ID :
55304
Tue, 04/14/2009 - 10:38
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/55304
The shortlink copeid
BANGKOK CALM AFTER DAY OF RIOTING
By D.Arul Rajoo
BANGKOK, April 14 (Bernama) -- After a bloody April 13 that almost plunged the country into a civil war, calm returned to Bangkok Tuesday, but tension remained high as hundreds of soldiers surrounded the remaining protesters at the Government House.
Two hawkers were killed last night when red shirted protestors clashed with
hawkers at the Nang Lerng market while retreating from the Victory Monument,
prompting hundreds of residents at nearby areas to come out in the street with
weapons.
Bangkok was turned into a war zone Monday after supporters of ousted prime
minister Thaksin Shinawatra battled with the fully armed troops in the street
throughout the day, injuring close to 100 people.
Dozens of buses seized by the protesters were set ablaze, and The Nation
newspaper ran a headline, "Songkran Inferno", referring to yesterday's
unexpected start to the Thai New Year, while some newspapers labelled them as
street terrorists.
Protest leader Jatuporn Phromphan told his supporters that they would remain
at the Government House today to avoid clashes with soldiers and other
civilians, as the authorities closed all roads leading to the seat of the
country's administrationto cut supply of food and other amenities.
The protesters had lined-up gas cylinders to prevent the soldiers from
storming the protest site which the red army had laid siege to since March 26.
Soldiers also put up barbed wires along roads leading to the Victory
Monument, which was taken back from the rioters after a day-long street battle,
while workers from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration cleaned up the area.
Tension had been running high since April 8 when over 100,000 people turned
out for a massive rally to support Thaksin, and three days later a smaller crowd
of 1,000 overpowered thousands of police and soldiers to storm the venue of the
Asean+6 Summit and force its cancellation.
On Sunday, the embattled Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva declared a state
of emergency in the capital and five other surrounding provinces, but still
refused to bow to the protesters' demand to resign or dissolve the parliament.
General Chaisit Shinawatra, a former supreme commander and cousin of
Thaksin, had denied any involvement in Monday's incident where two LPG tankers
were hijacked by protesters and placed near flats to stop the soldiers from
firing at the red-shirt group. He is chairman of Siam Gas, owner of the tankers.
-- BERNAMA
BANGKOK, April 14 (Bernama) -- After a bloody April 13 that almost plunged the country into a civil war, calm returned to Bangkok Tuesday, but tension remained high as hundreds of soldiers surrounded the remaining protesters at the Government House.
Two hawkers were killed last night when red shirted protestors clashed with
hawkers at the Nang Lerng market while retreating from the Victory Monument,
prompting hundreds of residents at nearby areas to come out in the street with
weapons.
Bangkok was turned into a war zone Monday after supporters of ousted prime
minister Thaksin Shinawatra battled with the fully armed troops in the street
throughout the day, injuring close to 100 people.
Dozens of buses seized by the protesters were set ablaze, and The Nation
newspaper ran a headline, "Songkran Inferno", referring to yesterday's
unexpected start to the Thai New Year, while some newspapers labelled them as
street terrorists.
Protest leader Jatuporn Phromphan told his supporters that they would remain
at the Government House today to avoid clashes with soldiers and other
civilians, as the authorities closed all roads leading to the seat of the
country's administrationto cut supply of food and other amenities.
The protesters had lined-up gas cylinders to prevent the soldiers from
storming the protest site which the red army had laid siege to since March 26.
Soldiers also put up barbed wires along roads leading to the Victory
Monument, which was taken back from the rioters after a day-long street battle,
while workers from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration cleaned up the area.
Tension had been running high since April 8 when over 100,000 people turned
out for a massive rally to support Thaksin, and three days later a smaller crowd
of 1,000 overpowered thousands of police and soldiers to storm the venue of the
Asean+6 Summit and force its cancellation.
On Sunday, the embattled Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva declared a state
of emergency in the capital and five other surrounding provinces, but still
refused to bow to the protesters' demand to resign or dissolve the parliament.
General Chaisit Shinawatra, a former supreme commander and cousin of
Thaksin, had denied any involvement in Monday's incident where two LPG tankers
were hijacked by protesters and placed near flats to stop the soldiers from
firing at the red-shirt group. He is chairman of Siam Gas, owner of the tankers.
-- BERNAMA
