Army steps up rhetoric as protesters vow to march on financial district, writes CLIFFORD COONANin Bangkok
TENSIONS CONTINUED to rise in Thailand’s worsening political crisis as red-shirted anti-government protesters occupying the heart of Bangkok sang songs and waved red feet clappers while troops armed with assault rifles watched from vantage points above a busy traffic intersection.
Like so much else about this conflict, it’s a surreal sight. Traffic bustles along normally, while on each side of the Silom Road intersection, a downtown commercial and shopping district, two violently opposed groups gather menacingly.
The Red Shirts, many of whom support ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, have vowed to march to Silom Road and the headquarters of Bangkok Bank, flying in the face of an emergency decree. They want prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to step down and call fresh elections.
They are targeting the Bangkok Bank because one of its advisers is Prem Tinsulanonda, a former army chief and prime minister and the top aide to Thailand’s adored King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
Troops were occupying a bridge over the Silom Road, which was protected by razor wire and barricades, while protesters lifted paving stones as missiles in the event of what looks like an imminent face-off. The Red Shirts also stockpiled sharpened poles and clubs, as well as riot shields snatched during violence last week, which saw 25 killed and 900 injured and prompted fears of civil war.
From the bridge over the Silom Road, the troops have a perfect vantage point for picking off what they describe as the “terrorists” within the Red Shirt camp, the group that is orchestrating violent efforts from within the largely peaceable group.
“The situation is serious. Everyone says the army will do something now. The Red Shirt leaders have told everyone not to cross the Silom Road intersection. If they do try and close it down, the army will come from all four sides,” said one Red Shirt protester called Kris.
“We just want our country back. The government only cares about business. We’re here to protest, not to practise meditation, but they’ve already killed many people. They say we are terrorists but everyone has the right to a future,” she said.
Mr Abhisit made army chief Gen Anupong Paochinda head of national security late last week, replacing a deputy prime minister, after admitting efforts to keep a lid on five weeks of protest have basically failed.
What is noticeable is how the military has really stepped up its rhetoric since it was given more power to resolve the situation. The army says the protests have played havoc with the Thai economy and the country’s international reputation, and said it is time for the protests to end, and if that meant clashing with the protesters, then so be it.
Mr Thaksin’s ruling party was dissolved for electoral fraud, paving the way for Mr Abhisit’s coalition to take power after a parliamentary vote the red shirts say was influenced heavily by the military. Mr Thaksin said the prime minister had to call a snap election to end the stand-off.
Riot police have largely been removed from the equation – there is a feeling that the police, who are working-class Thais just like many of the Red Shirts – sympathise with the protesters and that instead it is better to deploy troops who are likely to act in a more dispassionate way.
However, the Red Shirts say they also have support among the army, from so-called “watermelon soldiers”, thus called because they are green on the outside but are red inside.
Many of the Red Shirts come from the poor northeast of the country, where Mr Thaksin’s core support hails from, although a fair number are from Bangkok and many of the protesters insist that the demonstrations are now about much more than just ousting Mr Abhisit and bringing back Mr Thaksin.
At the front lines at Silom Road, there was an almost party atmosphere, with lots of women and children in evidence, not just young men with sticks. The protesters have built an enormous tent city which stretches all the way from the Silom Road intersection to the Rajprasong shopping area.
The army warned that the protesters should not use women and children as human shields in the event of a crackdown.
“I want to urge the Red Shirts not to use children and the elderly as their front line to put pressure on the security forces,” a spokesman said at a meeting of army leaders. “But the operations will start from soft to heavy measures.” As if that weren’t enough, rival “yellow shirt” protesters have threatened to stage a massive rally if the government fails to act within a week, which has some pundits worried about a possible civil war.