Thai Army Says Planning Operation To Clear Protesters

[george]

Thai army says planning operation to clear protesters

by Thanaporn Promyamyai

BANGKOK (AFP): -- Thailand's embattled prime minister put his army chief in charge of security in the capital Friday after a bungled raid on a hotel where leaders of the Red Shirt protest movement were holed up.

Authorities are turning up the heat again on anti-government demonstrators after a lull in tensions between the two sides, whose standoff descended into the country's deadliest civil unrest in two decades last weekend.

The military said it was planning another operation to disperse the thousands of protesters from Bangkok's commercial district but the timing had not yet been decided.

"There will be an effort to retake the area. We can't allow protests there because it damages the country," army spokesman Sunsern Kaewkumnerd told reporters.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said that he was replacing his deputy as head of security operations in the capital, giving army chief Anupong Paojinda broader powers to tackle "terrorism".

"The government reassures you that we will restore normalcy," he said in a nationally televised address.

Experts said the move suggested the authorities might be preparing another crackdown, following last Saturday's bloody clashes that left 23 people dead.

It also came after commandos earlier Friday stormed a Bangkok hotel where leaders of the Red Shirt protest movement were hiding, but the mission ended in dramatic failure after the suspects managed to flee.

"They tried to arrest the co-leaders of the Red Shirts and they were unable to do so. I think that was another humiliation," said Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a fellow at the Institute for Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.

"When you let the military control a situation it hardly ever ends nice and peacefully. There's a possibility it might turn nasty."

One leading Red Shirt climbed down an electric cable from the third floor of the hotel in Bangkok's northern outskirts before being rushed away by jubilant supporters, despite the presence of dozens of riot police nearby.

The operation "was not a success but the government will carry on", Abhisit said.

The setback to the authorities came almost a week after the army tried in vain to clear an area of the capital of anti-government demonstrators, triggering the country's deadliest civil unrest in 18 years.

"Police kicked the door open and threw smoke and stun grenades into the room, but luckily I ran to the window and used an electric cord to climb down," said one of the Red Shirt leaders who fled the hotel, Arisman Pongruangrong.

"Now our mission is to hunt down Abhisit and (deputy PM) Suthep. Our patience is at its limit," he said at the main rally stage in the commercial district in the heart of the Thai capital.

The Reds, who began their mass rallies on March 12, say the area will be the scene of the "final round" in their fight to overthrow the government.

The turmoil has spooked investors, with Thai stocks plunging 3.25 percent on Friday as trading resumed after a three-day break for the Thai New Year. The market has tumbled almost seven percent over the past two trading days.

Arrest warrants have been issued for many of the Red Shirt leaders, including Arisman, who is accused of involvement in the storming of parliament earlier this month as well as an Asian summit in Pattaya last year.

The mostly poor and rural red-clad supporters of fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra say the government is illegitimate because it came to power in 2008 after a court ousted Thaksin's allies from power.

Two police officers were taken by the protesters from the hotel to the rally site and briefly interrogated by Red Shirts, but they later told reporters that they had not been taken hostage but wanted to ensure Arisman's safety.

Abhisit has blamed "terrorists" for inciting last weekend's violent street clashes, which sparked bloody gun battles in the heart of the capital.

The government, which imposed a state of emergency in Bangkok and surrounding areas a week ago, has accused Thaksin of stoking the unrest.

A legal aide announced Thaksin is to sue Thailand's Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya after the politician called him a "bloody terrorist".

"Dr Thaksin has assigned a team of lawyers to bring a libel case, both civil and criminal, against Mr. Kasit," Noppadon Pattama told AFP.

-- ©Copyright AFP 2010-04-17

Published with written approval from AFP.

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[hoilai]

domeone seems to have diarrhea in his mouth at this time...a little discretion would have been more welcomed after all abhisit's efforts.....

[grandpops]

Maybe he is keen to see Karadic in the Hague!

I think seriously the reds will negotiate with him, just to rub salt into the wounds of whats left of the government. Army conspicuaously absent this morning.

[jfchandler]

I'd love to know the real story of what happened in the hotel room this morning....and how they started with A and ended up with Z.

The only thing that kept coming to my mind on the subject all day was the movie title... "The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight."

[OJAS]

I suspect that Dad's Army (yes, that formidable fighting force led by Captain Mainwaring) would be more likely to succeed in dispersing the reds than the Thai Army

[george]

Anupong appointed new emergency operations command chief

BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva announced on TV Friday night that Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Anupong Paochinda has been appointed the new commander of the Emergency Operations Command.

Abhisit said Anupong has replaced Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban for the job.

-- The Nation 2010-04-14

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[yoshiwara]

So the headline at the top, saying Government ready for more talks with Reds means the machine guns will do the talking?

It is the red leadership under instructions from Thaksin who prefer petrol bombs to negotiations.

[britmaveric]

Should it be possible for the army to publish the details of their planned operations on Thaivisa so we as members know also everything in advance similar to the reds.

[Oliver Reed]

This is descending in to farce...Just hope there is no further bloodshed, what we are witnessing you couldnt make up and expect people to believe...It doesnt exactly fill you with confidence in the army after what has been seen so far does it?

[Chunky1]

Every three hours the government makes some major change. Its not the red shirts, its the terrorists. it is the red shirts. its negotiations. its assassination attempts. its an army crackdown but the army does not know when or how.

[mythBuster]

This government is unfortunately made up out of power horny morons. The frequent use of the word "Terrorist" means that the people do not give a rats ass about the status, the economy and the reputation of the country.

I try to figure out for a few days why the army went in last Saturday with anti aircraft weapons in their arsenal which according the claims of the army were confiscated by the red shirts. This can only be a set-up. the reds do not have any aircraft who is planning to bring one down? A terrorist? The army? It seems that everything is allowed to stay in power.

The economist was suggesting a election in three months time, which should probably do, if it were not for the deputy of Anupong who wants to take control in September?October. Given the fact that the polls that are so often quoted by the government will be proven to be paid for by the elite and the one and only poll (Elections) will bring parties related to the reds an outright majority his chances of being promoted are nil, zero, nada, which would void the entire coup which brought Thailand only misery.

Sonthi and his fellow couptakers should go to jail for a very very long time and their self proclaimed amnesty revoked.

[AZBill]

I'd love to know the real story of what happened in the hotel room this morning....and how they started with A and ended up with Z.

The only thing that kept coming to my mind on the subject all day was the movie title... "The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight."

The Lullaby League vs the Lollipop Guild!

[anon467367354]

it's amazing that this army can't even surround a hotel and remove some fat middle aged men from a room without incident. If the army can't protect the country against a bunch of farmers with sticks, what the heck would they do if say someone like Cambodia decided this would be a nice country to have? I wonder how many countries out there are looking at Thailand as possible fair game, seeing how helpless they really appear. Maybe the moral of the story is, image is just that, all show and no substance. Time to get it together and prove it has what it takes to protect the women and children, or maybe the women and children should do it instead?

[gotlost]

The Keystone Cops could do a better job than what is being produced.

[tgw]

get 50.000 troops to Bangkok and outfit them with riot gear, shields and batons ONLY, and PUSH!

[TheOldWolf]

it's amazing that this army can't even surround a hotel and remove some fat middle aged men from a room without incident. If the army can't protect the country against a bunch of farmers with sticks, what the heck would they do if say someone like Cambodia decided this would be a nice country to have? I wonder how many countries out there are looking at Thailand as possible fair game, seeing how helpless they really appear. Maybe the moral of the story is, image is just that, all show and no substance. Time to get it together and prove it has what it takes to protect the women and children, or maybe the women and children should do it instead?

Wasn´t it security forces from the famous incompetent thai police that tried to arrest the leaders? I think they made a call to someone and asked how much they get paid to mess it all up.

[gotglue]

Since when has Abhisit been incharge of fuc_king anything? Thai media, stop trying to fill our heads with such rott!!!

[ozzieal]

So the headline at the top, saying Government ready for more talks with Reds means the machine guns will do the talking?

It is the red leadership under instructions from Thaksin who prefer petrol bombs to negotiations.

you forgot to mention that this would not be happening if the ligitmate government (red shirts) were still in power

i am apolitical....

[britmaveric]

^it's legitimate, but if you eliminate all the opposition through dubious use of the courts then perhaps not?

[gtm2k]

So the headline at the top, saying Government ready for more talks with Reds means the machine guns will do the talking?

It is the red leadership under instructions from Thaksin who prefer petrol bombs to negotiations.

you forgot to mention that this would not be happening if the ligitmate government (red shirts) were still in power

i am apolitical....

The only thing which can result in an uncontrolled fight is the red army clashing with the yellow army ! As long as these two groups dont clash, red vs cops, red vs army... this can still come to an end !

[elcent]

-- The Nation What went wrong? Probably, nothing was right from the very beginning.

Arisman Pongruangrong and other red-shirt leaders on a wanted list could not be apprehended when they were in full public view in the middle of the city, so what convinced Thai police that they could catch them by storming a hotel that once belonged to Thaksin Shinawatra?

From the embarrassing shambles left in their wake, not only did the police think they could do so - they must have presumed they could do it with one eye closed. When overweight Arisman, who must also be afraid of heights, staged a clumsy cable-descending stunt in front of local and international media from the SC Park Hotel's third-floor balcony to safety, the humiliation of Thailand's highly questionable police force was complete.

Not to mention that two senior officers were taken by the red mob from the hotel to the Rajprasong rally site to "guarantee" the escapees' safe return. How come what was supposed to be a pre-dawn sting operation ended with Arisman staging the escape just before 10am and mobs accompanying all the police targets back to Rajprasong at noon?

Everything was so fishy that Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, who around 9am had proudly announced that Arisman and at least a couple of others were now in police custody, lost his cool and virtually everyone on the government side lost patience with his excuses. A probe into what went wrong was pledged, but the damage had been done and half the world was already laughing.

The operation reportedly started at 3am, with stake-out forces stationing themselves near the hotel's entrances and exits, with a few disguising themselves as guests. Problem was, nobody knew for sure which rooms the targets - Arisman, Suporn Attawong, Payap Panket and Jeng Dokjik - were staying in. The four reportedly arrived at the hotel at around 4am.

Then around 6am another group of officers, purportedly working for an assistant police chief, arrived. One of them then committed a grave blunder by asking the hotel reception for house keys that could open all suspicious rooms.

That apparently did it. Phone calls must have been made by certain staff members and within minutes red shirts living nearby were gathering at the hotel. By the time the two groups of officers became aware of each other's presence, the hotel was crawling with red shirts. Two pickups mounted with loudspeakers were used to block the road in front of the hotel, situated in the sprawling Town in Town estate off the Pradit Manutham (Ekkamai-Ram-Indra) Road.

The police called their superiors and requested commando reinforcements. Through all these hectic developments, the hotel staff managed to buy time and kept the house keys away from the now restless, and pretty much clueless, officers.

When the policemen finally got hold of the keys, Arisman was already playing a Mission Impossible hero, albeit with some difficulty due to his weight. His face was white and he appeared disoriented once he dropped himself to safety, into numerous red hands waiting to grab him on the ground.

"The police wanted to kill me," he told reporters. "They wanted to kill me. There were bombs in the room." Press photos of the room later showed what looked like grenades, which police said needed to be examined before they could ascertain the types.

According to Arisman, he did not escape from his own room, but from a "red guards" room where he had hidden after being alerted that the police were coming.

Details were sketchier as to how the other three red leaders escaped from the hotel. Reports said they were helped by red-shirt members, who easily outnumbered police officers and led the leaders out of their rooms without police resistance.

The SC Park Hotel incident has inflamed gossip about "tomato" police, the term for pro-red police who allegedly might have dragged their feet when it comes to legal action or operations against the protesters. Whether yesterday's operations were simply lousy and ill conceived, or whether there had been moles within the force, reporters were able to locate one immigration officer, who described himself as a "brother" of Arisman.

The officer said he went to the hotel after hearing a distress call from Arisman's mother and sister. The policeman said he was there only to make sure Arisman was not harmed after escaping from the hotel balcony.

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[favre360]

Am I the only one wondering why Abhisit is handing this over to same guy who said parliament should be dissolved a few days ago?

[AZBill]

it's amazing that this army can't even surround a hotel and remove some fat middle aged men from a room without incident. If the army can't protect the country against a bunch of farmers with sticks, what the heck would they do if say someone like Cambodia decided this would be a nice country to have? I wonder how many countries out there are looking at Thailand as possible fair game, seeing how helpless they really appear. Maybe the moral of the story is, image is just that, all show and no substance. Time to get it together and prove it has what it takes to protect the women and children, or maybe the women and children should do it instead?

Wasn´t it security forces from the famous incompetent thai police that tried to arrest the leaders? I think they made a call to someone and asked how much they get paid to mess it all up.

Tea money! Need their tea money! If they're not careful and dont get their national security act together they are going to be speaking Cambodian or Chinese. Don't think they are'nt watching this travesty!

[AZBill]

Am I the only one wondering why Abhisit is handing this over to same guy who said parliament should be dissolved a few days ago?

They're Thai! Where's the confusion!

[elcent]

Am I the only one wondering why Abhisit is handing this over to same guy who said parliament should be dissolved a few days ago?

Drama queen Suthep was good in spouting Dramas when nothing happened. when things got serious nothing was heard from him.

Finally, it's a bull fight now. All over selfish reasons of individuals in high positions and not for the Nation and its people.

[favre360]

-- The Nation What went wrong? Probably, nothing was right from the very beginning.

Arisman Pongruangrong and other red-shirt leaders on a wanted list could not be apprehended when they were in full public view in the middle of the city, so what convinced Thai police that they could catch them by storming a hotel that once belonged to Thaksin Shinawatra?

From the embarrassing shambles left in their wake, not only did the police think they could do so - they must have presumed they could do it with one eye closed. When overweight Arisman, who must also be afraid of heights, staged a clumsy cable-descending stunt in front of local and international media from the SC Park Hotel's third-floor balcony to safety, the humiliation of Thailand's highly questionable police force was complete.

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

Lmao, personally I think assuming all the protesters are farmers with pitchforks is underestimating the man power and cunning of the reds. Gotta hand it to them, they put on one hel_l of a show!

[nakachalet]

dear brothers and sisters from various different lands....

may i assure you....

the end is in sight....

a week or two at most....

it will not be pretty.... but it will be speedy....

the career pro is now in charge.... and his untarnished record and reputation is on the line....

stay tune.... and try not to blink.... you just might miss the unimaginable actions....

it has been hinted and forewarned many times by different govt sources that .... that the area there is dangerous....

it could not be any clearer that locals as well as farangs should stay away....

i do not like what i heard and i dislike it even more.... of what is bounded to happen down the road....

i pray earnestly for restrain.... and more restrain.... HAVE MERCY....

[britmaveric]

^indeed Abhisit will resign and we can put this episode of comedy to rest.

[nakachalet]

Am I the only one wondering why Abhisit is handing this over to same guy who said parliament should be dissolved a few days ago?

-------

They're Thai! Where's the confusion!

-------

JUST TO CLEAR UP some points here....

gen anupong himself subsequent explained in another news conference that....

his comment was at that time responding to reporters' question on parliamentary dissolution....

he definitely did not suggest that parliamentary should be dissolved nor that the apisit's govt should quit....

ok? you guys....

[charmonman]

it's amazing that this army can't even surround a hotel and remove some fat middle aged men from a room without incident. If the army can't protect the country against a bunch of farmers with sticks, what the heck would they do if say someone like Cambodia decided this would be a nice country to have? I wonder how many countries out there are looking at Thailand as possible fair game, seeing how helpless they really appear. Maybe the moral of the story is, image is just that, all show and no substance. Time to get it together and prove it has what it takes to protect the women and children, or maybe the women and children should do it instead?

The problem is that the government and the army/police are trying to avoid mass casualties. If the Cambodians (in an extremely hypothetical situation) were to invade I think the Thai army would have no qualms about slaughtering them. On the other hand, you have to wonder how they are unable to arrest even one of the crooks calling themselves "leaders" of the red shirts. Personally, I think Abhisit is making the best of what is an impossible situation, and I'm sure he wishes he had something more effective than the Keystone Kops to rely on.

Unfortunately, this will likely all end with Abhisit resigning and probably moving overseas where he can probably make a good living under far less stressful circumstances. Thailand will have lost one of it's most intelligent, and educated Prime Ministers in decades and will end up with someone of the caliber of a Samak Sundaravej or a Chalerm - just what the country really deserves, so it can remain the underdeveloped, corrupt, laughing stock it seems to want to be. I used to love Thailand and respect its people. The last several years since the election of Thaksin have made me reconsider.