Thai military declares main shopping area unsafe because of protests, sends troops to rooftops

Bangkok’s main shopping boulevard declared unsafe

BANGKOK — Thailand’s military declared Bangkok’s main shopping boulevard unsafe Sunday because of large crowds of anti-government protesters and sent soldiers to nearby high-rise buildings to watch for any violence.

As Thailand’s traditional New Year holiday ended, protest leaders called for another mass rally Tuesday in their bid to oust Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva — raising concerns of more clashes after savage fighting a week ago killed 25 people.

The warning by army spokesman Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd was another blow for Thailand’s vital tourism sector, which accounts for 6 percent of the economy and has suffered a steep decline since the protests began March 12.

Sansern said military checkpoints were being set up at entry points to the capital and within the city to try to prevent more “Red Shirt” protesters from reaching the main rally site, an area of upscale shopping malls and five-star hotels that has been under virtual siege. At least six malls remain closed.

“The protest area is unsafe. Authorities need to control it by sending security personnel into the surrounding high-rise buildings,” Sansern told a news conference. He said soldiers would help “prevent people with ill intentions from infiltrating the area.”

The government accuses “terrorists” armed with guns and other weapons of orchestrating the earlier violence and says weapons were stolen from the military that have not been returned.

The protesters 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. Thaksin is living in overseas exile to avoid a two-year prison term for corruption.

They believe Abhisit heads an illegitimate government because it came to power through a parliamentary vote in December 2008 after disputed court rulings ousted two pro-Thaksin administrations. The conflict has been characterized by some as class warfare, pitting the country’s vast rural poor against an elite that has traditionally held power.

Abhisit has come under increasing criticism for failing to clear the protesters, but the government spokesman said Saturday there were no immediate plans for a crackdown because too many people were camped in the area to use force.

Sansern, however, said the army would not allow protesters to march to another location and would not tolerate more violence.

“We will not allow people to hurt police officers, soldiers or civilians again — or to seize military vehicles or weapons,” he said.

The Red Shirt protesters, formally known as the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship, want Abhisit to dissolve Parliament and call new elections. They were initially camped in a historic district of Bangkok, and a failed attempt by security forces on April 10 to flush protesters from that neighborhood erupted into the worst political violence Thailand has seen in 18 years.

At least 25 people were killed, including several senior military officers. More than 800 people were wounded, including about 300 soldiers.

Since then, the protesters have consolidated in Bangkok’s main shopping area, raising the stakes as they scare off tourists and rattle the stock market. Retailers and hotels say they have lost tens of millions of dollars.

Thousands of red-shirted protesters listened Sunday to fiery speeches by protest leaders who called for reinforcements. Portable toilets and tents have been trucked in, and vendors line the streets selling food, sleeping mats, clothing and red-colored souvenirs such as T-shirts, headbands and baseball caps.

“The authorities have always tried to block people from joining us. But still we are getting more people,” said one protest leader, Jatuporn Prompan.

Protest leaders have threatened to march to the nearby Silom business district but say they will make their plans known only at the last minute.

Police have issued 24 arrest warrants for Red Shirt leaders accused of inciting violence, but so far none has been arrested.