Bangkok Crisis Breaking News Only

[blackman]

does anyone have any news as to whats happening right now in Bangkok?

if so please post it here

only news please no speculation or political comments

there are plenty of threads going on for that purpose

travel, road closures, areas to avoid etc

this will benefit tourists and locals alike

[IMA_FARANG]

Yahoo news has this headline at this time

Thai soldiers, anti-government protesters clash

By AMBIKA AHUJA and GRANT PECK, Associated Press Writers Ambika Ahuja And Grant Peck, Associated Press Writers – 13 mins ago

BANGKOK

Thai soldiers unleashed hundreds of rounds of automatic weapons fire to clear rock-throwing anti-government protesters from a major intersection in the capital in the pre-dawn darkness Monday.

Forty-nine people were reported hurt in the first serious clash between the two sides in ongoing protests that have roiled this southeast Asian nation and came a day after the country's ousted prime minister called for a revolution.

While the government has declared a state of emergency, protesters controlled many streets in the capital Bangkok. They had earlier commandeered public buses and swarmed triumphantly over military vehicles in defiance.

YAHOO NEWS LINK: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ap_on_re_as/as_thailand_politics

Edited April 13, 2009 by IMA_FARANG

[Alliecat]

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingne...tthaya-Intersec

Si Ayutthaya junction is blocked

[sanook2me]

does anyone have any news as to whats happening right now in Bangkok?

if so please post it here

only news please no speculation or political comments

there are plenty of threads going on for that purpose

travel, road closures, areas to avoid etc

this will benefit tourists and locals alike

Travel - roads nice and quiet thousands of people have evacuated Bkk for the provinces

Places to avoid - Khao Sarn Rd and Silom

Hope this helps....

[cat5]

At midnight last night, the Red Shirts had complete control of the area around Phitsanulok / Phetchaburi Road junction. The were directing traffic and dancing on the roof of a police van when I last saw them. I don't suppose they have left.

[IMA_FARANG]

THIS NOW ON THE BANGKOK NATION NEWSPAPER WEB SITE

POLITICAL TURMOIL

CRACKDOWN BEGINS

At least 77 were injured as troops, firing tear gas and shots into the air, moved in to retake the Din Daeng intersection near Victory Monument from protesters.

Troops, firing shots into the air, have apparently retaken control of the Din Daeng intersection from red-shirted protesters, according to TV news reports. There were reportedly some injuries but no immediate reports of death.

At least 77 people suffered minor injuries, many from tear gas, according to hospital reports. About five persons were seriously injured. The red-shirted movement claimed "several" of its members suffered gunshot wounds, and condemned the authorities' use of live bullets in the crackdown.

TV news footage showed soldiers firing shots into the air. Tear gas was also fired, TV reporters at the scene said. A few hundred troops were involved in the operation.

At around 7.20 am, the government announced it was in control of the situation at Din Daeng.

[dominique355]

On TV they just reported that the protesters have placed a gas tank truck at an intersection in Din Daeng. The tank appears to be full!!!

And the REd Shirts are fighting with journalists and reporters on the street.

[h90]

http://www.thailandoutlook.tv/toc/ViewData...?DataID=1013747

FLASH NEWS: Warnings of Possible Torching of Various Sites

UPDATE : 13 April 2009

The police have come out to warn that banks and petrol stations may be the targets of red shirt protesters in bombings and torchings to wreak havoc. Reports have also come in of red shirt protesters stealing a gas truck and parking it at the Din Daeng intersection, causing concern for people living in the area. Members of the press covering the red shirt rally at Government House have retreated for fear of their safety after the protesters say they cannot guarantee their safety anymore. Another report says a group of 500 red shirt protesters are making their way to the Democrat Party headquarters to prepare to torch the building. Police presence there is limited.

Members of press at Royal Plaza have also left the area, after leaders of red-shirt protesters have announced they'll no longer guarantee the safety of the media. Most members of the press have fallen back to regroup at Parliament.

[Splatter]

9.00am

Nana Intersection looks like it is waking up slowly.

No troops or police.

Early signs of water festival continuing.

9.30am

Area around Central Dept Store, Chidlom,

as quiet as quiet can be.

[amrishtony]

Any news about Kao San Raod or Silom Road for Songkran Fun??

[madi]

Any news about Kao San Raod or Silom Road for Songkran Fun??

Here is some live reporting with views.

http://wwitv.com/portal.htm?http://wwitv.c...annels/8265.htm

[IMA_FARANG]

Here's what Bangkok Post ahs to say about the current situation in Thailand

News » Local News

RED RAMPAGE

Soldiers shooting in the air and firing tear gas have cleared the first small group of red shirts from an area near the Victory Monument. Dozens of people were injured.

Troops began moving in to disperse red-shirt protesters at about 4 a.m. Monday morning in their attempt to open traffic at Din Daeng intersection which has been blocked since Sunday.

Army spokesman Col Sansern Kaewkamnerd said that troops first ordered the protesters to leave, but they answered with tear gas, gunshots and petrol bombs hurled from the expressway.

He added that a protester rammed a hijacked bus into the troops, injuring some.

In retaliation, the troops fired tear gas and their automatic rifles into the air as they moved in to break up the protesters. The troops managed to disperse the rowdy crowd and open part of the road to traffic half an hour later.

About 10 troops and 49 protesters were injured, mostly from tear gas.

Despite the clash at Din Daeng, the red-shirt protesters were still blocking traffic at several main road intersections, including Si Ayuddhaya and Ratchadamnoen. Most protesters were in front of the Government House and its surrounding areas as their leaders urged on the protesters to resist the government.

The situation is still very tense with the likelihood of more violence or, in the worst case scenario, a riot, if government forces decide to break up the protest at and around the Government House.

The spokesman also said some of the red-shirt core leaders were held in custody at an undisclosed location. He did not give details.

Government spokesman Panitarn Wattanayakorn insisted that the government would “do everything within the limits of the law to restore order and peace in the country”. He urged the public in general to understand and to have trust in the government and to report to authorities any suspicious movements.

Meanwhile, authorities said that three M79 grenades were fired into the Constitution Court building around 1am on Monday, causing some damage but no casualties

Police said that only one grenade exploded and it was unknown who the perpetrators were.

In Pattaya, one improvised explosive device went off, apparently detonated by a mobile phone, causing damage to a water pipe. Three other IEDs were also found at the scene.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva went on the nationwide television with the commanders of the three armed forces at about midnight on Sunday.

He repeated the need for the government to take tougher actions against the red-shirt protesters charging of blatantly breaking the law under the guise of struggling for democracy.

Supreme Commander Gen Songkitti Jakkabat has been appointed director of peace-keeping in Bangkok to enforce the state of emergency law.

[Tonycheston]

I live on Theparak road, a large dual carriageway coming off Sukhunvit towards Samut Prakarn. Usuall the road is always very busy. Today it is very very quiet. Traffic is still flowing but the seongteaws are almost empty and very few busses.

[h90]

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingne...mpong-cancelled

All train services at Hua Lampong cancelled

All trains heading to Bangkok stopped at the Bang Sue Intersection and train services at the Hua Lampong railway were cancelled Monday morning.

The Nation

[Tonycheston]

Is sky-train running as normal?

[cat5]

http://www.thailandoutlook.tv/toc/ViewData...?DataID=1013747

FLASH NEWS: Warnings of Possible Torching of Various Sites

UPDATE : 13 April 2009

The police have come out to warn that banks and petrol stations may be the targets of red shirt protesters in bombings and torchings to wreak havoc. Reports have also come in of red shirt protesters stealing a gas truck and parking it at the Din Daeng intersection, causing concern for people living in the area. Members of the press covering the red shirt rally at Government House have retreated for fear of their safety after the protesters say they cannot guarantee their safety anymore. Another report says a group of 500 red shirt protesters are making their way to the Democrat Party headquarters to prepare to torch the building. Police presence there is limited.

Members of press at Royal Plaza have also left the area, after leaders of red-shirt protesters have announced they'll no longer guarantee the safety of the media. Most members of the press have fallen back to regroup at Parliament.

I was at Government House last night (and I want to make it clear, NOT wearing a red shirt and NOT supporting any side) to take photos and video so that others can make up their minds about what is going on. Most assumed I was a journalist, and I suppose I was doing the job of one. I saw one western journalist while I was there and I don't think she hung around for long. I was made to feel very welcome and not once did I feel under any threat, either from the Reds or any outside influence. If you ask me, the press are pussies.

[troopie]

This from the 'Bangkok Post' (remains to be seen if the partying will truly stop!)

Songkran festivities scrapped

By: SIRIKUL BUNNAG

Published: 13/04/2009 at 12:00 AM

Newspaper section: News

The Bangkok governor has cancelled all Songkran activities hosted by city hall after the government declared a state of emergency yesterday.

ML Sukhumbhand Paribatra said the emergency decree would disrupt activities and spoil the atmosphere of the water festival, so he decided to scrap the ceremonies.

City hall had scheduled a range of activities across the city from April 11 to 15 to celebrate the festival.

But many tourists shrugged off the state of emergency declaration and embraced the water-splashing activities with gusto.

Dozens of revellers flocked to have their picture taken in front of a tank positioned at Khao San road after the emergency decree was declared.

Restaurant and tourism operators in the Khao San area said crowds were down 30% on last year's festival.

Thanathorn Madeesuthikul, a restaurant owner, blamed the shrinking tourist numbers and his falling revenue on the political turmoil. He urged the government to "quickly end the red shirt rally".

Tour agency manager Sirisak Surarattanawattana said 80% of Taiwanese tourists had cancelled their bookings since Saturday, when the red shirt protesters stormed the Asean summit venue in Pattaya.

[nilshg]

Is sky-train running as normal?

I live next to Phrom Pong station and can see it from my balcony, sky train service seems to be running normal.

[tc101]

From the New York Times

April 13, 2009

Thai Protesters Clash With Police

By SETH MYDANS and THOMAS FULLER

BANGKOK — Thousands of antigovernment protesters defied a state of emergency on Sunday, gathering in large crowds here a day after they forced the cancellation of a 16-nation Asian summit meeting.

Protesters attacked the motorcade of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva of Thailand as he left the Interior Ministry, injuring several people in the cars, but Mr. Abhisit reportedly escaped through a back door of the building. “I believe the people have seen what happened to me,” Mr. Abhisit said on television shortly afterward. “They have seen that the protesters were trying to hurt me and smash the car.”

Early Monday morning the police clashed with a group of demonstrators, firing automatic weapons as people in the crowd threw rocks and gasoline bombs, witnesses said. Officials reported that 49 people were injured.

Speaking to protesters by a telephone link, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a coup in 2006, called for a revolution and said he was prepared to return to join them.

The emergency decree bans gatherings of more than five people, but bands of protesters roamed the city, defying deployments of soldiers and armored vehicles. The largest crowd gathered at the prime minister’s office, where demonstrations have continued for days, calling for the dissolution of the government.

Protesters erected barricades, including parked vehicles, in case the military moved against them, and some were seen filling bottles with gasoline as makeshift bombs.

The demonstrators, known as “red shirts,” support Mr. Thaksin, who is now abroad facing an arrest warrant for corruption if he returns to Thailand.

“Now that they have tanks on the streets, it is time for the people to come out in revolution," he said in the telephone message to his followers on Sunday evening. “And when it is necessary, I will come back to the country.”

Mr. Thaksin has been making nightly broadcasts to supporters in recent days, apparently from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Speaking to the crowd at Government House, the prime minister’s office, a protest leader, Jakrapob Penkair, said a state of emergency was “a declaration of war against the people of Thailand.”

He added: “They will try to disperse the crowds, but we will remain at Government House. We will start a people’s war.”

In a televised speech to the nation, Mr. Abhisit said that arrest warrants were being prepared for leaders of the demonstrations.

“In the current situation, what I have to do is bring peace to the country, bring back governance and have a process of political reform,” Mr. Abhisit said. “The government will try every way to prevent further damage.”

Mr. Abhisit’s emergency decree reversed a nonconfrontational approach that critics said had contributed to the cancellation of the summit meeting on Saturday. At the meeting, in the beach resort of Pattaya, hundreds of protesters broke through a thin line of security officers to enter the hotel complex where the leaders were gathered. Several leaders were evacuated by helicopter.

The meeting was to have included the heads of the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as well as the leaders of China, Japan and India, the United Nations secretary general and the president of the World Bank. The officials had planned to discuss the global financial crisis.

“Yesterday was a truly shameful day for our country, which had its international reputation destroyed,” The Bangkok Post said in a front-page editorial on Sunday. “It is one thing to refuse to use force; it is another to allow protesters to run riot into the summit venue, blocking access to the hotel and putting foreign leaders at risk.”

Although the protests have slowed traffic in parts of Bangkok, they have not affected daily business or posed a difficulty to tourists. Bangkok’s airports, which were shut by huge protests in November, remained open and were functioning normally. Hotels were open, and foreigners said they did not feel threatened.

“We feel very safe,” said Thibault Quetel, 20, from France, who is studying economics here. “This is a problem between Thais. There hasn’t been any animosity toward foreigners.”

Mr. Thaksin’s supporters, who mostly come from his base in the countryside, represent one side of a deep social and political divide that pits them against the “yellow shirts,” who demonstrated last year against a pro-Thaksin government.

The yellow shirts generally represent the country’s established power centers, including the royalists, the elite and middle class, and the military, who feel threatened by Mr. Thaksin’s attempts to change the country’s balance of power.

Political turmoil has continued since the leaders of the coup returned the country to democracy last year and Mr. Thaksin’s supporters were voted back into office.

As demonstrations by the Thaksin foes continued, court rulings forced the dissolution of two governments. Mr. Abhisit took office four months ago in a parliamentary vote that his opponents say was undemocratic.

All sides pledge allegiance to King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 82, viewed as Thailand’s moral soul, who has been in ill health. Although the king holds no direct political power, uncertainty over the royal succession casts a shadow over Thailand’s politics.

As several hundred red shirts marched past the palace on Sunday, they stopped to sing the national anthem and the royal anthem as a guard unit with rifles stood behind barbed wire.

Several commentators said Sunday that they were discouraged that the confrontation had taken an unpredictable turn.

“We need reconciliation, and I don’t see any sign that it is coming,” said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University. “Signs are pointing in the opposite direction, which is that things are going to get worse.”

It is a situation that Mr. Thaksin may be hoping to exploit, Mr. Thitinan said, in which he could return as the only person to bring the red shirts under control.

“Right now the red shirts are on the resurgence, and we don’t know where they are going with it,” Mr. Thitinan said. “But the pendulum is likely to swing to very suppressive tactics and brutal and harsh reactions from the right, the establishment.”

Janesara Fugal contributed reporting.

[Tonycheston]

just in from another member about 10 minutes ago on a different forum:- (hope he doesn't mind)

There's a serious standoff going on right now in front of the Century Park Hotel. I live near there and just got back from a walk over there. You've got hundreds of red shirts standing in front of the hotel, facing north, and hundreds of soldiers 50 m away facing the redshirts and they're just standing there staring each other down. A lot of foreigners at the hotel are standing out front watching the action. Bad scene indeed. I heard what I thought was a gunshot and started jogging away, but I guess it was something else though, as nobody moved. Startled the crap out of me. I'll be staying close to home for the rest of the day I believe.

[h90]

Just now from TOC

http://www.thailandoutlook.tv/toc/ViewData...?DataID=1013749

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Continuous Updates of Areas to Avoid in Bangkok

UPDATE : 13 April 2009

Areas where there heavy presence of red-shirt protesters and to be avoided are:

1. The entire Rattanakosin island and Ratchadamnern road

2. Sri Ayutthaya intersection

3. Rama 6 road, Phoholyothin road

4. Victory monument

5. Din Daeng intersection

6. Suthisarn intersection near Mitr Maitree Soi

7. Arjnarong-Ramindra expressway exit

8. Yomaraj expressway exit and intersection

9. Ladprao road

[Thanh-BKK]

Hi.

I heard the Reds have blocked/closed the Doi Ti intersection/road at Lampang (i'm not familiar with the area!) where one needs to get through to travel between Bangkok and Chiang Mai.

I am now in Chiang Mai and wouldn't mind staying here however i have to work on Wednesday and hence will need to get back to Bangkok tomorrow. As my Isuzu won't fit into a regular aircraft that means i need that road to be passable.

Any news on that situation?

Kind regards....

Thanh

[h90]

http://www.thailandoutlook.tv/toc/ViewData...?DataID=1013746

To long to quote!

"TIME LINE: Real-time Updates of Red-shirts Wreaking Havoc in Bangkok"

[AjarnChan]

Hi.

I heard the Reds have blocked/closed the Doi Ti intersection/road at Lampang (i'm not familiar with the area!) where one needs to get through to travel between Bangkok and Chiang Mai.

I am now in Chiang Mai and wouldn't mind staying here however i have to work on Wednesday and hence will need to get back to Bangkok tomorrow. As my Isuzu won't fit into a regular aircraft that means i need that road to be passable.

Any news on that situation?

Kind regards....

Thanh

If I were you I would take a different route that avoids 'trouble spots'.

Keeping well away from Lampang may be longer but surely Safer ?

But it sounds like the 'Reds' are intent on blocking 'strategic roads' anywhere they can. Good Luck

[h90]

Hi.

I heard the Reds have blocked/closed the Doi Ti intersection/road at Lampang (i'm not familiar with the area!) where one needs to get through to travel between Bangkok and Chiang Mai.

I am now in Chiang Mai and wouldn't mind staying here however i have to work on Wednesday and hence will need to get back to Bangkok tomorrow. As my Isuzu won't fit into a regular aircraft that means i need that road to be passable.

Any news on that situation?

Kind regards....

Thanh

At the moment I wouldn't risk it. Not working on Wednesday is the better option.

[terryp]

Fire bomb allegedly thrown at and set fire to a traffic police booth near Transport Ministry on Ratchadamnern Nok Road

10:13 AM

http://www.thailandoutlook.tv/toc/ViewData...?DataID=1013746

[TonySoprano]

Can anyone confirm all of the major red protest areas?

[qualtrough]

Can anyone confirm all of the major red protest areas?

The situation is not clear and likely to be fast changing. I would avoid travel in the central BKK area unless absolutely necessary.

[Tonycheston]

10.11: Fire bomb allegedly thrown at and set fire to a traffic police booth near Transport Ministry on Ratchadamnern Nok Road

10.20: Red-shirts have once again occupied the Victory Monument

10.40: Democrats evacuated headquarters in response to threats by red-shirts to torch the compound with gas tankers

[colino]

Can anyone confirm all of the major red protest areas?

Areas where there heavy presence of red-shirt protesters and to be avoided are:

1. The entire Rattanakosin island and Ratchadamnern road

2. Sri Ayutthaya intersection

3. Rama 6 road, Phoholyothin road

4. Victory monument

5. Din Daeng intersection

6. Suthisarn intersection near Mitr Maitree Soi

7. Arjnarong-Ramindra expressway exit

8. Yomaraj expressway exit and intersection

9. Ladprao road

but could change