not be quite as violent towards the military itself. If it keeps up, it will be MUCH harder to contain then the Red-Shirts, and if more and more of Thai's poor get involved it might actually boil over into a kind of revolution.

Here's hoping it ends soon, peacefully, and with little more damage than has been done already.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

As a Government/Media you should be in power for the populace. When you forget that there is discontent and always the possibility for overthrow.

I hope a new balance can be reached and some sort of happiness found. I believe the PM had many ways to fix problems, but refused to do so for whatever selfish reason. Now everyone must pay the price for foolishness.

This happens all the time with Socialism/Libs = people refuse to speak up and fix problems until the problems are "too big to fail" --> instead of fixing what you have -the whole system must start over.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

if it indeed turns into a revolution i will care far more whether it will succeed in bringing long lasting and irreversible improvement in quality of life, kindness and justice in social relations and advancement in humanity's morals as every revolution promises than how soon or peaceful it ends, or how much damage it causes along the way...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

We shouldn't forget that the present government ousted the duly elected government with a coup back a few years ago. The "red shirts" are now giving the "yellow shirts" back what they were given. You shall reap as you sow, and all that. Kein merheit fur die mitleid.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@smithinjapan

If it keeps up,....boil over into a kind of revolution.

I doubt it. First, Thailand is still very much a feudal society and with the leaders in jail the vandalism and aggression will probably simmer down soon. Second, at its height the protesters amounted to 50,000-60,000 people. A minority in a country of 61 million. The large majority of Thais, including yellow and red sympathisers are totally fed up with both 'active' protesting factions. Including the people in Isaan (the north where most protesters come from). Most of the farmers up north are more concerned about the bad harvest they might have this year. Most just want to get on with their lives, be able to go to back to their place of work. There is also a huge number of poor people in Bangkok who lost their job or income during the protests. It always hits the poorest most, as usual. But in the longer run there will bombings and acts of terrorism (see my comment above).

@Badsey

What has this to do with Socialism/Libs?? Are you insinuating that the current Thai government and PM were Socialists - supported by the royals? Give us all a break. Throwing around words like socialism, liberal etc without having a clue about their meaning and appropriate use or justification is just flaming. Just hot air, meaningless in an intelligent discussion. You prove the point I made above.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

That is why it is called a "Revolution" things go in circles and events repeat themselves.

:P

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@ calic0cat The government which was ousted a few years back was not 'duly elected' - it was bought. See my post above: "Democracy is not the goal it is a TOOL." (ousted PM Thaksin)

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Badsey, excellent post. Had you never even heard of Thailand before today?

LOL

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@ Patrick Thanks for the laugh! The first on such a sad day.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Boycott Thailand!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I like Thailand rice (ichiban) -so I guess I do have an interest.

I see two bad choices here = two criminals fighting for it (independent nation) The blackshirts maybe staged -shooting at the redshirts to steal rights away from the Thai people (a crackdown). I believe the Thai people are maybe getting set-up by the globalists. =Unwinnable solutions right now.

All the Thai people should hold hands and peacefully protest both of these criminal parties or they will lose out = what they have right now is better than anything that could possibly come out of this. Just like the US --> they must form a new party that is independent from the corruption and true to the people.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Wow, these people really deserve each other. Burning down Bankok is not my idea of an effective protest strategy. Attacking news outlets that don't report the way you like is just dumb and counterproductive. They seem to think violence against anyone who disagrees is okay. Which makes their complaints all the more ironic.

It's amazing that someone can demand "Democracy" and decry "violence" with a grenade launcher and torch in his hands.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

BTW there aren't any real protesters left, they gave up or went home - most of them weeks ago. What you have left is people with weapons attacking burning and looting, mostly against civilians.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@ Badseye

It is not so black and white or black and red as you suggest in your comment. The blackshirts are an armed militia who are part of the redshirts. Together they fight the yellowshirts and their foot soldiers, the military. The blackshirts were commanded and trained by former military general Seh Daeng ('Commander Red') who was murdered last week. Seh Daeng, a rather shady character was known in Bangkok for running a protection gang for prostitution rackets before he aligned himself with former PM Thaksin who stuffed his pockets. Thaksin (aka as Thugsin, Toxin or Taxin) is running a 'democracy' scheme on the run from justice around the globe using and financing the poor reds. First from England, but after his visa got revoked there, from China, then Dubai, Cambodia and recently from Montenegro. I guess that makes him a globalist. The blackshirts shoot at the military (the yellows), civilians and since yesterday at journalists, foreign as well as Thai. Also at fire fighters, preventing them to extinguish the fires at the buildings they torched.

Most Thai people not on the payroll of globalist Thaksin, including sympathizers for the reds and yellows are tired of all this and much too poor to spend more than 2 months off work to protest in Bangkok. Others in Bangkok, the rich and the poor just want to get on with their lives. The rich worry about their profits and the poor worry about their livelihoods.

This sounds quite confusing. But with the international media, especially the so-called 'liberal' media like BBC, CNN, The Guardian, Germany's Der Spiegel writing uninformed badly researched drivel, it is kind of hard to see through the fog. None of the above mentioned media (neither FOX TV nor anybody else) did thorough research on the backgrounds of the red leaders. Nobody knows who they really are and where they are coming from. Only their names are mentioned. Anybody out there who can repeat them?

In fact the foreign media coverage was so bad and distorted, riddled with factual errors, that I was embarrassed working for the media myself. The western media just love this David and Goliath or Robin Hood and the sheriff stories - anybody with a democracy banner in the so-called third world is their hero. It is a kind of reflex. They only woke up yesterday after being hunted down and shot at by the 'freedom fighters'. You may read a Thai pinned and thought provoking analysis about this here:

http://www.somtow.org/2010/05/dont-blame-dan-rivers.html

Don't forget to read 'A few small clarifications'. While I don't agree with every word I consider it as one of the best written contributions to this mess.

Finally , Badseye, enjoy your Thai rice!

@ Bholder

I also recommend that article above to you. I humbly disagree with what you wrote in your comment (last paragraph) you wrote on May 17th, 11:08AM.

Seems so far everything is quiet in Bangkok this morning. Even the ones who went berserk yesterday need to sleep off the after effects of Yaba.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

-You are being fooled if you think these two parties are different = they are controlled by the same (foreign) criminal entity. They want to control/enslave Thailand now, just like Greece etc. More taxes, more control, less rights.

They will let this get way out of hand for a few weeks, ask for UN help (even if they don't need it) and then clamp down hard. Your corrupt politicians will sell out to these globalists for bottom dollar (most likely they already have)

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@ Badseye

Recommend that you have the Thai rice you are eating checked. Post come-down effects of Thailand's most popular drug Yaba include anxiety, confusion and paranoia.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

As a Government/Media you should be in power for the populace.

“TRY” read what happen over there before you try to comment base on your know-nothing knowledge.

I believe the PM had many ways to fix problems, but refused to do so for whatever selfish reason. Now everyone must pay the price

For crying out loud read the news! The new election data has been agree by both parties. Who “refused” to do what they had promised?

people refuse to speak up and fix problems until the problems are "too big to fail"

thais refuse to speak up? You call years of protest from both yellow and read as refuse to speak up?

-You are being fooled if you think these two parties are different = they are controlled by the same (foreign) criminal entity. They want to control/enslave Thailand now, just like Greece etc. More taxes, more control, less rights. They will let this get way out of hand for a few weeks, ask for UN help (even if they don't need it) and then clamp down hard. Your corrupt politicians will sell out to these globalists for bottom dollar (most likely they already have)

now that tell how much you read news about thailand lately.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@tigris I didn't say Thaksin wasn't corrupt, that goes for most politicians. But unless he had made a move to thwart the constitution, such as not submitting to arrest for crimes duly processed in the court, then the army had no business moving in. Even if Thaksin was arrested (or ran away, in this case) there should be a line of succession in place that doesn't involve the army.

Thaksin may just be a Thai version of Chavez, but is moving the army in the best policy?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Just another example of a third world country where the "people" have once again confused anarchy with democracy.............in no small thanks to the MSM.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@calic0cat

Thaksin is not just normally corrupt, he was much worse. We can see it now: He is prepared to destroy the country for getting his hands back on his money and power. Not Chavez, more like Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines. Thaksin's whole family and business friends were in his cabinet changing laws at will to enrich him/themself massively. Just before he sold his shares of Shin Corp he changed the law to avoid paying taxes for a profit of US$1,88 Billion. He was starting to run the country like a dictator with some democratic underpinnings for better packaging. What's better? A dictator or a junta? I was in Thailand at the time of the coup and personally thought (very reluctantly!) - like many - that it was the only way to stop him considering his ruthlessness and where this was heading. Consider also that he had THOUSANDS of people extrajudicially executed, many shot in the back on the street. It was by all definitions a massacre. The world opinion didn't care much then. It was a difficult decision for the Thais and they pay the price now. It was certainly not a good policy, but there was no best one.

This is a good read, even I don't agree with every word: http://www.somtow.org/2010/05/dont-blame-dan-rivers.html Please read also the 'clarifications'.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites