By Brian McCartan for Asia Times Online
BANGKOK - The Thai government has finally matched its strong rhetoric with action by surrounding "red shirt" demonstrators and cutting off food and utilities to force them out of their protest site in the heart of the capital.
The move appeared to be backed up by the shooting on Thursday evening of Major General Khattiya Sawasdipol, a high-profile protest leader and renegade army general in an apparent assassination attempt. Within hours, however, the plan to isolate the protesters seemed to stall in another show of lack of determination.
Sporadic gunfire and several grenade blasts occurred after the shooting and one protester was killed during clashes late on
Thursday night. But on Friday things became much more serious as troops clashed with the protesters, firing rubber bullets, live ammunition and tear gas in an attempt to seal off their encampment that, according to news reports, had yet to succeed.
Khattiya, also known as Seh Daeng, was shot at about 7pm while talking to a group of international journalists at one of the protest barricades at Lumpini Park. He remains on life support at a nearby hospital.
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Seh Daeng was widely believed to be the leader of the "armed wing" of the protest movement, a shadowy group of men in black who appeared during the April 10 military crackdown with automatic rifles. He is also believed to be behind a series of grenade attacks and shootings that took place around Bangkok before and during the demonstrations.
Although some observers pointed to Seh Daeng's uncanny ability to predict grenade attacks, there is little hard evidence. Regardless, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajeva branded him a terrorist and named him as a major impediment to a peaceful solution to the crisis that has gripped the country for months.
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Brian McCartan is a Bangkok-based freelance journalist. He may be reached at brianpm@comcast.net
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