Explosions detonated near protest site in Thai capital; 1 dead, dozens wounded

Explosions kill 1, wound dozens in Bangkok

BANGKOK — Soldiers and civilians hauled away bloodied victims after a series of grenade attacks Thursday in a new burst of violence in Thailand’s chaotic capital — the scene of a tense, weekslong standoff between anti-government protesters and security forces.

A Thai woman was killed and 75 other people wounded, according to the government’s Erawan emergency center.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said attackers shot five M-79 grenades from a nearby area where the anti-government Red Shirt protesters are encamped. But his brief statement televised live late Thursday night on all channels seemed to stop short of directly blaming the Red Shirts, and he urged people who had been demonstrating against them to leave the area for their own safety.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, whom the Red Shirts want to dissolve parliament and call elections, did not make a public appearance. The Red Shirts consist mainly of poor rural supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and pro-democracy activists who opposed the military coup that ousted him in 2006 after months of demonstrations by the Yellow Shirts.

The Red Shirts believe Abhisit’s government is illegitimate because it came to power under military pressure through a parliamentary vote after disputed court rulings ousted two elected pro-Thaksin governments.

The first three blasts happened at about 8 p.m. at the elevated mass transit skytrain station on Silom Road, which is close to the Patpong entertainment district, famous for its go-go bars. Grenades punched two holes in the platform roof, and passengers were rushed away down the station’s stairs by soldiers who were stationed there. At least two people were hurt, though apparently not seriously.

About 30 minutes later two more blasts occurred at an intersection filled with demonstrators protesting against the Red Shirts as well as bystanders. One exploded in front of a sandwich shop near the entrance to a hotel driveway and the other a dozen or so yards (meters) down Silom Road in front of a bank.

Chaos ensued, as the scores of wounded were tended to and carried to ambulances, as police and soldiers began to clear the area. The front window of the sandwich shop was shattered, and a pool of blood was on its stoop.

“The authorities are conducted an investigation, but it’s too soon to give any conclusion,” said government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn. “This is the work of the terrorists that the government has always been wanting to get rid off. They have been hiding in several areas.”

In a previous paroxysm of violence, 25 people were killed and more than 800 wounded on April 10 when the army sought to clear out Red Shirt protesters from an encampment in another part of the capital.

The casualties occurred when masked gunmen opened fire on the soldiers with military weapons, triggering a lengthy street battle. The government sought in that case to blame the incident on “terrorists,” whom they tried to distinguish from the mainstream Red Shirts but didn’t otherwise identify.

Suthep, who heads the government’s Center for the Resolution of Emergency Situation, expressed sorrow over the casualties. “The government has tried to set up measures to protect the people by sending security forces in to protect people,” he said.

He asked the people who had been protesting against the Red Shirts to leave the area for their own safety. Many did, but a few dozen came back later to resume throwing rocks and bottle at the Red Shirts, who have erected a formidable looking barrier of sharpened bamboo sticks and old tires atop which their guards perch.

Behind the Red Shirts’ line is their redoubt, which extends for more than a mile (2 kilometers) up to another intersection, where tens of thousands of supporters gather around a stage to hear nearly nonstop speeches. They have been camped out on the capital’s streets for almost six weeks.

Across from the Red Shirt wall before the blasts were several police trucks, dozens of police in riot gear, and a few hundred anti-Red Shirt demonstrators.

The anti-Red Shirt group includes office employees, middle class families, academics, some low-wage workers and members of the Yellow Shirts, a group that supports the current government and who themselves rampaged through Bangkok and seized the city’s airports two years ago.

Although some are genuinely aggrieved by the inconveniences wrought by the protests, many seem to have primarily political objections to the Red Shirts, including claiming the movement is directed against the country’s widely revered monarch. A songsheet distributed to followers included hateful right-wing songs used in military-backed anti-communist campaigns of the 1970s.

Siripan Nogsuan Sawasdee, an associate professor of political science at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University, said she did not wish to speculate on who may have been behind the bombings.

“But the situation could provide a good excuse for the government to use force against the Red Shirt protesters,” she said.

The emergence of rival groups such as those who have been demonstrating against the Red Shirts has made the situation “more provocative,”, and their goals were not hat clear, she added.

On Thursday, the army warned that time was running out for the Red Shirts to clear the streets, saying soldiers would crack down soon.

“To take people in Bangkok hostage is not right,” army spokesman Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd warned the Red Shirts. “Your time to leave the area is running out.” The army has issued several warnings that it will move to break up the protests if they are not ended voluntarily. They are already in violation of several laws, including a state of emergency.