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Red-shirt leader Natthawut Saikua on Thursday denied speculation that Veera Musigapong had resigned his leadership due to differences related to the April 10 violence.
"Veera did not quit but he has not appeared on the rally stage because of the division of responsibilities (among the core leaders)," he said, explaining Veera's absence.
Speculation spreaded that Veera disagreed with the direction of the protests for fear of a repeat of bloodletting incidents.
The Nation
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Two Bangkok Bank branches in Chiang Mai came under separate bomb attacks Tuesday, with slight property damage but no casualties reported.
ΑπάντησηΔιαγραφήThe San Kamphaeng district branch sustained minor damage when an M26 grenade was thrown at a nearby mobile phone shop, which sustained slight damage. The grenade's safely lever was found in a gutter.
Police theorised two attackers on a motorcycle, seen in security camera footage, planned to bomb the bank and selected the shop as their secondary target after noticing it had a surveillance system.
At the Chom Thong district branch, a bottle bomb was lobbed over a wall near the side of the building at around 3am, causing no property damage. The bomb consisted of gunpowder, petrol and fertiliser-based explosives, police said.
The Nation
Bt25 million earmarked for victims of April 10 violence
ΑπάντησηΔιαγραφήThe Cabinet on Tuesday approved the allocation of Bt25 million as compensation for injured victims and families of the deaths from the April 10 violence at Rajdamnoen.
The casualties included 23 deaths, which included five soldiers, and more than 800 injured. More than 100 remain hospitalised.
The disbursement for beneficiaries is expected to begin next week.
The Nation
Thaksin condemns a smear to promote him as president
ΑπάντησηΔιαγραφήEx-premier Thaksin Shinawatra on Tuesday issued a statement condemning what he termed a campaign to smear him by promoting his name as the president of a "New Thai State".
"I condemn ill-intentioned people for what I see as a most malicious political smear," he said in the statement.
Thaksin said ill-intentioned people had distributed stickers with vicious message against him at Silom Road.
The Nation
Khon Kaen reds agree to release military train
ΑπάντησηΔιαγραφήThe red shirts in Khon Kaen on Thursday's afternoon agreed to release their blockade of the military train bounded for reinforcement in Pattani, officials said.
The train was blocked since Wednesday on suspicion that the soldiers, military vehicles and supplies might be diverted for anti-riot operation against the red shirts in Rajprasong, Bangkok.
The Nation
Silom under attack..
ΑπάντησηΔιαγραφήAt least five grenades exploded Thursday in the center of Bangkok near a massive encampment of anti-government protesters, killing one person and wounding at least 50, sending panicked people running through the streets and fleeing an elevated train station.
The area of the explosions has been the site of a tense standoff between Red Shirt protesters, who are demanding Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva resign, and armed troops over the past several days.
More recently, a rival group of protesters has rallied in the area, occasionally hurling stones and insults at the Red Shirts, creating a volatile mix. Several of the blasts were near where the rivals have gathered, under the elevated tracks of a Skytrain station.
Army spokesman Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd said five M-79 grenades were fired from grenade launchers. Among them were three that fell through the roof of the Saladaeng Skytrain station, along Silom Road, the center of Bangkok's business district. A fourth exploded on the pavement near the five-star Dusit Thani Hotel and the fifth near a bank, he said.
TV stations reported several more blasts. Previously, explosions at the site have been from fireworks.
The government's Erawan emergency center said the blasts killed one person, identified as a Thai male, and wounded at least 50.
The TPBS television network reported three foreigners were among the wounded. Associated Press reporters saw at least four people injured after four blasts, two with serious wounds who were not moving.
The streets were full of people tending to the wounded and carrying away casualties.
Silom under attack.
ΑπάντησηΔιαγραφήBP: Here is some video footage from the BTS station in Silom. You can see one injured foreigner. There were 3 explosions which could be heard at the BTS station just before 8 pm with at least one hitting the roof of the platform. The first one wasn't that loud, but the third one was an almighty bang. People on the platform and also inside the train hit the floor/taking cover. Would assume that the foreigner was injured when some metal from the roof fell down and hit him on the head - you can see the holes in the platform from the video footage. The army then came onto the platform as you can see and evacuated the station.
At 11:20 pm, Deputy PM Suthep (he was alone and not flanked by anyone else) made a short statement to the press that M79 grenades were fired at the Silom people causing many injuries and the loss of life. The government deeply regrets what happened and has ordered the security officials to resolve the situation. The government has also sent helicopters with night-vision cameras to prevent terrorists from creating a situation again. The government is greatly concerned about the safety of the people. Suthep then asked for those on Silom to retreat saying that the M79 grenades only had a range of 400 metres and those who retreated would be safe. The M79 grenades were fired from behind the Rama 6 monument [BP: A monument on the edge of Lumpini Park and hence in the direction of the reds' location]. Now, it is dark and it is convenient to clear the area where the M79 grenades were fired.
BP: The message of what Suthep said was clear, the reds were behind it. On the direction that the M79 grenades were fired from, oddly the anti-Thaskin ASTV Mangaer quotes a witness as stating that the M79 was fired from the 5th floor of Chulalongkorn Hospital.
NOTE: If you want to know where everything is, look at this image. Where the caption is where the BTS station is, the reds lettering is where the reds are, and that white cross is where Chulalongkorn Hospital is.
NOTE: Also, from listening to the ASTV TV report from the above link, they are not happy about the police who were shining spotlights into the Silom area (after the attacks ?). Continued complaining about the police.
According to Matichon, 75 people were injured and 3 persons died. Also see NYT, BBC has story and video from their reporters at the scene
Also, BBC:
Britons have been warned by the UK government that they should avoid all but "essential" travel to Bangkok.
The Foreign Office gave its travel advice relating to Thailand's capital because of the risk "that violence could break out without warning".
BP: Expect to see other western countries either follow or update their travel advisories.
From all reports, the injuries were all bystanders or those on Silom including the anti-red multi-colored protesters. The multi-colored protesters are meant to hold a large rally on Friday. Will this spur them to come out in numbers?
Tensions are not easing in Bangkok and are certainly heightened
The red shirts’ rallying cry against “double standards” in Thai society — the wealthy, the Bangkok elite and the top military brass break laws with impunity, protest leaders say, while the poor are held to account — has found fertile ground among farmers like Takum Srihangkod. Mr. Takum listens to broadcasts of protests in Bangkok with a cheap Chinese-made radio he tucks into his waistcloth, next to his slingshot.
ΑπάντησηΔιαγραφή“Abhisit doesn’t want anything to do with poor people,” Mr. Takum said as he tended his cattle. Not even the most fundamental farm work interrupted the stream of angry political rhetoric: Mr. Takum’s radio stayed tuned as he muscled out a newborn calf in a difficult birth.
Supporters of the government often portray the red shirts as a mob for hire, mercenary protesters who receive a daily stipend. In a country with a long tradition of vote buying, it seems likely that some protesters have received support, possibly from their hero in exile, Mr. Thaksin. But villagers bristle when asked whether they are being paid to protest. Local officials and police officers describe a widespread fund-raising effort to support the demonstrators in Bangkok.
“We help each other,” said Triem Tongkod, a farmer who grows sticky rice in a village outside Khon Kaen. Pickup trucks with loudspeakers travel through his village periodically asking for donations. “You give what you can afford: 20 baht, 100 baht,” Mr. Triem said.
On Saturday, at a Buddhist temple about 40 kilometers outside Khon Kaen, Mr. Triem was one of thousands of people attending the funeral of Praison Tiplom, a protester killed in the April 10 crackdown on protests by the red shirts in Bangkok. (A total of 25 people died, including five soldiers, in circumstances that remain under investigation.) Organizers walked through the crowd carrying large cash donation boxes for Mr. Praison’s widow. They collected 310,000 baht, or about $9,400, according to Num Chaiya, a D.J. at Red Station Radio who helped organize the funeral.
It was far from a typical somber ceremony, the crowd cheering loudly as Mr. Praisom’s coffin, draped with the Thai flag, was carried around the crematorium three times. “Give a big hand to a warrior of the people!” Mr. Num exhorted the crowd, as some blurted out political slogans. Nearly all in attendance wore red instead of the traditional black. Those who could not fit under a large tent stood in the surrounding woods.
...
Successive Thai governments, including the current one, have embarked on development projects in Isaan, but the region remains “poor and underserved,” said Krasae Chanawongse, a medical doctor by training who has worked as a minister in four previous governments. Dr. Krasae said the protest movement was underpinned by income inequality and the need for more doctors, universities and opportunities for young people in Isaan. There is one doctor for every 5,300 people in the northeast, compared with one per 850 in Bangkok and one in 2,800 for the country over all, according to government statistics.
Thailand’s centralized political system has engendered a “colonial attitude of governors” posted here, according to Dr. Krasae. “They are more or less dictating, not consulting,” he said.