Five Wounded In Bomb Attack During Yellow Shirt Rally

[kenallday]

It's quite obvious some of you doubters have never been to Sanam Luang before. It's a large oval shaped field surrounded by a ring road from which you could easily throw an object to anywhere in the field.

Thanks for the info, I confess I have not been there. Regardless of who did what to whom, the overall Political picture is not looking very nice at the moment in Thailand - I hate seeing these stupid violent outbreaks here, other than the immediate carnage I expect there is also a lot of unseen damage to the Thai reputation on the World stage every time something like this happens.

[londonthai]

with at least 900 armed policeman to quard a 10k demo (and with it's own security, some of them armed with all different devices) in an open field (and not in the middle of the jungle) it's very strange that an offender can drive some 20-30 metres to the stage, throw a bomb and escape unscratched.

[frodo]

What a shame that people cannot peacefully assemble and protest without being threatened and attacked by others. I can't point my fingers at any one group since I don't have that information, but blaming the victims, which people have done already, is hogwash. I can't help but notice that a concert this past Saturday went without incident, yet, another group was attacked during their assembly, which isn't the first time bombs had been thrown at them, with people being killed. If one group in particular is found to have been behind this, all more the reason for a heavy handed approach against them. Enough is enough.

Hope the victims recover quickly.

[sammycic]

Those "peaceful" redshirts at it again. Support them at your peril.

you are definately a lawn gnome wake up to how things work in LOS anyone with half a brain knows it was a setup.

[Maestro]

Nonsensical posts about English-language skills and the replies to them have been deleted.

--

Maestro

[Shazza]

Guess I think differently to the rest of you who have commented here on this thread... all I can see is the photo of the poor man who (I think) is holding his child and looking absolutely terrified! What a horrible thing to happen, no matter who did it and why... yeah it's kinda freaky for all of us, political situation and so on, but much more so for those people who have been hurt and for those who love them... I don't think I'll forget that man's face for quite a while...

[webfact]

YELLOW SHIRTED RALLY

Five injured in blast at rally

By The Nation

Published on November 16, 2009

A man was arrested after at least five people were injured when a bomb exploded at a rally held by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) at Sanam Luang yesterday evening.

The rally went on after the explosion. A man captured by PAD guards for allegedly throwing the bomb near the back of the stage, was taken under police custody. One of the injured was a woman and another was a boy who was badly wounded in the leg, witnesses said.

Thousands of people joined the rally, the first since the PAD set up its New Politics party. The explosion occurred when PAD and New Politics leader Sondhi Limthongkul was addressing his supporters and lambasting arch-rival Thaksin Shinawatra over the Thai-Cambodia row.

A plan was also mooted yesterday to give a Bt10-million award for Thaksin's arrest, with funds to be mobilised primarily from PAD supporters.

Thaksin's "betrayal" - his activities leading to the worsening Thai-Cambodian row - was the focus of the rally, which was peaceful until the explosion. The PAD reiterated its ultimate objective of protecting the monarchy and in a statement called on Cambodia to end the Thaksin-driven hostility and join efforts to restore

friendly relations between the two countries. The bomb attack took place despite hundreds of policemen being deployed and bomb experts searching for explosives around the rally site.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban yesterday said the Thai-Cambodian situation was not a cause for concern regarding safety of Thai expatriates there. He also vowed that the Thai citizen charged with spying and held in a Phnom Penh prison would receive due justice as guaranteed by international law.

"If necessary, the government stands ready to provide confirmation that the flight plan is not classified information and that the flight in question was known before the arrest of the Thai air-traffic controller," he said.

The Foreign Ministry and the Thai company operating air-traffic control services at Phnom Penh International Airport will provide legal assistance to Siwarak Chothipong, accused of leaking the flight plan of fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

"Even though the government is in no position to meddle with the Cambodian judicial process, the charge will likely be dropped in light of the evidence," he said.

Talks with Cambodia to mend fences at this juncture were unlikely to resolve any differences, he said.

The Cambodian government should take the welfare and benefits of the peoples of the two countries into consideration instead of acting on a whim to vent its displeasure at the Thai administration, he said.

The rumour of the arrest of another Thai spy, reportedly working in Siem Reap under Thailand's Armed Forces Security Centre, was unfounded, he said.

Thai citizens should remain calm and not act hastily, he said, adding that the future of Thai-Cambodian ties hinges on whether Cambodia would adjust its stance toward Thaksin, he said.The Foreign Ministry plans to lodge its strongest protest if Cambodian authorities file false and trumped-up charges against Siwarak, said Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, secretary to the foreign minister.

Cambodian authorities dismissed the consular request from Thai charge d'affaires Chalothorn Phaovibul to visit Siwarak in his prison cell on grounds that it was the weekend, he said.

In a telephone interview from Phnom Penh, Chalothorn said Siwarak was detained at a Phnom Penh prison.

-- The Nation 2009/11/16

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[mca]

According to the Post it wasn't a bomb but a giant firecracker.

[timekeeper]

''A plan was also mooted yesterday to give a Bt10-million award for Thaksin's arrest, with funds to be mobilised primarily from PAD supporters''

dead or alive?

[animatic]

According to the Post it wasn't a bomb but a giant firecracker.

A giant firecracker IS a bomb.

But for size and capability look at the pictures of the wounded.

Your average large firecracker gets the owner and maybe one other, not 5.

[sammycic]

''A plan was also mooted yesterday to give a Bt10-million award for Thaksin's arrest, with funds to be mobilised primarily from PAD supporters''

dead or alive?

what type of award because they will never see the money.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

I think it's a little sad that the usual suspects jump to conclusions and start ranting at Red Shirts.. Guys, you did that after the Sonthi assassination attempt, remember that one? Oh, maybe you don't.

[animatic]

Winnie that all ties together in the web of intrigue that is Thai politics at the moment.

No one side is completely innocent, but one side and it's closer allies of convinence

are demonstrably more prone towards violence to get their way.

[geriatrickid]

Maybe the target wasn't yellow shirt supporters, but was an attempt to get that the person giving the political talk. Politics make for strange bedfellows. Remember that guy with the funny hairdo when he said et tu Brute as his abdomen was aerated?

[midasthailand]

To be fair, there isn't a shred of proof that the Yellows are responsible either, but logic does dictate...

There is a problem with your observation...we are in Thailand and you try to play the logic card?? come on man get real, there are so many permutations to this one. Why don't we wait for the BIB to complete their thorough and professional investigation before we jump to conclusions about who is responsible. Oops, seems there is a problem with my observation as well, I used the words BIB and Thorough and professional in the same sentence.

I am just happy that there were no fatalities this time.

[lensta]

there suppose to be 900 cops guarding the area as well as the same of the plain cloth ones.

anybody throwing a bomb in such condition would be stopped, chased or shot - why it did not chappen?

Maybe because it is a setup???????

Totally agree

[givenall]

there suppose to be 900 cops guarding the area as well as the same of the plain cloth ones.

anybody throwing a bomb in such condition would be stopped, chased or shot - why it did not chappen?

Maybe because it is a setup???????

Don’t forget there are still many police who are on Mr. T side and payroll

[gotlost]

"Reliable Report"??? The Nation says 5 people injured and the word Bomb, The Paper we can't quote says 9 people injured and the word firecracker??? Oh and no deaths by either.

[george]

Update:

12 wounded in bombing attack at PAD rally

BANGKOK: -- Twelve persons, including children, were wounded Sunday night when a bomb exploded at a Peoples’ Alliance for Democracy (PAD) rally at Sanam Luang as demonstrators showed their power in protecting the monarchy and the dignity of the nation, and express dissatisfaction with recent moves of fugitive, ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

One man is in police custody after the incident.

Witnesses said the bomb was hurled at a footpath behind the PAD stage by two men on a motorcycle. The explosion left a hole in the ground around eight centimetres wide.

Police could not confirm that the man detained was one of the assailants, but he continued under questioning.

The rally continued after the explosion but ended at about 11 pm, earlier than the planned midnight closing.

The gathering at Sanam Luang on Sunday was the yellow-shirted movement’s first mass rally since the PAD set up its New Politics party in June.

The explosion occurred when PAD and New Politics leader Sondhi Limthongkul was addressing his supporters at around 9pm.

Acting National Police Chief Pol Gen Patheep Tanprasert who inspected the scene before midnight said that police had not identifed the type of the bomb, which awaited the report bomb specialists on Monday morning.

He said the police were on high alert after a report that some 'the third hand' groups wanted to cause problems during the rally.

Police collected material evidence at the bombing site, behind the PAD stage, and gathered closed-circuit TV data in the area for more information.

Partly aimed at the intrusion of Cambodia into Thai domestic politics, when Cambodia appointed Mr Thaksin as its economic adviser,

Thailand recalled its ambassador to Phnom Penh, and both kingdoms engaged in successive retaliatory actions.

The Cambodian government invited Mr Thaksin to Phnom Penh to lecture a large gathering of Khmer business leaders and government economists as his first assignment, in a high-profile move which Thailand considered a provocation.

Thailand responded with an extradition request for its ex-premier, which Cambodia rejected.

As the diplomatic row continues, Mr Thaksin shocked Thailand in a high-profile interview with the online edition of Britain’s leading newspaper, The Times, an interview which sparked widespread criticism among Thais.

Mr Thaksin was quoted on the Thai monarch and his successor, comments considered offensive to the monarchy. The ousted premier, however, reportedly defended himself by saying his interview was ‘distorted’ by the reporter.

The PAD Yellow Shirts played a pivotal role in the movement to topple the Thaksin government, with protests leading to the military coup d'etat on September 19, 2006. The movement later staged a series of street protests which toppled two successive governments which it accused of being Mr Thaksin's proxies.

-- TNA 2009-11-16

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[Meridian007]

It's quite obvious some of you doubters have never been to Sanam Luang before. It's a large oval shaped field surrounded by a ring road from which you could easily throw an object to anywhere in the field.

For those of you who have been there, the stage was in the southern end of Sanam Luang, with its back to the road that separates the park from Wat Phra Kaew. It wouldn't be too difficult to come from the road, and get relatively close to the back of the stage.

I walked through the park yesterday at around noon, as I left Thammasat. The Thammasat gate that faces the park seemed to be a staging area for the police, with hundreds of them waiting for instructions just inside the campus. For any of you who have been around the park when a red shirt rally is going to be held soon, you know that their stage is usually in the north-western corner of the park. I think that the focus of the police was this area, as there were still many people in that area who have their booths set up all the time (usually with little shrines to Thaksin and playing redshirt-related music). There were many from this camp walking around the north end of the park in their red "truth today" t-shirts.

While I walked through the park, I imagined a newspaper article that could be written about this. "A Park Divided" would be a great title. Considering that Sanam Luang has been red-shirt "turf" for so long, I was wondering if something bad might happen if the yellow shirts had a rally there.

As to who did what, or conspiracy ideas, I have no clue. I see both sides as rabid dogs, and because neither side has any interest in really helping Thailand, (only their own self-interested minority goals), the lines between red and yellow have been blurred for me. Since they are both just disruptive elements within society, it's no longer surprising to see a disruption, and whether it was an action between the gangs or within one is becoming more and more irrelevant.

Just remember that both sides will do anything to drum up support, and rile the blood of their members, so is any of this surprising?

Edited November 16, 2009 by Meridian007

[awd]

FM Kasit will be coming out with a statement later today saying there was no violence at the rally and that the food and music were excellent!

[WinnieTheKhwai]

To be fair, there isn't a shred of proof that the Yellows are responsible either, but logic does dictate...

There is a problem with your observation...we are in Thailand and you try to play the logic card?? come on man get real, there are so many permutations to this one. Why don't we wait for the BIB to complete their thorough and professional investigation before we jump to conclusions about who is responsible. Oops, seems there is a problem with my observation as well, I used the words BIB and Thorough and professional in the same sentence.

I am just happy that there were no fatalities this time.

Totally agree.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

as demonstrators showed their power in protecting the monarchy and the dignity of the nation, and express dissatisfaction with recent moves of fugitive, ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Ah.. Such objective proze.. Guess MCOT is in the same camp, as is all media really.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

I saw a farnag redshirt supporter and wearer at the redshirt rally in Khao Yai on the weekend.

What strange reasoning would a farnag have to do such a thing ?

Are some so weak they feel the need to be so accepted that they will stoop to such low levels of action ?

I can ask him if you like. Come to think of it, why didn't you ask him directly instead of speculating on it on a forum, addressing people who don't know the guy? Really, sometimes all you have to do is ask.

[hammered]

Mmmmm. It is exactly the same on here as every time an explosion occurs. Most jump to conclusions and most see it purely in terms of red and yellow when there are a few more power players around these days. Im not excusing anyone but with a suspect I'll wait and see.

It is good nobody was killed although I feel for those injured. It is good the police have a suspect and lets see what comes from that.

There are far more interesting aspects of this rally to consider poltically in human terms this will unfortuantley be the story.

[Dpolenz]

Those "peaceful" redshirts at it again. Support them at your peril.

Red,Yellow,they both are as bad as each other.

Except for the fact that the reds just threw a bomb and killed people....

Edit - sorry "Wounded" not killed. These people want the best for the country right? They really have our "best interests" in mind. Attempting to kill their fellow countrymen at a peaceful rally.

Oh behave,they are both as bad as each other.

Edited November 16, 2009 by Dpolenz

[BigBikeBKK]

Can you please find out how it is possible if you sit in a car and some guys come to unload their automatic rifles,with a FEW HUNDRED bullet holes in the car,that the person inside the car walks away with some minor scratches.May this case be much related to the other one?

Since when is a bullet in the head a "minor scratch"?!?!

[hammered]

That looks pretty red to me. I dont think the pics jusitfy the 100K some poster was mentioning though. Im also not sure why a foreigner would be wearing the red shirt though as in picture one. It may be that he is a photojournalist judging from where he is and that he has a camera but I would have thought that journalists would have refrained from donning the colours, so maybe not. Guess it could have just been someone who went along and was given a free T-shirt. Anyway probably not a good idea for foreigners to get too involved in Thai politics even if we do enjoy chatting about it. No big deal though. I hope everyone enjoyed.

[hammered]

Interesting that there has been much speculation over the bomb and a sprinkling of the red concert things but there has to my knowledge been no analysis of what was said at the PAD rally or at the way it was slanted. Both were very interesting as were comments that attendees were not all natural PAD supporters. The date of the next PAD rally is also of interest.

Do we need a new thread or do we use this one for such comments?

[WinnieTheKhwai]

That looks pretty red to me. I dont think the pics jusitfy the 100K some poster was mentioning though.

Matichon had it at 20K or so. I don't think the numbers matter that much. But yes, it does look pretty red; strange you don't see a shred of that in The Nation or other allegedly mainstream news publications. Then some people who only feed on that for their news get the impression that the Red movement is fading, or that they're all violent estremist bomb throwers. Then you get to a situation, as above, where a well meaning individual is so one-sidedly informed that he's scared to just ask a guy wearing red 'Hi what's up'. Reading that you'd think he considered he met a Waffen SS member. In fairness that's probably what you end up thinking when consuming your news from some (most) Thai publications.

Im also not sure why a foreigner would be wearing the red shirt though as in picture one. It may be that he is a photojournalist judging from where he is and that he has a camera but I would have thought that journalists would have refrained from donning the colours, so maybe not. Guess it could have just been someone who went along and was given a free T-shirt. Anyway probably not a good idea for foreigners to get too involved in Thai politics even if we do enjoy chatting about it. No big deal though. I hope everyone enjoyed.

I think I know him; he's definitely an active Red Shirt supporter. I won't post his name though, that'd be against forum rules. (Also won't give it in PM)

Edited November 16, 2009 by WinnieTheKhwai