Bangkok: 10+ Dead, Hundreds Hurt In Bangkok Clashes

[negreanu]

can somebody explain to me how over 250 soldiers got wounded, most by gunshots and grenades?

?? The red shirt TERRORISTS have the grenades and have weapons with real bullets not plastic as used by the army.

I respect the PM for what he has done he has played it well with warning after warning request after request, Agreed to hold elections. What more can he do???

But still it was not good enough for the terrorists. I hope they get another round of smacking later today. Quite frankly they deserve everything they are getting.

Edited April 10, 2010 by negreanu

[lannarebirth]

May all those in the military who died serving and protecting their country rest in peace

May the journalist who died while doing a job he hopefully loved rest in piece

May the reds shirts who died while looking for a war rest in peace

May some people stop being arrogant pricks in this sad and grave situation.

Red shirts were engaging in civil disobedience, but it was relatively non-violent and Bangkok was peaceful until government decided to crack down yesterday. Think what you will about Thaksin (bleh!) and Abhisit (yuck!), but that is the fact. Had the reds been looking for war, I imagine they would have started the violence 3 weeks ago. Had the government not decided to crack down violently, protests would have continued with no casualties (causing minor disruptions to the city).

Civil disobedience, really? Hospitals blocked, schools and universities closed, businesses closed, employees with no paychecks, bus routes suspended, no transport, etc. It's important to remeber any individuals right only extend where anothers rights begin.

[changnaam]

Thaksin is like a spoiled kid who will destroy Thailand if he can't have his way there.

Abhisit has a bad situation and is trying to be rational.

edit; Democracy is messy but the best form of government.

my .02 satang

Really do not want to joke about this but is T paying you as well

MUPPET... open your eyes

[whiterussian]

great photos here

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/04/u...n_thailand.html

[asiancup2007]

Abhisit has alreday put in place policy directives which will provide a better share of the wealth, provide better education and opportunity for all Thais and this especially means the poor. (and not by poulistist handouts which fix nothing.)

"The government is introducing a debt moratorium scheme for farmers worth 80 billion baht which is seen as a strategy to appease grass roots people as political divisions continue to widen.

The plan was released as tension mounted after a second round of negotiations between red shirt demonstrators, most of them farmers in northern and northeastern provinces, and the government failed on Monday."

Oh really.

[Jingthing]

People who say the reds were only doing a sit in may be professional red propagandists. It is not imaginable that a normal person would actually believe that. Don't forget, there are professional pols posting here. I don't know why they care what foreigners think though.

[hoilai]

A very reputable Thai source in my Facebook feed said about a half hour ago that the Red Shirts have taken 28 soldiers hostage. Surprised there is no new thread about this, if it is accurate...

It is accurate. There are pictures. The soldiers look afraid of being murdered. The reds have become grade A terrorists now.

remind me again Jing.......who sent the soldiers.....no soldiers no hostages.

What I see here is a plan that went wrong........and people trying to deflect the consequences from the perpetrators.

jingthink...your interpretation of the photos and the soldiers' fears and claim of the reds as grade A terrorists - are they accurate like you claim they are???????????? :D

.

Edited April 10, 2010 by hoilai

[chesneychez]

Is this really how to deal with what was essentially a sit in?

n's don't break through police lines to get into parliament, army lines to get into a satelite station and army barracks.

A sit in? Sure they've been sitting at Central world putting thousands of people out of work. But they've also been running around Bangkok like maniacs provoking the soldiers, the police, the media and anyone else they can get close to. By the way don't forget that the reds often protested outside TV stations. I'm sure if they had been able they would have happily censored what was on the air. They believe in freedom of their speech, freedom for them to assemble, freedom to vote if it's for their party. The reds don't care about the rights and freedoms of people who don't share their point of view. This is far more complicated that a sit in. No one is going to accept the excuse of "we were just sitting here".

How many people were killed in those instances ..................None.

The deaths came last night/tonight. Correct me if I'm wrong.

How truly ignorant can you be? The reds have been breaking the law and have been advocating violence the whole time. They have finally got what they have been asking for and now you try to make them out to be the victims? You can fool some of the people some of the time but I don't think many will buy your rhetoric now.

Abhisit has been very calm and very balanced and avoided strong confrontation and avoided violence. Full marks.

Thaksin is solidly pushing his murky red leaders to cause a frontation and try to win.

Why? Simple, thaksin knows very well that his time is running out fast, abhisit is gaining ground quickly, more and more Thais can see that abhisit is achieving good things and he's becoming stronger all the time as he works his way through the minefiled he inherited.

Abhisit has alreday put in place policy directives which will provide a better share of the wealth, provide better education and opportunity for all Thais and this especially means the poor. (and not by poulistist handouts which fix nothing.)

The red leaders can't keep these truths from their Essan followers forever. That's why they are pushing now before their time runs out.

Best comment so far. It has everything what i wanted to say

[changnaam]

Thaksin is like a spoiled kid who will destroy Thailand if he can't have his way there.

Abhisit has a bad situation and is trying to be rational.

edit; Democracy is messy but the best form of government.

my .02 satang

Really do not want to joke about this but is T paying you as well

MUPPET... open your eyes

Sorry, replied to wrong post. will take the muppet line back, or please delete

[hanuman1]

I like democracy, but I don't like Taksin. Which political party should I support?

Edited April 10, 2010 by hanuman1

[moresomekl]

name='moresomekl' date='2010-04-11 00:37:43' post='3493332']

they knew what they were here for

they got it.

you keep poking a tiger, he will eventually wake up and bite you

So what do you suggest ? Accept an illegitimate governement

that has robbed you of your vote and go home ?

Abhisit went on to put off the air the red TV station in spite

of advice not to do that by his colleagues ex PM .

It all started there .

QUOTE FROM ABOVE BY MORESOMEKL:

"So what do you suggest ? Accept an illegitimate governement

that has robbed you of your vote and go home ?

Abhisit went on to put off the air the red TV station in spite

of advice not to do that by his colleagues ex PM .

It all started there . "

It's been said before but:

- The abhisit government is not illegitimate, but it doen't suit your ends to recognise this point.

- 'Robbed of your vote' Yes robbed meaning that the meglomaniac in dubai tricked you into believing he was the savior. Be angry with him, not abhisit.

- Abhisit was right to stop the braodcast and the manipulation of millions of Thais through broadcast of numerous lies and untruths.

- Advice of his colleagues ex PM, where does that come from, please?

I am sorry believe what you want , no other democratic countries in the world

would have a change of majority without general election . And thats a fact .

Coalition or not . The only way to remove an elected governement is through

either new general elections or a coup ... in a democracy that is

As a result yes voters were robbed of their vote , nothing to do with Thaksin .

Yes he has the right to do what he wants but stoping the red TV was plain stupid

and resulted in today tragedy .

Banharn for one warned him about shuting the red TV

[pagallim]

Our prayers should be with the families of the death of both sides. I am shocked and sad. This should not have happened.

However it is not about Thaksin anymore, but about a long overdue revolution slowly preparing. An elitist system based on clientelism and fear to speak out can not last forever.

On the positive side hopefully the THB will tumble and investors and tourists will be attracted to Thailand again.

Words can't express how I feel about the loss of life that even as I write is probably ongoing. Sure, easy to take stances about who is right or wrong, and there can be a thousand debates about that. A lot of 'what if's' going to be quoted, however in this context, there was no need for the Government to press action today. The UDD had already demonstrated they wished to demonstrate by peaceful means. The loss of face of the situation at Thaicom yesterday led to those in charge of the SOE, under pressure from both their coalition parties, and statements from the PAD, backed them into a corner to 'resolve the situation'. Abhisit showed his weakness there, as he was under pressure to show he had the 'man in charge'. As it's proved, he's the man in charge of a shambles. He should have had the guts to say, 'this is what I'm going to do, and if you don't think that I'm the right man, replace me', and maintained a non-confrontational stance.

Thaksin I believes knows he is never, ever going to return to power in Thailand. However, he remains a figurehead for millions of Thais whom benefited from the broadening and enhancement of their social existence that he brought, and the efforts he made to stimulate and improve the lives of rural Thais. I'm sure that he feels sick about having a large amount of his wealth taken from him, but he's never ever going to be a poor man. I don't believe that it's anything other than, for many people, realising that the law, judiciary, millitary, democratic process etc, can be manipulated by a few to create a situation that only serves vested interests, most notably the 'Amart'. That is what this current unrest is about, and that's why it probably is not going to end until Abhisit does the honourable thing and dissolves parliament and calls new elections.

Doesn't mean that it's going to end there of course, and regrettably it's definitely more revolution than evolution.

[hoilai]

People who say the reds were only doing a sit in may be professional red propagandists. It is not imaginable that a normal person would actually believe that. Don't forget, there are professional pols posting here. I don't know why they care what foreigners think though.

.....because some foreigners are just doing exactly what you say the professional pols are doing here and elsewhere.

a penny for your thought................. : :: :D :D :D

[asiancup2007]

.

People who say the reds were only doing a sit in may be professional red propagandists. It is not imaginable that a normal person would actually believe that. Don't forget, there are professional pols posting here. I don't know why they care what foreigners think though.

I said they were attacked at their sit in.

They did other things too but never killed anyone in the process.

Those things gave no one the right to attack them with military weapons.

Bear in mind they returned weapons taken from the police and army this week some of which were probably used against them

Edited April 10, 2010 by asiancup2007

[anotherpeter]

May some people stop being arrogant pricks in this sad and grave situation.

Red shirts were engaging in civil disobedience, but it was relatively non-violent and Bangkok was peaceful until government decided to crack down yesterday. Think what you will about Thaksin (bleh!) and Abhisit (yuck!), but that is the fact. Had the reds been looking for war, I imagine they would have started the violence 3 weeks ago. Had the government not decided to crack down violently, protests would have continued with no casualties (causing minor disruptions to the city).

So how far do you let a mob go before you stop them?

Breaking into parliament ...

Breaking into Thaicom ...

Confronting the army at their barracks ...

While they were peaceful, Abhisit let them be an inconvenience. Once they started pushing through army lines to get into government institutions, it had to stop.

It is a sad and grave situation, bought on by the constant violent rhetoric of the red leaders, and the constant pushing by the red thugs.

[beerchang]

May all those in the military who died serving and protecting their country rest in peace

May the journalist who died while doing a job he hopefully loved rest in piece

May the reds shirts who died while looking for a war rest in peace

May some people stop being arrogant pricks in this sad and grave situation.

Red shirts were engaging in civil disobedience, but it was relatively non-violent and Bangkok was peaceful until government decided to crack down yesterday. Think what you will about Thaksin (bleh!) and Abhisit (yuck!), but that is the fact. Had the reds been looking for war, I imagine they would have started the violence 3 weeks ago. Had the government not decided to crack down violently, protests would have continued with no casualties (causing minor disruptions to the city).

Bleh and yuck! Cool! Should have put 'blammo!' after 'crackdown' and maybe a 'keeerunch!' or 'sock!' after 'violently'.

Perhaps the Govt. should have opened it's doors and let them roam in peacefully and take a look around as this will remove the few people that are causing 'minor' disruptions to the city from the streets. You've nailed it!

[negreanu]

Image

This image says it all. Total f****** animals. Your telling me they want a peaceful protest.

Or was this one of their FAKE REDS?

Edited April 10, 2010 by negreanu

[gotglue]

everyone's going on about Thaksin, look, he was a politician aka prick. this red/yellow <deleted> has been going on long before Thaksin was even PM. someone said the thais are violent, that's an unfair statement, i think we all are to some decree. what the thais do like to do sadly, is point the finger, so Thaksin fits the bill on that one. i've been living here for about 10 yrs now and i'm pissed off with the whole lot of it, nearly as much as i am with the narrow mindedness of the majority

[anotherpeter]

.

People who say the reds were only doing a sit in may be professional red propagandists. It is not imaginable that a normal person would actually believe that. Don't forget, there are professional pols posting here. I don't know why they care what foreigners think though.

I said they were attacked at their sit in.

They did other things too but never killed anyone in the process.

Those things gave no one the right to attack them with military weapons.

Bear in mind they returned weapons taken from the police and army this week some of which were probably used against them

The soldiers shot themselves and threw bombs on themselves?

[JonUSA]

great photos here

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/04/u...n_thailand.html OMG, such great pictures, thanks!!

[mdechgan]

Image

This image says it all. Total f****** animals. Your telling me they want a peaceful protest.

Or was this one of their FAKE REDS?

This picture is interesting. Where were all his comrades? The only other soldier in the pic happened to have a red armband on.

The red do seemto be doped upped and wanting a fight though.

Edited April 10, 2010 by mdechgan

[asiancup2007]

Paul, a British teacher who lives in Thailand, told the BBC he had been in a crowd of protesters across the road from the Khao San intersection, when one man was shot in the chest. It is not known if he was one of the dead.

"There were shots, but I thought they were rubber bullets until I saw what happened to the man. He was around 50 years old, and waving a flag from a pick-up truck. His head was 5ft above from the highest point of the truck."

"He looked normal and then fell to the ground," he added. "The army were firing live rounds on civilians. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8612783.stm

[Skywalker69]

This is a very sad day in Thai history.

Those people died because 1 person is after money.

At the same same time those people died, you hear an MP...yes a Member of Parliament...screaming on stage that there "Will be no more negotiations"!!

That person is one of the reasons people died out there.

4 soldiers, 4 Red Shirts, 1 journalist.

If those protesters where peaceful, then please explain to me why there's 4 dead soldiers?!

Sad day....

Hmmm I was at Chit Lom the other day taking pics, I noticed that at night one group of young protestors were drinking all night and writing grafiti over the walls of the shops, in the morning when the older group woke up they would clean the grafitti off. Seems there are different factions within the protestors with differing agendas

I think there is 3 different groups within the reds... 1. The hiranking reds (bet Mr T has promissed them a fat bank account if they can overthrow the Government.

2. The hulligans

3. The ones how want a change

[moresomekl]

.

People who say the reds were only doing a sit in may be professional red propagandists. It is not imaginable that a normal person would actually believe that. Don't forget, there are professional pols posting here. I don't know why they care what foreigners think though.

I said they were attacked at their sit in.

They did other things too but never killed anyone in the process.

Those things gave no one the right to attack them with military weapons.

Bear in mind they returned weapons taken from the police and army this week some of which were probably used against them

Precisely

[hoilai]

can somebody explain to me how over 250 soldiers got wounded, most by gunshots and grenades?

?? The red shirt TERRORISTS have the grenades and have weapons with real bullets not plastic as used by the army.

I respect the PM for what he has done he has played it well with warning after warning request after request, Agreed to hold elections. What more can he do???

But still it was not good enough for the terrorists. I hope they get another round of smacking later today. Quite frankly they deserve everything they are getting.

quite a few commentators like you here keep calling the reds "terrorists" and are very anti-red.

are you one person with many accounts here in thaivisa as mentioned by jinxgthing

or you several people with several accounts here?

:D :D

you're not one of those undercover/ghost writers of the police who is interested in what farangs think, are you?

[commons]

From a Red Shirt protester:

when i was in the rally this evening, the mood was overwhemling excited,joy,crowed,lots of noice, lots of people but when we hear that the red shirts have lose their lives everything changed. the picture of those people who loose the life were shown in the projecter. i was sitting beside one lady. the leader started to... play the martydom songs, although i didn't understand the song but i feel the song & i feel the changed environement. slowly my tears started to fall down after seeing those pictuers frm phan pha. i can't control myself. it's said that if you are man you shouldn't cry but this quote was wrong today. i expreance it. i look around me , & got the same result. woman with tears & emotionally shocked

i'm really sorry for those who lost their life. these people are the real hero., a true martyer. these people name should be written in the history book fighting for democracy. these people deserve it. i'll pray for god may be their soul be peace in heaven. a deeply condolence to their family too.

this will be a moment ...i'll never forget in my life. wherever i go, i'll always carry these memories. these people who lost their life are my real hero.

"LONG LIVE DEMOCRACY"

winnie, it's ok for me that you're deluded. but you see, in _my_ opinion (& i hope you allow "my" opinion - without threats & intimidations)... thailand's democracy works quite well. actually, astonishingly well - when one considers challenges.

winnie, you're a fool. to call dead people "hero" or "martyrs" only proves you're lost in some kind of romantic fantasy. dead people are just that - dead people. they're mothers, fathers, children, they're loved ones - now they're gone & no-one can undo that. that's suffering.

you don't even stop your mind & allow true grievance. you just go on & _SELL_ their death for your own purpose.

you're sickening.

[Sunderland]

Graphic image of one of today's casualties.

This should not happen. Shame on you Thaksin, Abhisit, Suthep, Anupong, Nuttawut, Jatuporn, Veera, Weng, Arisman and all the other cowards who use others to put themselves in positions of power they don't deserve.

[Publicus]

Abhisit should stop this lunacy. Step down and call an election now

he is in deep sh.t now and pulling back will be a lost of face -kai nah is not a very thai thing.

like lady macbeth in a state of sonambulance, he has to go through the nightmares to try to wash the THAI red spots off his

hands now , FOREVER.....

HE HAD HIS CHANCES TO STEP DOWN , but he stubbornly hung on to power with absolutely no moral authority whatsoever...

no man, the reds are in deep shit now. the PM has to protect the countries from destruction, he is doing his job. if you were him what will you do?

he is protecting his own ass......he could have gracefully call for election...could he call election in 9mths, what's wrong with calling it now? if he is confident the people are behind him, wuoldn"t going for election now and winning prove his point?

A snap election this year would precipitate more of the kind of violence we are seeing during the past 36 hours in Bangkok. It's impossible to have even a Thai category election of vote buying, fraud and cheating in the current atmosphere of frantic desperation on the part of Thaksin and the Redshirt leaders who want at all costs to seize power in a new government. The Redshirt leaders and Thaksin would use all means to wreck and destroy democracy and democratic processes were there a snap election during 2010. The level of intimidation, violence and mayhem Thaksin and the desperate Reds would conduct to win the election would be unprecedented and would result in the end of democracy in the country. The disorder would be so great and the damage to people and property would be so extensive it's likely the army would need to step in just to stop Redshirts killing other Thais in the name of democracy but in fact in the name of a Maoist Redshirt dictatorship. And on the present evidence and fumbling backwards, the army has become more incompetent and yellow (down the backside) than at any time in its history.....the army can't even fight its own civilian population any more (not that it ever should re: TiT)

A snap election in 2010 is the worst idea possible or imaginable. The Redshirts don't stand for or represent democracy. The Redshirts want the money, power and control and, as we again are witnessing, will stop at nothing to include extensive violence to get government and state power and access to the money. The Redshirt and Thaksin's calls for a snap election are a pretext to seize absolute Maoist power by focing the breakdown of the electoral process and the election itself. The Maoist Redshirt leaders would make certain a snap election this year would become an absolute fiasco that they could use to catapult themselves to the top and that there would never be another election.

[MaiChai]

My thoughts on all this is how can the reds win against the army? I mean the army got rid of Taksin because they could not stand his blatent corruption and ego. Now the army back the government. So who will win? I will let you work it out. Thailand cannot go on like this. We all have to obey the law. Life isn't fair but most of these red shirts have access to education and can make a better life for themselves, but alot of them choose not to. So they end up with the jobs no one wants and are on the lower rungs of society. Some people are privileged but the rest of us have worked hard for where we are...

[negreanu]

This picture is interesting. Where were all his comrades? The only other soldier in the pic happened to have a red armband on.

The red do seems doped upped and wanting a fight though.

He was dragged from a vehicle and set upon apparently. There are no other soldiers in the photo. Only terrorists and thugs intent on violence and receiving cash from Thaksin to do so.