Bangkok: Assailants Fired M-79 Grenades At Sala Daeng Skytrain Station

[LevelHead]

And where are these "BTS video's" ?

LOL

Still being made in Hollywood ?

[TAWP]

UN Independent investigations are needed into this and April 10th.

What on earth are you talking about? What is it with Red fans and the UN?

[Tigs]

Gymboy

Could I trouble you to communicate like an adult and put the 'ou' in between 'y and r', there's a good chap. Texteeze is becoming an awfully bad habit, if you carry that on just think what standard your children will have, heaven forbid.

Furthermore could the resident lunatic try and desist from obsessive use of the PMROTFL smiley? Lights out in 10 minutes remember.

[LevelHead]

Still no "news" on the Silom BTS videos ?

Another day passes to try and sweep this well under the carpet, was it Yellow PAD who fired them ? or Army side ?

Looks like they keep pumping the Hospital story 24/7 now in an attempt to get people to forget April 10th, April 22nd and the murders of innocents by the "machine with propaganda on its side" ??

[thepodest]

Still no "news" on the Silom BTS videos ?

Another day passes to try and sweep this well under the carpet, was it Yellow PAD who fired them ? or Army side ?

Looks like they keep pumping the Hospital story 24/7 now in an attempt to get people to forget April 10th, April 22nd and the murders of innocents by the "machine with propaganda on its side" ??

Man. Are you into Aliens, Area 51 or 9-11 was an inside job?

Do you wear tin foil hats when you post on Thaivisa?

Because all you do is pump out ridiculous conspiracies that are BASELESS.

Before we know it, you could be saying the aliens were behind all of this.

[monkfish]

Sala Daeng grenades

proven to be shot from Chulalongkorn Hospital

BANGKOK, 5 May 2010 (NNT) – M79 grenade attacks at Sala Daeng

Intersection on 22 April 2010 have been proven to be shot from

Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, according to the Central Institute of

Forensic Science Director, Khunying MD Pornthip Rojanasunan.

The director stated that M79 grenades against protestors of the Alliance

of Patriots that day could have been launched from either the seventh

or the eighth floor of King Bhumibol Building in Chulalongkorn Hospital

based on traces and damages found at the scene.

Khunying MD Pornthip added that nitrate, a compound of the grenade, was

found at both the seventh and the eighth floor of the building while a

bullet hole was also found on the outside mirror of the women’s restroom

on the eighth floor.

The director however could not conclude if the grenade attacks at BTS

Sala Daeng station and in front of Bank of Ayudhya near Dusit Hotel were

instigated by the same perpetrators or not due to different projectile

directions.

Khunying MD Pornthip reasoned that all CCTVs inside King Bhumibol

Building inside the hospital were damaged, and therefore no traces of

the unrest perpetrators could be tracked.

http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish/index_en.php

[danc]

"Three people died and more than 70 were injured," said Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, adding that an M79 grenade launcher was used in the attacks, which came as the supporters of embattled Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva faced off with the rival Reds.

"It was clear that it was shot from behind the King Rama VI Monument where the Red Shirts are rallying," he told reporters.

I believe from the Nation - in the old live reports for 23/4/10

Where does that leave it all now then - who was in the hospital? Has Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban made any comment? No one at the hospital at 9.00pm in the evening noticed people firing grenades from their upper floors? Or are those floors empty?

Are the Reds to blame?. Was it a third force helping the Reds? Were there in fact troops up there firing into the crowd to make it look like the reds? Terrorists? So many questions!

Edited May 5, 2010 by danc

[Thai at Heart]

Obviously Porntip is trying to rescue her reputation. Not a mention of GT 200 in sight.

The moment that Suthep said he knew that the baddies, with the grenade launcher, fired from Lumpini I believed he was bluffing at Cluedo.

It would appear someone is hacked off at being sold two metal twigs in a plastic holder so the stories won't match up from here.

[monkfish]

Unfortunately all CTTV cameras were down on that day so we will never know.

[danc]

How can we blame the Reds though?

[Thai at Heart]

Unfortunately all CTTV cameras were down on that day so we will never know.

Oh come on, the black clothed guys from the top of the hospital by hand out of the window is so much more likely than,

the villagers with the stolen guns made a perfect drive through the cables, buildings, and everything else to land 3 shots perfectly in line on the roof of the BTS. All 3 grenades missed the trains between 2 or 5 feet. Go stand in lumpini next time you can and imagine making that shot.

Impossible.

[monkfish]

Unfortunately all CTTV cameras were down on that day so we will never know.

Oh come on, the black clothed guys from the top of the hospital by hand out of the window is so much more likely than,

the villagers with the stolen guns made a perfect drive through the cables, buildings, and everything else to land 3 shots perfectly in line on the roof of the BTS. All 3 grenades missed the trains between 2 or 5 feet. Go stand in lumpini next time you can and imagine making that shot.

Impossible.

Have no experience but heard M79 are not all that accurate.

Here is a little map I made in google earth, pity not all the building are in 3D.

[whybother]

Have no experience but heard M79 are not all that accurate.

Here is a little map I made in google earth, pity not all the building are in 3D.

How the hel_l did they hit the BTS station, over a number of buildings (not sure how high, but I thought at least 6 or 7 stories)?

I thought that for sure (if they came from the reds) they would have come from the corner of Lumpini park. It's basically straight down Silom from the park entrance. 3 grenades hit the station, so someone just needed to aim down Silom and change the elevation slightly to get all 3 to basically it hit in a line.

From the hospital, it would be nearly impossible to hit the station with 3 different directions and 3 different firing elevations.

[monkfish]

Have no experience but heard M79 are not all that accurate.

Here is a little map I made in google earth, pity not all the building are in 3D.

How the hel_l did they hit the BTS station, over a number of buildings (not sure how high, but I thought at least 6 or 7 stories)?

I thought that for sure (if they came from the reds) they would have come from the corner of Lumpini park. It's basically straight down Silom from the park entrance. 3 grenades hit the station, so someone just needed to aim down Silom and change the elevation slightly to get all 3 to basically it hit in a line.

From the hospital, it would be nearly impossible to hit the station with 3 different directions and 3 different firing elevations.

Would the building in the corner block the view? I'm not sure

But considering they have found Nitrate on both the 7th and 8th floors it shouldn't be ruled out.

[longway]

There was the grenade next to the Dusit thani as well. Where did that come from? Hard to imagine how that came from Chula. You have the Rama 4 flyover and the skyway in the way.

This pic is looking back toward Lumpini Park, Chula would be out of view to the left. The tree looks like it has been hit with a grenade 3-4m up.

Another view of the tree also showing schrapnel (I presume) several metres beyond the tree

Edited May 5, 2010 by longway

[shawndoc]

The Chula accusation isn't new, what's new is the government acknowledging it.

5. (Big news IMHO) Night mgr of Chula Hospital admits letting #redshirt paramilitaries onto roof of bdg on night of Silom civilian attacks 6:11 PM Apr 27th via web

Taken from here:

http://twitter.com/WizardofWindsor

No idea his source, and he's a bit of a conspiracy nut. But the fact he was writing this over a week ago means its been out there, at least from unofficial sources.

[321niti123]

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban Thursday night urged Silom people to stay away from the red-shirt people at the Lumpini Park by more than 400 metres.

He said the M79 grenades, which injured more than 75 people on Silom Road, were fired from behind the King Rama VI statute where the red-shirt protesters were demonstrating.

He said if the protesters were staying away more than 400 metres from the line of red-shirt protesters, they would be safe from the M79 attacks.

Suthep said it was too dangerous for police and troops to go into the rally site at the park to try to arrest the assailants at night.

The Nation

-- The Nation (Date Unsure, not on the website)

I hope this one wont be deleted by the moderators

TO MODS: Can you put this in news it comes from a respectable newspapers/agency, but if this topic is already in news please give me the link smile.gif thanks (The link : http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/Suthe...-30127781.html)

[mazeltov]

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban Thursday night urged Silom people to stay away from the red-shirt people at the Lumpini Park by more than 400 metres.

He said the M79 grenades, which injured more than 75 people on Silom Road, were fired from behind the King Rama VI statute where the red-shirt protesters were demonstrating.

He said if the protesters were staying away more than 400 metres from the line of red-shirt protesters, they would be safe from the M79 attacks.

Suthep said it was too dangerous for police and troops to go into the rally site at the park to try to arrest the assailants at night.

The Nation

-- The Nation (Date Unsure, not on the website)

I hope this one wont be deleted by the moderators

TO MODS: Can you put this in news it comes from a respectable newspapers/agency, but if this topic is already in news please give me the link smile.gif thanks (The link : http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/Suthe...-30127781.html)

your link is broken, but google helped me:

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/Suthe...I-30127781.html

To check out the date of a The Nation article, press the small print icon located at the top right of the article. The print version should open in a new window and contain the publishing date.

"Your" article was published on April 22, 2010.

[whybother]

There was the grenade next to the Dusit thani as well. Where did that come from? Hard to imagine how that came from Chula. You have the Rama 4 flyover and the skyway in the way.

This pic is looking back toward Lumpini Park, Chula would be out of view to the left. The tree looks like it has been hit with a grenade 3-4m up.

Another view of the tree also showing schrapnel (I presume) several metres beyond the tree

They said the grenades came from the 7th and 8th floors of Chula. That would easily see over the BTS into the Dusit car park.

[AleG]

Unfortunately all CTTV cameras were down on that day so we will never know.

Oh come on, the black clothed guys from the top of the hospital by hand out of the window is so much more likely than,

the villagers with the stolen guns made a perfect drive through the cables, buildings, and everything else to land 3 shots perfectly in line on the roof of the BTS. All 3 grenades missed the trains between 2 or 5 feet. Go stand in lumpini next time you can and imagine making that shot.

Impossible.

Have no experience but heard M79 are not all that accurate.

Here is a little map I made in google earth, pity not all the building are in 3D.

But... that's not Chulalongkorn hospital, it's the one behind it. You know, with the name and everything. No? Which would make the thing all the more unbelievable, frankly, after the bomb detector scandal I have serious doubts on Dr. Pornthip's ability as a crime scene investigator. I wonder if the nitrate traces were found using on of those "detectors".

[mavup]

There has been an ongoing investigation to the deaths that have occurred complete with Red shirts on the panel....

Yes I can state that the terrorists are working for Sae Daeng and that Sae Daeng is a red working for Thaksin.

whats yr evidence?

or is it just yr view?

Here's some good insights that directly addresses the Sae Daeng issue in this situation from a world-class media source:

Bangkok Faces Risks in November Vote Offer

Wall Street Journal

May 5, 2010

BANGKOK—Thailand's army leaders made an enemy when they assigned Maj. Gen. Khattiya Sawasdipol to lead aerobics-dance classes in Bangkok's public markets a couple of years ago.

Rebel leader Maj. Gen. Khattiya Sawasdipol runs a radical group of Thailand's Red Shirt protesters from within a fortified area close to Bangkok's financial district. Some analysts worry that his faction could turn violent.

Today, Maj. Gen. Khattiya is a renegade operating among the Red Shirt protesters in Bangkok's streets, and his increasingly militant followers illustrate the risks the government faces if it fails to secure a political deal to end the eight-week crisis.

Protest leaders Tuesday appeared close to agreeing to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's latest offer to hold elections on Nov. 14 in exchange for calling off the debilitating demonstrations, which have crippled Bangkok's main shopping district for weeks and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in losses. Thaksin Shinawatra, the fugitive former prime minister ousted in a 2006 military coup who is a driving force behind Red Shirt protests, said in a phone call to supporters Tuesday that prospects for reconciliation were good.

Rally organizers, however, said they were waiting for proof of the government's sincerity, and questioned the proposed election date. "We want to see the government commit to a dissolution," said Nattawut Saikua, one of the main protest leaders. "It's in the government's hands now."

Thai stock-market prices soared on news that the Red Shirts were considering the election offer. The Stock Exchange of Thailand Index rose 4.4% to close at 796.86 points.

But if the offer is rejected amid disputes over the polling date, political analysts say tensions could deteriorate further—and open the way for hard-liners to determine what happens next.

Though the anti-government protesters in Thailand are ostensibly pitted against the Royal Thai Armed Forces, the truth is much more ambiguous.

One such hard-liner is Maj. Gen. Khattiya, better known as "Seh Daeng," or, roughly, "Commander Red." His followers represent a volatile splinter group in the protesters' push to replace a bureaucratic establishment with a populist, rural-dominated government. Some independent analysts say Maj. Gen. Khattiya's growing influence over such militant members of the broader Red Shirt movement could lead to bloodshed.

The major general on Tuesday scoffed at the prime minister's latest offer. "He's trying to trick the protest leaders into stepping down, but the protesters want to stay," he said. "It's just a plan to buy time and push up stock prices."

Maj. Gen. Khattiya, suspended from duty in 2008 for visiting Thaksin overseas without permission, was once a rising star in Thailand's armed forces, trained in fighting antigovernment forces. He earned his reputation as a maverick fighting Communist insurgents in near the border with Laos in the 1970s and Muslim rebels in the south. He scorns what he calls his superiors' fondness for golf, which he considers soft, and promotes himself as a Thai-style Rambo in a series of books he has written about his exploits in the field.

His assignment to lead aerobics classes—not unusual in Thai army discipline—appeared to designed to cure Maj. Gen. Khattiya of his radical political views and to bring him in line with the chain of command. The reorientation didn't work.

On the streets of Bangkok, his followers—some of whom appear to be teenagers—are a fringe subset of the broader antigovernment movement. Though their number isn't known, some 5,000 people have joined his new populist and militaristic Khattiya Karma political party.

"Change is coming to Thailand, and the army won't be able to withstand us," Maj. Gen. Khattiya, 58 years old, says during an interview, while keeping a watchful eye on his shock-troops patrolling their base camp at the entrance to Bangkok's main business district.

He says he raised his ragtag militia for one last mission: to turn the marathon anti-government protest on the streets of Bangkok into a full-blown civil war.

Maj. Gen. Khattiya's critics dismiss him as a showman full of bluster. Some mainstream Red Shirt leaders disown him and his methods, including barricading a hospital near the site where protesters have been camped out for more than a month.

But the rogue commander says he has his own authority stemming directly from Thaksin.

He has the ear of the former prime minister, visiting him several times in Dubai and elsewhere since the military coup forced the leader from power in 2006, the major general and Army officers say.

"I won't leave until Thaksin tells me to," Maj. Gen. Khattiya adds.

Thaksin couldn't be reached to comment.

It is unclear how heavily Maj. Gen. Khattiya or his followers are armed, or whether they rely solely on their supply of rocks and sharpened bamboo stakes.

Already, 27 demonstrators have been killed and more than 100 injured during the conflict, most during violent clashes with troops on April 10. Maj. Gen. Khattiya denies being involved in any of the violence. But he adds that talking without the threat of arms to back it up is "useless"—a stance that makes him a figure of fear in Bangkok's nervous business community.

At the same time, many protesters are devoted to Maj. Gen. Khattiya, snapping up his line of T-shirts and jackets.

"I feel warm inside when I see him. He's a good soldier who takes care of the people here," says Toy Jitsuwan, a 56-year-old hairstylist, clasping her hands to her breast.

Political analysts here say the protest movement has several layers, each operating relatively independently from each other.

That means Red Shirt leaders can claim to have nothing to do with Maj. Gen. Khattiya while benefiting from whatever havoc he might wreak.

It also means his arguments for violent resistance lend credibility to the Thai government's claims that "terrorists" within the protesters' ranks are bent on overthrowing the country's venerated monarchy.

On the front lines of the active center of the protest, Maj. Gen. Khattiya's word is law.

Suspected infiltrators are escorted out of the encampment with a nod of his head, and barricades are erected or moved at his say-so.

He struts around his personal redoubt inside the larger Red Shirt camp, wearing military fatigues in open view of police and soldiers, even though he was recently freed on bail after being charged for illegally possessing firearms.

He sometimes ventures further into public areas, especially when television crews are around, and makes a performance of inspecting the sharpened bamboo stakes and kerosene-soaked tires that fortify the protesters' camp.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405...ttoWhatsNewsTop

[mavup]

An Australian Soldier telling his point of view regarding the M-79 attack.

Recorded yesterday I believe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdQSodVIZro

A discredited clown thoroughly skewered in this thread:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Deportation-...on-t361400.html

[rabo]

There has been an ongoing investigation to the deaths that have occurred complete with Red shirts on the panel....

Yes I can state that the terrorists are working for Sae Daeng and that Sae Daeng is a red working for Thaksin.

whats yr evidence?

or is it just yr view?

Here's some good insights that directly addresses the Sae Daeng issue in this situation from a world-class media source:

Bangkok Faces Risks in November Vote Offer

Wall Street Journal

May 5, 2010

BANGKOK—Thailand's army leaders made an enemy when they assigned Maj. Gen. Khattiya Sawasdipol to lead aerobics-dance classes in Bangkok's public markets a couple of years ago.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405...ttoWhatsNewsTop

Amnesty for Seh Daeng, Army style.

Seh Daeng: Boss!

Anupong: Remember that grenade you tossed in my office the day after you left?

Seh Daeng: Um, just teaching dancing, that's what you ordered, right??

Anupong: You must return all the weapons.

Seh Daeng: But they confiscated the weapons from my house and my advisor's house, the ones I knew nothing about, remember?.

Anupong: Not those, the other weapons.

Seh Daeng: Can't. The C4 that didn't detonate on the power pylons was taken by police.

Anupong: How about all the grenades?

Seh Daeng: Not reading the news? Confiscated from the police by the police.

Anupong: Then, just return the rocket launchers.

Seh Daeng: OK, but might be short a few rockets. Who would ever think an RPG can't destroy a fuel storage tank?

Anupong: And I want all the other bombs

Seh Daeng: Well, I'm not sure where the guys hid them. Maybe I can borrow some GT200 bomb detectors?

Anupong: Please take them all, just return the bombs you find.

Seh Daeng: Right, sir!

Anupong: And another thing......

Seh Daeng: Anything, sir!

Anupong: When you come back, this time, you are going to teach aerobics.

Seh Daeng: <exits>

Friend: What's the deal?

Seh Daeng: Says I gotta teach aerobics. Ha! Only aerobics I'm going to teach is how to perforate people with a machine gun........

Historical background, After Seh Daeng visited Thaksin in Cambodia, Anupong

relieved him of his duties and instructed him to teach dancing class. Later,

Seh Daeng is quoted as saying the only lesson he will prepare is how to throw a

grenade. When Anupong finally dismissed Seh Daeng, a grenade was thrown into

Aunpong's office the next day, an act widely attributed to Seh Daeng.

[Neurath]

Unfortunately all CTTV cameras were down on that day so we will never know.

Oh come on, the black clothed guys from the top of the hospital by hand out of the window is so much more likely than,

the villagers with the stolen guns made a perfect drive through the cables, buildings, and everything else to land 3 shots perfectly in line on the roof of the BTS. All 3 grenades missed the trains between 2 or 5 feet. Go stand in lumpini next time you can and imagine making that shot.

Impossible.

There's no way to shoot from the Hospital onto the roof of the Skytrain station. For one thing it's too far, for the other there's no line of sight. Supposing Porntip is right about shooting from Chula this has to be those rounds that came down at the Saladaeng intersection. For skytrain roof, my money would be on the Robinson's tower.

By the way, has anyone else been for a look at the Skytrain platform? That shrapnell put a huge number of holes in the concrete/artificial granite floor - suprised more people weren't injured/killed.

[otherstuff1957]

The maximum range of the M79 is 400m. The effective range is 350m. The point target range is 150m. It's about 350-400 meters from the statue in Lumpini Park to the skytrain station. It's about 250-300 meters from Chula Hosp. to the skytrain station. (I don't know where the grenades hit the station, so those figures aren't very exact.)

Now here's an interesting pic:

Quite frankly, given that they would have to use position 2 or 3 at those ranges, I'm surprised that they were able to hit anything!

[jdinasia]

There has been an ongoing investigation to the deaths that have occurred complete with Red shirts on the panel....

Yes I can state that the terrorists are working for Sae Daeng and that Sae Daeng is a red working for Thaksin.

whats yr evidence?

or is it just yr view?

Here's some good insights that directly addresses the Sae Daeng issue in this situation from a world-class media source:

Bangkok Faces Risks in November Vote Offer

Wall Street Journal

May 5, 2010

BANGKOK—Thailand's army leaders made an enemy when they assigned Maj. Gen. Khattiya Sawasdipol to lead aerobics-dance classes in Bangkok's public markets a couple of years ago.

Rebel leader Maj. Gen. Khattiya Sawasdipol runs a radical group of Thailand's Red Shirt protesters from within a fortified area close to Bangkok's financial district. Some analysts worry that his faction could turn violent.

Today, Maj. Gen. Khattiya is a renegade operating among the Red Shirt protesters in Bangkok's streets, and his increasingly militant followers illustrate the risks the government faces if it fails to secure a political deal to end the eight-week crisis.

Protest leaders Tuesday appeared close to agreeing to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's latest offer to hold elections on Nov. 14 in exchange for calling off the debilitating demonstrations, which have crippled Bangkok's main shopping district for weeks and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in losses. Thaksin Shinawatra, the fugitive former prime minister ousted in a 2006 military coup who is a driving force behind Red Shirt protests, said in a phone call to supporters Tuesday that prospects for reconciliation were good.

Rally organizers, however, said they were waiting for proof of the government's sincerity, and questioned the proposed election date. "We want to see the government commit to a dissolution," said Nattawut Saikua, one of the main protest leaders. "It's in the government's hands now."

Thai stock-market prices soared on news that the Red Shirts were considering the election offer. The Stock Exchange of Thailand Index rose 4.4% to close at 796.86 points.

But if the offer is rejected amid disputes over the polling date, political analysts say tensions could deteriorate further—and open the way for hard-liners to determine what happens next.

Though the anti-government protesters in Thailand are ostensibly pitted against the Royal Thai Armed Forces, the truth is much more ambiguous.

One such hard-liner is Maj. Gen. Khattiya, better known as "Seh Daeng," or, roughly, "Commander Red." His followers represent a volatile splinter group in the protesters' push to replace a bureaucratic establishment with a populist, rural-dominated government. Some independent analysts say Maj. Gen. Khattiya's growing influence over such militant members of the broader Red Shirt movement could lead to bloodshed.

The major general on Tuesday scoffed at the prime minister's latest offer. "He's trying to trick the protest leaders into stepping down, but the protesters want to stay," he said. "It's just a plan to buy time and push up stock prices."

Maj. Gen. Khattiya, suspended from duty in 2008 for visiting Thaksin overseas without permission, was once a rising star in Thailand's armed forces, trained in fighting antigovernment forces. He earned his reputation as a maverick fighting Communist insurgents in near the border with Laos in the 1970s and Muslim rebels in the south. He scorns what he calls his superiors' fondness for golf, which he considers soft, and promotes himself as a Thai-style Rambo in a series of books he has written about his exploits in the field.

His assignment to lead aerobics classes—not unusual in Thai army discipline—appeared to designed to cure Maj. Gen. Khattiya of his radical political views and to bring him in line with the chain of command. The reorientation didn't work.

On the streets of Bangkok, his followers—some of whom appear to be teenagers—are a fringe subset of the broader antigovernment movement. Though their number isn't known, some 5,000 people have joined his new populist and militaristic Khattiya Karma political party.

"Change is coming to Thailand, and the army won't be able to withstand us," Maj. Gen. Khattiya, 58 years old, says during an interview, while keeping a watchful eye on his shock-troops patrolling their base camp at the entrance to Bangkok's main business district.

He says he raised his ragtag militia for one last mission: to turn the marathon anti-government protest on the streets of Bangkok into a full-blown civil war.

Maj. Gen. Khattiya's critics dismiss him as a showman full of bluster. Some mainstream Red Shirt leaders disown him and his methods, including barricading a hospital near the site where protesters have been camped out for more than a month.

But the rogue commander says he has his own authority stemming directly from Thaksin.

He has the ear of the former prime minister, visiting him several times in Dubai and elsewhere since the military coup forced the leader from power in 2006, the major general and Army officers say.

"I won't leave until Thaksin tells me to," Maj. Gen. Khattiya adds.

Thaksin couldn't be reached to comment.

It is unclear how heavily Maj. Gen. Khattiya or his followers are armed, or whether they rely solely on their supply of rocks and sharpened bamboo stakes.

Already, 27 demonstrators have been killed and more than 100 injured during the conflict, most during violent clashes with troops on April 10. Maj. Gen. Khattiya denies being involved in any of the violence. But he adds that talking without the threat of arms to back it up is "useless"—a stance that makes him a figure of fear in Bangkok's nervous business community.

At the same time, many protesters are devoted to Maj. Gen. Khattiya, snapping up his line of T-shirts and jackets.

"I feel warm inside when I see him. He's a good soldier who takes care of the people here," says Toy Jitsuwan, a 56-year-old hairstylist, clasping her hands to her breast.

Political analysts here say the protest movement has several layers, each operating relatively independently from each other.

That means Red Shirt leaders can claim to have nothing to do with Maj. Gen. Khattiya while benefiting from whatever havoc he might wreak.

It also means his arguments for violent resistance lend credibility to the Thai government's claims that "terrorists" within the protesters' ranks are bent on overthrowing the country's venerated monarchy.

On the front lines of the active center of the protest, Maj. Gen. Khattiya's word is law.

Suspected infiltrators are escorted out of the encampment with a nod of his head, and barricades are erected or moved at his say-so.

He struts around his personal redoubt inside the larger Red Shirt camp, wearing military fatigues in open view of police and soldiers, even though he was recently freed on bail after being charged for illegally possessing firearms.

He sometimes ventures further into public areas, especially when television crews are around, and makes a performance of inspecting the sharpened bamboo stakes and kerosene-soaked tires that fortify the protesters' camp.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405...ttoWhatsNewsTop

Pretty damning article to the Red cause and to Sae Daeng. If the DSI proves what I think they will be able to, it will link Sae Daeng and his "Ronin" dirrectly with the rest of the leadership.

[jackspratt]

I am surprised Maj Gen Khattiya hasn't been subject to a high powered round between the eyes.

As a warrior, I am sure he would understand.

[Neurath]

The maximum range of the M79 is 400m. The effective range is 350m. The point target range is 150m. It's about 350-400 meters from the statue in Lumpini Park to the skytrain station. It's about 250-300 meters from Chula Hosp. to the skytrain station. (I don't know where the grenades hit the station, so those figures aren't very exact.)

Now here's an interesting pic:

Quite frankly, given that they would have to use position 2 or 3 at those ranges, I'm surprised that they were able to hit anything!

Hit right down the Patpong end. Go up the stairs and have a look. From there to Chula Hospital is much much more than 400 meters. There are also buildings in the way.

[Deeral]

Just look at yourselves!

[brahmburgers]

CRES warns of force if reds don't disperse

By The Nation

Published on May 7, 2010

BANGKOK: -- The government's Centre for the Resolution of Emergency Situation yesterday threatened to use force with the red-shirt protesters if they still refused to disperse despite the prime minister's proposal for political reconciliation.

Colonel Sansern Kaewkamnerd, the CRES spokesman, said that yesterday's meeting of the centre agreed it still has the duty to complete its task.

"The red shirts don't have much choice left and they have no right to bargain with us. The prime minister's proposal does not mean there will be no dispersal of the protest," Sansern said. "The government is doing its work to solve the problems and the CRES has its responsibility to deal with an illegal protest in which terrorists are hiding," he added.

The spokesman said the CRES has set up more checkpoints around the protest site at the Rajprasong shopping area and its security forces were closing in. He said the checkpoints were aimed at preventing perpetrators from smuggling weapons out of the protest site. "Between 10 and 20 people have been arrested each day for carrying weapons," he added.

Sounds like the Army has someone at the top with a backbone. Protesters should know that if they don't accept the 'roadmap' and disperse soon, they may be pushed out by security forces. All the time they protesters are barricaded downtown, the problems for Bangkok persist. The protesters see it all as a big game where they can prance around on the stage. It won't be much fun when the Army swoops in with determined force.

Good to hear CRES will be screening all departing protesters for weapons. It will be interesting to see what sorts of deception the weapons/ammunition carrying protesters will use - when trying to smuggle their weapons & ammo out. Let's hope CRES does their job with conviction, and not wilt like wet toilet paper (like Thai cops) when facing confrontation.