21 killed, more than 800 injured in Thailand political violence

+

BANGKOK, April 11 Kyodo -
(EDS: ADDING NEW INFO IN 7TH-11TH GRAFS)
The death toll from Saturday's political violence in Bangkok, Thailand's worst
in 18 years, rose to 21 on Sunday as the government vowed to continue its
efforts to take back the streets from protesters but set no timeline for doing
so.
Besides antigovernment protesters, the fatalities included at least four
soldiers and one foreigner, a 43-year-old Japanese television cameraman for
Reuters news agency who was shot in the chest.
More than 800 people were injured in the clashes between the protesters and
security forces, which came three days after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva
declared a state of emergency in Bangkok.
Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban told reporters that while the
government deeply regrets the loss of life, it remains firm in its goal of
restoring normalcy in Bangkok.
''The government will continue the operation to take back the roads from the
protesters because their occupation is unlawful,'' Suthep said.
''But it will take some time before we restart the operation,'' he said, adding
that many soldiers and police who were involved in Saturday's confrontations
were traumatized over what transpired and will need time to recover.
He said one of the soldiers who died was a colonel, and two other senior army
officers were seriously wounded in the violence.
Throughout Sunday, the capital was relatively calm although emboldened
protesters held a rally in front of a residence of former Prime Minister
Banharn Silpa-archa, the de-facto leader of a coalition party.
Some protesters also acted in a threatening manner toward local journalists,
accusing them of bias in covering the protests. A television crew member was
injured when a protester smashed the window of his car.
Local journalists who have been covering the month-long protests decided to
boycott the protesters but eventually agreed to return after intervention by
Veera Musikapong, a protest leader.
In a bid to ease the tension, all soldiers and antiriot police were on Sunday
pulled back from the Democracy Monument area in Bangkok's old quarter and the
capital's prime business and shopping zone.
Suthep expressed concern about weapons stolen from military vehicles during the
chaos Saturday and said he has assigned police to try to negotiate their return
with protest leaders.
Following the bloodbath, Abhisit said Saturday night the door remains open for
negotiations to achieve a peaceful solution to the crisis.
But Suthep said that the protest leaders are still refusing to talk.
The protesters, who had previously been demanding that Abhisit dissolve
Parliament and hold an election, now say the time for negotiations is over and
that Abhisit and others held responsible for Saturday's ''massacre'' must leave
the country.
Jaran Dithapichai, one of the protest leaders, said Sunday many foreign
diplomats based in Bangkok had called on the protest leaders to resume
negotiations with Abhisit but they would never do so.
''We still think that it will be better for us not to engage in any dialogue
with the government. It is absolute impossible.
We will retain both battle fields at Phan Fa Bridge and Ratchaprasong
intersection,'' he said during a live interview with the Nation Television.
Jatuporn Promphan, another protest leader and also a lawmaker of opposition
Puea Thai Party, told protesters at one of the two rally sites that no
nonpartisan mediator would be acceptable to the protesters other than King
Bhumibol Adulyadej, the revered but ailing monarch who has been hospitalized in
Bangkok for over six months.
''(There's) no need for any other mediator for the moment. The one and only
mediator is the monarchy,'' Jatuporn said at the Ratchaprasong intersection,
where all high-end malls and luxury hotels have been closed for an eight
straight day.
The protesters, mostly supporters of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra,
have been encamped in the Democracy Monument area of the city since March 12.
They had been staging mobile rallies that paralyzed parts of the city,
including commercial districts.
Abhisit has ordered an inquiry into the deaths. He added that the security
forces were under strict orders not to use live ammunition other than to fire
warning shots into the air or for self-defense in times of immediate danger.
Protesters used firearms, M-79 grenades, petrol bombs, and cooking gas
cylinders to attack the security forces.
Bangkok's medical emergency operation center said 858 people were injured and
323 people remain hospitalized. Most of the protesters' injuries were caused by
tear gas and rubber bullets.
Earlier Sunday, the army spokesman said 92 soldiers seriously wounded were
among the total 265 soldiers hospitalized.
The fatalities include 14 civilians, among them the Japanese TV cameraman
Hiroyuki Muramoto, whom Reuters said had worked for the news agency's Tokyo
bureau for more than 15 years. He was found dead near Democracy Monument.
''I am dreadfully saddened to have lost our colleague Hiro Muramoto in the
Bangkok clashes,'' Reuters Editor-in-Chief David Schlesinger said. ''Journalism
can be a terribly dangerous profession as those who try to tell the world the
story thrust themselves in the center of the action.''
Thailand Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, in a message sent to his Japanese
counterpart Katsuya Okada, expressed condolences to Muramoto's bereaved family.
In Tokyo, investigative sources said Sunday that the Tokyo Metropolitan Police
Department intends to apply a provision of the Penal Code that allows Japanese
police to investigate certain criminal incidents that occur abroad.
The police will carry out the investigation in cooperation with Thai police and
coordinate with the Japanese Embassy in Bangkok and other parties to find out
how Muramoto died, they said.
==Kyodo
2010-04-12 00:35:59