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Subdued Vigil Marks Red Crackdown Anniversary


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Subdued Vigil Marks Red Crackdown Anniversary

By Khaosod English.

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BANGKOK: -- The Redshirts have marked the anniversary of the military crackdown on their protests 4 years ago, while anti-government protesters also held a separate vigil for the soldiers who died in the operation.

The Redshirts had been occupying Ratchadamnoen Avenue and the financial district in Bangkok for weeks to demand a fresh election when former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva authorised the military to disperse the protest campsite around Democracy Monument on 10 April.

The operation failed to dislodge the protesters, and dragged on into a night of chaos. Masked gunmen allied to the Redshirts later appeared and exchanged gunfire with the soldiers, while the troops responded by firing live ammunition toward the demonstrators, before Mr. Abhisit eventually called off the operation.

By the next morning, 29 people were dead, including five soldiers and a Japanese cameraman who was working for Reuters. Another military crackdown in May 2010 finally brought the protests to an end, with a total death toll of more than 90 lives.

Bangkok is experiencing a reverse situation on the 4th anniversary of the "Bloody April" crackdown, with the Prime Minister elected by the Redshirts in power and anti-government protesters led by a deputy of Mr. Abhisit at the time are occupying parts of Bangkok, calling for the election in Thailand to be suspended until their demands for nation "reforms" are met.

The Redshirts chose to mark the anniversary with simple exhibition detailing the incident on 10 April 2010 at Imperial World Lat Phrao shopping mall in eastern Bangkok, and a Buddhist ceremony in the morning in memory of Redshirts demonstrators who lost their lives 4 years ago.

The exhibition also featured musical performance and speeches by core leaders of the United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) in the evening.

The low-profile event contrasts with mass rallies called by the UDD to commemorate the 10 April crackdown in previous years. Mr. Jatupon Prompan, chairman of the UDD, explained that the idea of holding a rally around Democracy Monument was abandoned due to the presence of anti-government protesters who are encamped near the monument.

"We don't want to provoke any violence, it may affect our brothers and sisters," Mr. Jatupon said.

A separate ceremony to honour Redshirts demonstrators killed in the violence was conducted by a UDD splinter group in their rally in front of the National Anti-Corruption Commission HQ in Nonthabuir province.

In an ironic twist, a group of anti-government protesters also briefly rallied on Ratchadamnoen Avenue to mark the 4th anniversary of the crackdown, led by Mr. Suthep Thaugsuban, sec-gen of the People's Committee for Absolute Democracy With the King As Head of State (PCAD) and former Deputy Prime Minister who oversaw the deadly crackdown 4 years ago.

However, the PCAD vigil was more focused on the soldiers who lost their lives in the crackdown, including Col. Romklao Thuwatham, a field commander of the attacking troops at the time.

The demonstrators later marched back to their rally site in Lumpini Park without any incident.

Mr. Suthep and Mr. Abhisit are facing murder charges for their roles in the 2010 crackdown, though Mr. Suthep has postponed his appearance to the court, citing the need to lead his protests against Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. Both men contested the charge, insistign that any death in the crackdown was caused by shadowy armed militants.

Nevertheless, previous court inquests have indicated that a number of civilians have been killed by soldiers operating under the orders of Mr. Abhisit and Mr. Suthep, including the six civilians who took shelter in a Buddhist temple on 19 May 2010.

Source: http://en.khaosod.co.th/detail.php?newsid=1397132101&section=11&typecate=06

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-- Khaosod English 2014-04-10

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So those armed men on the sky train tracks who shot the civilians sheltering in the temple were shadowy men in black? Funny, I could have sworn that the video which I saw showed soldiers in combat kit, complete with new american kevlar helmets and fancy modern rifles! That points to them being from one of the largely regular Bangkok garrison units, they have the best kit you see, your average conscript stationed in the middle of nowhere has to make do with a Vietnam era tin hat and a worn out M16.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

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FOURTH YEAR ANNIVERSARY
Four years since 2010 crackdown

PRAPASRI OSATHANON
THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- THE UNITED Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) held an event yesterday to mark the fourth anniversary of the dispersal of red-shirt protesters from Bangkok's Ratchaprasong intersection in 2010.

The ceremony was held at the red-shirt headquarters at the Imperial World department store in Lat Phrao.

Activities including the showing of video clips featuring the past struggles of the red shirts, musical performances and speeches by core UDD members continued until 6pm.

The People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) also held a simultaneous event yesterday marking the killing of General Romklao Thuvatham in the clash with red-shirt supporters at Khok Wua Intersection on Rajdamnoen Road on April 10, 2010. Five soldiers were killed in the clash, including Colonel Romklao.

PDRC secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban said that over the past four years, soldiers had been doing their best to maintain democracy and protect Thais, yet they kept getting hurt.

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-- The Nation 2014-04-11

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Wow the yellow shirt brigade is out in force.

Give coffins to those who want ballot boxes.

Whether it was said or not you take away the peoples right to vote what do you expect,

Now four years on you guys support this guy sutep the self proclaimed peoples medium who wants a sovereign state and a hand picked prime minster.

Only one minority want history to repeat itself and why?

Because they can never win at the ballot box until they completely re invent themselves and start giving a <deleted> about all thai people not just the privileged!

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"Both men contested the charge, insistign that any death in the crackdown was caused by shadowy armed militants."

Lying Barstewards.

Huh? shadowy? red in black? what are you going on about Fab?

if you want lies just believe the redshirts version of the clash,for once in your life blame both sides as that is the truth instead of protecting your innocent red shirts, They started it, the army retreated after being attacked with grenade and high powered rifle assault, then the black shirts took out some reds, that's what happened, if you were here then thats what you would have seen, Read all the crap ya want but if you were here you would know how and why deaths happened,

Welcome to the forum. The first casualty on April 10th was a UDD member who was shot dead by the Army in the late afternoon, hours before the major clash - so they did not "start it". You may want to watch the unedited long video of the events where you will learn that is so.

You claim to know that the blackshirts were killing UDD members, strange that this version of events is not proven and propagated by one "side" only with no proof to back this assertion up.

But despite all that, how could you possibly disagree with me for calling them lying barstewards when they claim that every death was "caused by shadowy armed militants".

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"Both men contested the charge, insistign that any death in the crackdown was caused by shadowy armed militants."

Lying Barstewards.

Oh please. Get a life.

I have one thanks, which is more than 29 of those who were involved in this "crackdown".

Edited by fab4
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"Both men contested the charge, insistign that any death in the crackdown was caused by shadowy armed militants."

Lying Barstewards.

Sad

Quite right it's sad. Or are you calling my comment sad?. In which case kindly tell me why you think that every one of the 29 deaths were caused by "shadowy armed militants"

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So the PTP has to take responsibility and make up for what the yellow shirts and Democrats did in 2010. Talk about the Dems and Suthep washing their hands. Now lets see if Suthep and the yellows are man enough to take full responsibility for the current administration.

Edited by chooka
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I am positively surprised from this khaosod article. Not all redshirts are primitive,extremists or terrorists.

What I like to see is a new progressive/socialist/labour movement with absolute no influence from the Shinawatra family clan.

I think this is possible. Extremists on both sides (specially the "suthep extremists" in this forum) want to make us believe this is not possible. Pure propaganda dont believe them.

Please understand: There are good and moderate people on both sides. Let´s work together !

Quote from the article:

The damage of the crackdown extends beyond the loss of lives: Thai society has become far more polarised than ever, some factions of the Redshirts turned to radicalisation, while dozens of political prisoners have languished in prison since the final days of the military operation in 2010.

Hopes were stirred among the Redshirts and human rights activists in Thailand when Yingluck Shinawatra surged to power via a landslide election victory in 2011, with a promise that her government will pursue legal prosecution against the perpetrators of the 2010 crackdown, and issue amnesty bills for ordinary citizens who had been jailed simply because they were caught up in the chaos of the protests.

Over the next few years, we saw debates surrounding the amnesty idea, mainly about who should and should not benefit from the amnesty. A prevailing consensus among the public, and among the Redshirts supporters, was that only protesters of all sides should be dissolved from the any pending legal cases against them, while political leaders, officials, and politicians should be excluded from the plan.

However, in November 2013, Pheu Thai Party, most likely egged on by former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, eventually came up with "Blanket Amnesty" or "All-in-Basket Amnesty" which threw everyone onboard, including Mr. Thaksin himself.

The bill would have not have only dissolved corruption convictions against Mr. Thaksin; it was written in a language which could absolve any responsibility for Mr. Thaksin in his heavy handed approach to the southern insurgency in 2005 as well, raising the speculation that the amnesty bill was designed only for the helmsman of Pheu Thai Party.

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The real tragedy here is that the men who actually led them to their deaths are in the process of repeating it.

These people leading their followers only real motivation is the vast amount of money they can pull out of Dubai and how much they can skim off for themselves.

When the crap goes down. they will do exactly the same as 2010 and walk away and leave their sheeple to face the bullets.

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Editorial: The Real Tragedy Of 2010 Crackdown

By Khaosod English

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BANGKOK: -- It was the Democrat administration who ordered the crackdown in 2010, but the Pheu Thai government has also failed to address the suffering of those affected by the violence.

April 10 marked the fourth anniversary of the decision by former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to - in the words often recited by the Redshirts - "give coffins to those who were asking for ballot boxes".

On 10 April 2010, soldiers acting under the order of the Centre for Resolution of Emergency Situation (CRES) which was chaired by Mr. Abhisit and his deputy at the time, Mr. Suthep Thaugsuban, moved against demonstrators who were occupying stretches of Ratchadamnoen Avenue in Bangkok in their bid to call for a fresh election.

Mr. Abhisit's decision has left more than 20 people dead, mostly protesters, by the time the operation was called off. It was the bloodiest confrontation Thailand has seen in decades, but it was merely a beginning of a far more devastating outcome; the military later crushed the Redshirts in May 2010, resulting in a total body count of at least 90 people.

The damage of the crackdown extends beyond the loss of lives: Thai society has become far more polarised than ever, some factions of the Redshirts turned to radicalisation, while dozens of political prisoners have languished in prison since the final days of the military operation in 2010.

Hopes were stirred among the Redshirts and human rights activists in Thailand when Yingluck Shinawatra surged to power via a landslide election victory in 2011, with a promise that her government will pursue legal prosecution against the perpetrators of the 2010 crackdown, and issue amnesty bills for ordinary citizens who had been jailed simply because they were caught up in the chaos of the protests.

Over the next few years, we saw debates surrounding the amnesty idea, mainly about who should and should not benefit from the amnesty. A prevailing consensus among the public, and among the Redshirts supporters, was that only protesters of all sides should be dissolved from the any pending legal cases against them, while political leaders, officials, and politicians should be excluded from the plan.

However, in November 2013, Pheu Thai Party, most likely egged on by former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, eventually came up with "Blanket Amnesty" or "All-in-Basket Amnesty" which threw everyone onboard, including Mr. Thaksin himself.

The bill would have not have only dissolved corruption convictions against Mr. Thaksin; it was written in a language which could absolve any responsibility for Mr. Thaksin in his heavy handed approach to the southern insurgency in 2005 as well, raising the speculation that the amnesty bill was designed only for the helmsman of Pheu Thai Party.

The plan offends members of virtually all political sides and segments of Thai society. Outrage turned into street protests. The street protests forced Ms. Yingluck to hastily withdraw all amnesty plans from the Parliament, and she later dissolved the House in December last year.

Now the administration of Ms. Yingluck seems doomed, along with any hope of amnesty plan for the political prisoners who are still imprisoned.

Because of its misguided pursuit of the "Blanket Amnesty", Pheu Thai Party ends up sabotaging the hopes that these prisoners could be freed from their captivity, back into the embrace of their families and friends.

Furthermore, it is also incredible that the Pheu Thai-led administration has not bothered to at least sign the order, via the legitimate channel of the Ministry of Justice, to grant these imprisoned citizens a temporary release throughout the previous years as a government.

Although the court prodecure against Mr. Abhisit and Mr. Suthep, who have been charged with murders due to their roles in authorising the 2010 crackdown, still continues, it is unclear whether any justice will be administered if (or, some would say, when) the new power clique replaces Ms. Yingluck's government. Most likely, the new government, hostile to Pheu Thai Party, will order all court procedures to a halt once they took power.

Pheu Thai Party has unwittingly unleashed the force of anti-democracy by handing them the Blanket Amnesty Bill as a rallying point. In doing so, that force of anti-democracy is now allowed to threaten any chance of achieving the first legal prosecution and punishment of Thai state officials for their crimes against their own citizens.

It has been four years since the first shot flew over Democracy Monument on that fateful April night, yet so little has been achieved by Pheu Thai Party, in spite of the votes and trust the Redshirts have offered them.

There is no question that the widespread violence 4 years ago was tragic, but what is even more tragic is the missed opportunities by Pheu Thai Party to at least ease the suffering of those affected by the crackdown in the years afterward.

This is the real tragedy of 2010 crackdown.

Source: http://en.khaosod.co.th/detail.php?newsid=1397138812&section=02

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-- Khaosod English 2014-04-11

Almost every time the Nation says anything even a little bit good about Suteb / PDRC or even a little bit bad about Taksin / Shins / PT / UDD etc - we hear the cries of the red sheeple about 'what a biased propagandist rag' the Nation is.

Well, same same here, Khaosod could hardly be clearer in their pro Shin stance with this article.

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This article is not pro shin.

Quote from the khaosod article: Because of its misguided pursuit of the "Blanket Amnesty", Pheu Thai Party ends up sabotaging the hopes that these prisoners could be freed from their captivity, back into the embrace of their families and friends.

Please understand: Many progressive redshirts are not pro shin anymore. The more you insult the redshirts with "suthep extremist" propaganda the more you support the extremists on both side.

Now in big capitals: NOT ALL PROGRESSIVE/SOCIALIST REDSHIRTS ARE PRO SHINAWATRA:

Tom

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Some will tell you that truth is all relative, that one man's truth is another man's lie, etc. Well, perhaps in a limited sense that's true but in the grand scheme of things, absolute, uninterpretable truth exists in great abundance, it floods the universe. One could say that 100% of all the information that falls onto your eyes and ears is absolute truth, except that which is conveyed through another human being. What you do with it after it hits your eyes and ears is again another story.

This idea was eloquently expressed in the book Illusions with three simple words, "There is an IS". You can easily see for yourself that it is four words, and I told you it was three, so the principle must work.

For anyone who was not here on April 10 or those who really don't know who to believe, consider the following truth. At the exact time the real killing got underway on the evening of the 10th, at least 7 massive C4 explosive time bombs were detonated on the main power pylons feeding much of Bangkok.

"A third high-powered electricity pylon was found damaged yesterday by a powerful C4 bomb one kilometre from two other pylons which were found damaged in a similar manner on Sunday. The bomb went off at the base of the 60-metre-high pylon in the middle of a rice field in tambon Chiang Rak Noi. The blast destroyed part of the concrete base of the pylon, but the structure was left standing. Officials say they believe the blast at the third pylon occurred at the same time as those at the first two pylons on Saturday night."

More here

http://t2.thai360.com/index.php?/topic/52487-third-pylon-bombed-but-blackout-averted/

Using only logic and observables one comes to the truth that the deadly events of the night of April 10 were all planned well in advance. The killing was meant to happen in the dark so no one could see who.

Many of us who were here knew this from the first day when the reds starting covering public surveillance cameras to hide their activities and the violence began. The idea was easy to understand, create enough violence to trigger an armed response from the military, and thus topple the government.

Yes, I'm also aware that I have not changed anyone's mind and that's fine. But I also know that no one can ever learn anything unless they are at least willing to change their mind when confronted with new truths.

Doah, but it must have been the army, it was C4.

Doah, but it was amateurs, only 4 of the 7 exploded.

Doah, but the army disabled 3 to make it look like amateurs........

.. said the humans.

Edited by rabas
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Wow the yellow shirt brigade is out in force.

Give coffins to those who want ballot boxes.

Whether it was said or not you take away the peoples right to vote what do you expect,

Now four years on you guys support this guy sutep the self proclaimed peoples medium who wants a sovereign state and a hand picked prime minster.

Only one minority want history to repeat itself and why?

Because they can never win at the ballot box until they completely re invent themselves and start giving a <deleted> about all thai people not just the privileged!

I think that they are re-inventing themselves already as my Thai partner, a Suratthani lady and devout yellowshirt, tells me that "Yingluck is finished and that Suthep is very sorry that he was nit noi corrupt and that he never be corrupt again.................he stop all corruption when he get power back"

Just how bloody thick can one get and she has 2 uni degrees, just brainwashed i suppose.

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