Reds to intensify pressure By The Nation April 20, 2010
fp: Thousands more took over the posh Rajprasong area, lined with shopping malls and five-star hotels, on April 5.
Plan mapped out to remove demonstrators from Rajprasong intersection;
Premier Abhisit vows to fight on, but cannot set deadline to end crisis
As the red-shirt protesters promise another day of chaos in the capital to pressure Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva into dissolving Parliament, the security forces are standing guard to protect Silom Road.
The embattled premier, |who refuses to give in to the protesters' demands, said on television yesterday that he was not discouraged and would do his best to solve the crisis, but could not set a deadline.
"I know everyone wants this to end quickly, but those who work have to face many factors," he said. "We have to minimise the damage and do it effectively."
TROOPS, POLICE DEPLOYED
Thousands of troops and police were deployed to secure the business district yesterday as a red-shirt leader announced plans to invade the area. However, the protesters changed their plans when they spotted stern-looking soldiers - some armed with assault rifles, shotguns and pistols - on guard at Silom.
The protesters saw the presence of troops as the government getting ready for a new crackdown, |with red-shirt leader Natthawut Saikua saying Silom looked like a war zone.
Another leader, weng Tojirakarn, said the government was treating the red-shirt protesters as if they were national enemies rather than fellow citizens.
"We won't make war, but will struggle peacefully until the end of our lives," he said on the main stage at the Rajprasong. "If the government launched another crackdown, it should prepare for civil war."
The protesters prepared for confrontation by covering the protest site and stage with black plastic webbing, as their guards got |ready a pile of sharpened bamboo sticks to use as weapons.
Meanwhile, Kwanchai Praipana, a red-shirt leader from Udon Thani, called on supporters across the nation to join the rally by 8am today.
A group of 400 red-shirt protesters in the Northeastern province of Khon Kaen blocked the Friendship Road to stop military officials from travelling to the capital. They also briefly held back some 40 soldiers on their way back to barracks after their Songkran holidays.
Abhisit, meanwhile, said the government needed to remove the red shirts from Rajprasong so life in Bangkok could return to normal. He said the red-shirt leaders were holding two groups of people hostage - the capital's business community and the protesters - for their own political benefit.
The government is planning to compensate those losing financially from the protest, he said, adding that daily-wage earners in the area were the top priority.
The Centre for the Resolution of Emergency Situations yesterday mapped out a plan to remove protesters from Rajprasong, said spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd.
The operation would be conducted on a step-by-step basis, from lenient to harsh, according to international standards, he said, adding that soldiers were allowed to carry arms for self-defence.
"We have made it clear that officers will not take any lives, but they have the right to protect themselves," Sansern said.
It is a shame that the protesters are using elderly people, women and children as human shields, he added.
The authorities are insisting that protesters used weapons of war against troops during the April 10 clash, which claimed 25 lives and injured more than 800 others.
They said "terrorists" had mixed in with the protesters to hurt the security forces, but so far they have not clarified why the number of civilians killed in the violence was so high.
Abhisit said the troops were strictly abiding by the rules of engagement on April 10, but the government would make sure that justice was served on all sides.
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