[p2p-research] Bkk accounts from censored sites

[Michel Bauwens]

 Rise from the Ashes: How simmering anger led to a fiery outburst in
downtown Bangkok <http://www.prachatai.org/english/node/1848>

By prachatai on Article

   Pipob Udomittipong

The following is an eyewitness account of the demonstrations in downtown
Bangkok over the past several days. In the wake of lost lives and massive
damage done to infrastructure and buildings in the area, the government has
claimed success in “taking back the area” from the Red Shirts demonstrators.
Much attention has been diverted to the property damage, often overshadowing
the human cost of the clearing operation. Images of sabotaged infrastructure
have been featured extensively and repeatedly to vilify the Red Shirts and
to justify one of the most brutal suppressions in Thailand’s history. This
piece outlines the gulf that still exists between the government and the
demonstrators, and the unresolved anger on both sides, which has been fueled
by an incomplete narrative in the media. The lingering anger and questions
in the minds of many Thais must be addressed if the country is to move
beyond this current tragedy.

On the morning of 19 May 2010, I joined the demonstration at the Victory
Monument, which had been underway at that location for three or four days.
There were about 1,000 United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD)
protesters. They were blocked from joining their comrades at Ratchaprasong,
the site of the main rally in downtown Bangkok. Panitan Wattanayakorn, the
Thai government’s spokesperson, called the demonstrators a “pocket of
terrorists” at the critical juncture when state security forces were
amassing up.  Troops, including as many as 40 armored personnel vehicles,
assembled to disperse all of the demonstrators from Ratchaprasong. Orders
were reportedly made that any protester could be “shot on site”.  With such
orders, it is no wonder that lives were lost. Three deaths ensued in the
initial advance as military armored personnel vehicles broke the Red Shirts’
forefront barricade at Saladaeng toward Sarasin Junction and attempted to
occupy Lumpini Park. One foreign journalist and two protesters (UDD guards)
died, and others were injured.

Key leaders at the Victory Monument rally site spoke while a live feed from
the main rally site made major announcements to the protesters. The climate
became more tense as the troops moved closer to the main rally site. There
were suggestions that demonstrators from nearby Sam Liam Din Daeng should
come and join the protesters at Victory Monument. More demonstrators from
outer areas of Bangkok did come to areas closer to downtown later in the
morning. Suggestions were made that as soon as the demonstration at
Ratchaprasong was crushed, remaining protestors in other areas would march
with their hands locked to each other and brave the shooting of the strong
military deployment along the routes to join with the vulnerable
demonstrators at Ratchaprasong.

By noontime, there was talk that the leaders at Ratchaprasong were about to
call off the demonstration and turn themselves in. The mood swung, and
emotions ran high. Some demonstrators started to talk to those near them
that this could never be true. They would fight to the death. At around
13.30, the main leaders of the UDD, including Mr. Nuttawuth Saikua, Mr.
Jatuporn Promphan, Mr. Wiphuthalaeng Pattanaphumthai, Mr. Nisit Sinthuprai,
and Mr. Kwanchai Praiphana, announced an end to the demonstration.

Chaos followed quickly. After one of the speakers at the Victory Monument
rally site repeated the message to call off the rallies, some hard core
protesters took away his microphone. Though the microphones were later
brought back, further announcements failed to calm the members of the crowd,
who were shouting and talking to others nearby. The sound on stage went off
for good as the person who owned the truck equipped with the power generator
and sound system drove off. With no sound from the leaders, people were left
to act on their own. More tires were burned near Ratchaprarop Road creating
thick black plumes of smoke as onlookers cheered. Other demonstrators tried
to set anything nearby alight. Others kicked telephone booths. Some
restraint remained among the crowd, however, as some demonstrators
intervened to stop the destruction.

Then, I spoke to a couple of people who claimed to have survived the
crackdown at Ratchaprasong. One man lamented angrily, “Dozens of our
brothers and sisters were killed, and bodies piled up. Some women and their
children were also shot down.” Similar brutal accounts emerged from other
survivors, and were repeated by other demonstrators. One man told the
frustrated demonstrators “All of them died, those in the front row (next to
the stage). We cannot give in now. We have to keep this place until the
evening. Then we will go collect the bodies of the troops.” He continued
“somebody using his camera to shoot the video of piles of bodies, this high
(gesturing his hand to show the height).” “We have to keep staying put here.
And at five o’clock (in the afternoon) some groups will come to help us.
They cannot come out now, during daytime. Don’t feel upset by the decision
declared by the core leaders. We still have another force to help us. After
our core leaders announced to call off the demo, the army bombed us. The
grenade fell in front of the stage and hit those people dancing.” Another
surviving demonstrator said “A lot of sisters and brothers of ours have
died. We cannot let them die for free.”

The situation escalated again. It began with destruction of three telephone
booths, which was soon followed by the ransacking of a large 7-eleven
convenience store. The iron security door was rolled up, glass windows were
smashed, and a dozen of people broke into the shop and started to throw
merchandise outside. Some demonstrators had already warned people not to
take any pictures. Anyone who wanted to record the events felt threatened. A
man who was spotted taking a photo from afar of the destruction of the
convenience store was chased away.

Before this chaotic vandalism, demonstrators had been shouting at police
officials including high ranking ones and the media. One of the very first
buildings burned to the ground belonged to Channel Three, which had recently
broadcast a controversial speech of a male super star at the “Nattaraj”
award ceremony. The star had heaped praise on His Majesty the King,
addressing him as his father and the father of many Thai people who share
one “house”. The celeb bluntly challenged “anyone who [did] not want to be
children of the father, just get out of this house.” The speech was
repeatedly rerun by Channel Three and other TV channels over the past few
days.

In light of the burning of Channel Three, it came to me as no surprise that
very few reporters were working in this area, particularly after the
vandalism of the day started. Earlier I saw a crewman from TNN24 with his
video camera exchanging words with some protesters. Later the TV crew drove
away, presumably due to the frustration the demonstrators aimed at him.
Ironically, TNN24 had reported with objectivity on the rallies. I had
personally commended TNN24 for their comprehensive and accurate coverage of
the political demonstrations since the beginning. While in Chiang Mai and
away from the demonstration sites, I relied on their reporting for
information. Unfortunately, they have been ordered to shut down since the
curfew was announced, which prevented news of the events from filtering out
to the rest of Thailand.

The media blackout has been one of the major factors that has driven more
people to take to the streets. Earlier, PTV, a satellite TV network that was
very popular among the Red Shirt supporters, was closed down. Hundreds of
websites have also been blocked. Everyday for a month, the Center for
Resolution of Emergency Situation (CRES) has made announcements to attack
the demonstrators at their press conferences. Reporters asked no questions.

In the past two months, two of the most common terms used by the Prime
Minister and other high ranking government and army officials, are “law” and
“terrorists”. According to them, the “law” has to be enforced to maintain
order, and “terrorists” have to be dealt with seriously to prevent further
damage. It is a familiar refrain—one we have seen used to describe the
situation in the Southern Border Provinces of Thailand. “Law” is touted to
be enforced strictly there against anyone who is alleged to have carried out
“terrorist” acts. Yet, six years have passed, and two draconian laws have
been put in place, the Emergency Decree and Martial Law, yet there is no
hope the violence will soon cease.

As I walked around and observed, I overheard a man saying sarcastically,
“It’s so fortunate that Thailand has Abhisit [Vejjajiva] as the Prime
Minister. That’s why things have turned out like this [with riots].” In
fact, the first sentence was originally a quote from General Prem
Tinsulanond, the former Prime Minister and Chairperson of the Privy Council,
who used to be a prime target of fiery speeches by UDD leaders.  It would
have been more “fortunate” had the PM shown more leadership and offered an
unconditional political solution to avoid the bloodshed.

One of the protesters pillaging the convenience store near the Victory
Monument said to me, after I declined to accept some sweets in a plastic
bag, “It’s ok, guy. Businesses like this have insurance.” Thairath reported
this morning that Central World has three billion baht insurance.

Earlier, there were attempts by a Thai peace group to ask the Xavier church
near the Victory Monument to provide “safe sanctuary” (or apayatan). I
helped one of the staff members from the group talk with UDD guards and
inform the protesters of the safe area. One of the first questions I got
from a guard was, “Will I still get shot or arrested while being inside the
church?”  One answer: nine bodies were found shot in Wat Pathumwanara, and
and several other bodies nearby. This Buddhist temple had been prepared as
an “apayatan” at the very moment the military moved into the rally site. All
the dead were unarmed. The government blamed “some unknown third party
group” for these killings. A nurse was also found shot dead while she was
under a tent. The roof of the tent evidenced bullet holes. Shooting from
above has been the pattern since the crackdown started on 13 May, and many
people have died as a result. NY Times’s photos show armed troops were
deployed on the SkyTrain (BTS) tracks, overlooking barricades below.  (See
photo at *
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/05/18/world/20100519-THAI-2.html)*

*The Crackdown’s Aftermath*

In general, the media--state and privately owned--have geared toward shoring
up two narratives:

1. The Red Shirts have been planning this “organized and systematic”
sabotage of the city’s infrastructure and properties. For example, the other
day CRES showed a video clip of Mr. Nuttawuth Saikua, one of the UDD’s
leaders, instructing the Red Shirts protesters to “burn the city to the
ground”.

2. Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra, former PM, is the grand mastermind of this
sabotage. Yesterday, the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) asked the
Court to issue an arrest warrant against Thaksin and several others on
“terrorist” charges. The Court requested a hearing be held on next Monday
before proceeding further. The accusations against Thaksin fit the plot
created by the government to blame him for the ongoing and consequent
rampage of the city (since most of the core leaders of the UDD have been
arrested or surrendered themselves, and are being held in custody).

These narratives have also focused on property. More than 30 buildings in
Bangkok’s prime business districts have reportedly been burned, while a
curfew was imposed the night and morning of 19 and 20 May. Regular TV shows
have been replaced by more frequent CRES announcements and programs, and the
trend is likely to continue. CRES has announced that due to the emergency
situation, they have been obliged to “rearrange” TV programs. The Thai media
looks set to tow the line of sabotage narratives. In local media, the damage
to the country’s ailing economy and politics has squeezed out the storyline
of the more than 40 deaths and nearly 400 injuries that have resulted from
the harsh crackdown beginning on 13 May.

To divert public attention from the loss of lives as a result of the brutal
massacre and to justify the crackdown operation, local media reports
emphasized damage allegedly inflicted by the Red Shirts protesters to
infrastructure and properties in downtown Bangkok. The Thai media has also
highlighted the discovery of ammunition, weapons, and material for making
explosive devices. Stories about the attempts to sabotage public
transportation have been reported and featured by CRES. Images of flaming
buildings have been shown extensively and repeatedly on TV. Now most news
programs are made to serve the purpose of creating a “terrorist image” of
the protesters.

Are we supposed to mourn the collapse of property or the lost lives of
civilians and officials? Should only the Red Shirts be blamed for the
damage? Will there be any attempt to unearth the real causes of this crisis
and how Thailand came to this point?

*****



*Though the Red Shirts demonstration over the past two months has greatly
affected the economic and social life of the people of Bangkok, local
residents, particularly those living in and around the cordons declared by
the CRES, have also experienced great horrors, including the massive loss of
civilian lives and injuries. The deployment of armed troops with
sophisticated advanced weaponry, as well as snipers, and their use of live
and rubber bullets raises serious questions about the legality of the
government’s operations. The long-range shooting of demonstrators and
unarmed passersby have far exceeded international legal standards for the
use of force.
*

*According to Amnesty International (AI) Press Release released on 17 May
2010, the Operation Ratchaprasong and the reckless shooting of security
officials against unarmed civilians is “a gross violation of a key human
right—the right to life”. And “Eye-witness accounts and video recordings
show clearly that the military is firing live rounds at unarmed people who
pose no threat whatsoever to the soldiers or to others”. It goes on that
“The government cannot allow soldiers to essentially shoot at anyone within
an area it wishes to control”.
*

*AI proposed further: “This is unacceptable under international law and
standards, which provide that firearms may be used only as a last resort,
when a suspected offender offers armed resistance or otherwise jeopardizes
the lives of others, and less extreme measures are not sufficient to
restrain or apprehend the suspected offender. Outside of clear situations of
self-defence, riot control should be performed by trained police using
non-lethal equipment, not by soldiers using live ammunition”.*


-- 
P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net  - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net

Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss:
http://listcultures.org/mailman/listinfo/p2presearch_listcultures.org

Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens;
http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens

Think thank: http://www.asianforesightinstitute.org/index.php/eng/The-AFI
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listcultures.org/pipermail/p2presearch_listcultures.org/attachments/20100521/54c9bc25/attachment.html>