AFP – An injured woman is evacuated from a blast site in the
financial district of central Bangkok on April …
BANGKOK (AFP) –
Thai riot police faced down thousands of anti-government protesters
Friday after grenade attacks left one woman dead and scores wounded in
the latest bloodshed of the escalating political crisis.
The violence in the heart of Bangkok late Thursday further heightened
tensions in the standoff between the government and Red Shirt protesters and
triggered alarm in the international community which appealed for
restraint.
On Friday, hundreds of riot police armed with batons and riot shields shouted
through loud hailers across the protesters' barricade at a key
intersection in Bangkok's business hub which has been paralysed by the
turmoil.
Deputy Prime
Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said the grenades were fired from
within the sprawling Red Shirt encampment, which has been fortified with
sharpened bamboo stakes and piles of tyres.
But leaders of the protest movement denied they were responsible.
Red Shirt leader Nattawut Saikuar told demonstrators to prepare for a
crackdown by security forces, which have warned that time was running
out after more than a month of anti-government rallies.
"The authorities are trying to push in," Nattawut told the crowd from a
rally stage, where live pop music had been entertaining a dancing crowd
since dawn despite Thursday's bloodshed.
The grenade blasts comes after a failed attempt by authorities on April
10 to disperse the Red
Shirts sparked clashes that left 25 people dead and more than 800
injured in the worst political violence in almost two decades.
Suthep said an M79 grenade
launcher was used in the attacks in a luxury shopping district in
Bangkok, giving a toll Thursday of three dead.
But Thai emergency
services said Friday that only one person was killed, a Thai
woman, and 85 injured, including three foreigners from Australia, Indonesia and the United States.
The
mostly working class Reds -- who are campaigning for immediate elections
and the ouster of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva -- denied that they
were responsible for the blasts.
"Whoever carried out the M79 attacks wants people to think it was done
by the Reds. We will never attack innocent people," said a Red Shirt
leader, Jatuporn Prompan.
Ambulances rushed away bloodied victims after the grenades exploded at a
station in the elevated Skytrain, outside the exclusive Dusit Thani
hotel and near a bank.
The blast scene was littered with pools of blood along with abandoned
shoes and Thai flags, in an area dotted with dozens of corporate towers
and a notorious red-light district.
Clashes later broke out between riot police and pro-government
demonstrators who hurled bottles at the Reds, AFP reporters at the scene
witnessed.
The United Nations appealed for restraint and several nations including
the United States issued travel warnings for Thailand, which has been
in turmoil since former premier Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted in a 2006
coup.
"We appeal to both the protesters and the Thai authorities to avoid
further violence and loss of life and to work to resolve the situation
peacefully through dialogue," UN spokesman Martin Nesirky.
Nesirky said UN chief Ban Ki-moon was "very concerned about the
continuing standoff and tension in Thailand and the potential for this
to escalate."
The army this week signalled it was preparing to crack down on the Red
Shirts, who have shut down the capital's commercial heart as they
campaign to overthrow a government they say is undemocratic and elitist.
"We don't want you to risk your lives. If there is a clash you could be
hurt by stray bullets," said army spokesman Sunsern Kaewkumnerd. "Your
time is running out. Please leave the area."
Despite repeated tense stand-offs with security forces, the rally has
been largely cheerful with live bands performing to crowds waving
signature heart-shaped clappers and selling red merchandise in support
of the movement.
But the Reds, who have been demonstrating in Bangkok for weeks in their
bid to topple Abhisit's government, have remained defiant and ruled out
talks until the military withdraws.
The Red protesters are largely supporters Thaksin, who is now living in
exile to avoid a jail sentence for corruption.
They say Abhisit's government is illegitimate because it came to power
in a parliamentary vote at the end of 2008 after a court ruling removed
Thaksin's allies from office.
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