A protester shot by government snipers

Since we last reported on the situation a couple of days ago, the standoff between pro-democracy protesters and the unelected government in Thailand has escalated dramatically.

Troops, acting under orders from Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, have begun firing live ammunition on the protest camp in the middle of the capital Bangkok. At least three people have been killed, including two unarmed photographers. Military officer turned Red Shirt leader Seh Daeng, who we previously featured footage of, is also reported to be in a critical condition after being attacked by snipers.

Bangkok is reportedly a warzone, with protesters struggling to fight back against advancing government troops with improvised weapons, including bamboo staves, golf clubs and homemade rockets. Below there’s some footage:

There’s also reports of clashes in other parts of the country. The United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), the Red Shirts official name, has issued the following statement:

“1. The Government must stop the use of force, cease fire and immediately withdraw troops back to barracks. The Government must end the State of Emergency which has been an excuse to kill citizens.
2. Parliament should be dissolved immediately, and Abhisit and Deputy Sutep must step down from public office since they have no legitimacy.
3. Those responsible for the violence, the assassination attempt against Seh Daeng, and the killings of at least two civilians and numerous injuries, must face the justice system, just like the UDD leaders will do because of Government instigated charges.
If the Government does not accept these demands, the situation in Bangkok and other parts of the country will be extremely serious.”

There is already a civil war situation.

The Red Shirts are made up overwhelmingly of the poorest people from the Thai urban and rural working class. They are protesting the fact that the Thai army, at the behest of the aristocratic and business elite, and with the complicity of the King (who’s the richest monarch in the world), overthrew a democratically elected government in 2006. Although far from perfect, that government had won the support of the poor by carrying out some wealth redistribution and instituting the country’s first universal healthcare scheme. These actions angered the rich, who had it overthrown, and ultimately replaced with the current government, under Eton educated Abhisit.

Protester fires a homemade rocket in defence of their camp from advancing troops

The Red Shirts’ demand was simple: they wanted Abhisit to dissolve parliament and call immediate elections, so that Thailand could have a democratically elected government. However, if the Thai government wants to push its conflict with the Red Shirt movement, which has proved powerful enough to put hundreds of thousands of poor people in the street, to the point of civil war, then it’s likely the situation could spiral out of control. The majority of Thais who live in poverty are sick of the exploitation and domination of the traditional elite, who today once again are using the force of the military to try and crush them.

Update: Reports now of up to 50 people murdered by the troops firing indiscriminately at protesters. Those shot include reporters, a paramedic, and a 10 year old boy, who is in critical condition. Possibly hundreds of injured.

The acquiescence of the King in the state violence is pushing more and more Red Shirts towards a republican position.

After the break, I’ve added images from Giles ji Ungpakorn’s blog, showing the results of the government attacks, some of which could be a bit disturbing.

This paramedic was murdered by troops as he tried to save someone's life

This entry was posted on Friday, May 14th, 2010 at 3:44 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.