Bangkok Plunges Into Chaos as Protest Leaders Surrender

Jakarta Globe, Adrees Latif & Damir Sagolj, May 20, 2010

A protester piling tires onto a fire at Southeast Asia’s second-biggest mall, one of 27 buildings that was torched in Bangkok on Wednesday. (AP Photo)

Bangkok. Rioting and fires swept Bangkok on Wednesday after troops stormed a protest encampment, forcing antigovernment protest leaders to give up but triggering clashes that killed at least six and sparked unrest in Thailand’s north.

The Thai government extended an overnight curfew in the capital to 24 provinces as unrest spread to seven provinces, with town halls set alight in three northern areas, strongholds of the antigovernment movement.

Red Shirt protesters earlier torched at least 27 buildings in Bangkok, including the Thai stock exchange and Central World, Southeast Asia’s second-biggest department store complex.

The unrest was now the “most widespread and most uncontrollable” political violence the country had ever seen, said Charnvit Kasetsiri, a prominent political historian. Wednesday’s violence came exactly 18 years after unrest known as “Black May.”

“I am confident and determined to end the problems and return the country to peace and order once again,” Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said in a televised address on Wednesday night.

It was unclear whether the continued rioting was a final outpouring by antigovernment forces or the start of more intense, widespread fighting.

“The situation is worse than expected now and it’s very difficult to stop,” said Kavee Chukitsakem, from Kasikorn Securities. “After the Red Shirt leaders surrendered, things were out of control. It’s like insects flying around from one place to another, causing irritation.”

Travelers heading overseas or returning to Thailand during the curfew have been told to show their passports to security forces to get through checkpoints.

A news blackout has also been imposed, with local television stations running programs of dancing and flag-waving Thais, periodically interrupting them for government statements.

“It’s going to be hard to quell this, and tonight is going to be very ominous with the media taken off air and the curfew in place. There will be chaos and a widespread crackdown can be expected,” Charnvit said.

Authorities had ordered medical and disaster teams to be on standby as troops continued operations overnight. Bangkok was quiet soon after the curfew began, said sources on the streets.

Thailand’s stock exchange, which closed early on Wednesday, is closed today and Friday, along with the city’s banks, as a result of the continued violence.

The Red Shirts accuse Abhisit of lacking a popular mandate after coming to power in a controversial parliamentary vote in 2008 with tacit backing from the military. They have demanded immediate elections. “It would be suicide to launch an election in this environment,” Thai Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij told the BBC, adding that an end-of-year poll may still be possible.

The offensive came a day after the collapse of proposed talks aimed at ending what had become urban warfare. More than 70 people have been killed and close to 2,000 wounded since the demonstrations began in mid-March.

On Wednesday, troops in armored vehicles and firing semi-automatic weapons advanced on the protesters’ camp morning in a bloody operation that led to several top protest leaders surrendering. Minutes later, three grenades exploded outside the main protest site, wounding two soldiers and a foreign journalist, a witness said.

Several media organizations, including the English-language Bangkok Post and the Nation newspapers, evacuated their offices in the capital after a threat from protesters accusing them of biased reporting.

Power was lost in typically bustling Sukhumvit Road district, an area packed with tourists and high-end residential complexes, just hours after the army had said the situation involving thousands of protesters was under control.

Reuters

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