Thai troops on Bangkok streets to protect financial hub

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BNP standing committee member Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain speaking at a discussion on 'Journalist Couple's Murder and Present Circumstances' at the Dhaka Reporters' Unity in the city Tuesday organised by Mahanagar Dakkhin Jatiyatabadi Samajik Sangskrit

BANGKOK, Apr 19 (AFP): Thai security forces swooped on central Bangkok Monday wielding weapons and razor wire to block "Red Shirt" protesters from taking their anti-government campaign to the capital's financial hub.
Thousands of military and riot police, many of them armed with assault rifles and shotguns, were deployed in the Silom business district close to the Reds' rally base in the capital's retail heartland.
Some soldiers hunkered down with their weapons on pedestrian walkways located above Silom's major thoroughfare, while below smartly dressed office workers stepped carefully around razor wire rolled out along sidewalks.
The deployment was the first by the military on the tense streets of Bangkok since a failed crackdown on the protesters nine days ago left 25 people dead and more than 800 injured.
Army spokesman Sunsern Kaewkumnerd warned that the troops were equipped with live ammunition and that the protest movement involving tens of thousands of red-clad demonstrators would be shut down "when we are ready".
"The authorities have their right to protect themselves. They will be armed with real bullets while they are on duty because we have to give them the ability to protect themselves," Sunsern told AFP.
The Red Shirts, mainly supporters of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup, have occupied parts of Bangkok for more than a month, massively disrupting business and tourism.
The Reds had threatened to march to Silom on Tuesday to escalate their campaign for the ouster of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, but leader Nattawut Saikuar said they would now review their plans.
"The reinforcements there are not normal. Soldiers have taken up positions where they are ready to fire at any time. They look like they are in the battlefield," he told a press conference.
"We will analyse the situation to see if they are a danger to our people. But it would not be surprising if unarmed people walk there to invite the army to leave the area and return to their bases."
The chairman of Thailand's leading opposition party, Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, himself a former prime minister, said he had requested an audience with the nation's revered king to help resolve the crisis.