Aftermath – Eyewitness Photos within Bangkok Red Zone
By Garry | May 21st, 2010 | Category: News Reports | No Comments »
Thailand 21 May 2010 – A friend of mine lives just metres away from the former Red Shirt main rally stage in Bangkok. Throughout the recent demonstrations, and the ensuing military operations and riots, myself and others implored him to remain indoors and leave his camera in the cupboard.
Now, as the area clears and security returns, he has been out and about recording the scenes. Some of his pictures have appeared in the Dutch press and he has been interviewed on Dutch TV. His normally quiet side street was one of the earliest to witness fatal shootings before the Thai army moved in to clear the Red Shirts on Wednesday morning.
He has given me permission to share his photographs with readers, and asks that should anyone else wish to use any of them, they should contact him (via the image hosting album the pictures link to) regarding royalties. Remember there are still armed Red Shirt gunmen (Black Shirts) at large and an ongoing operation (Friday) by security forces in Bangkok’s Silom Embassy and Financial District to clear them out. There was still personal danger to my friend possible at the time he took these pictures. My thanks go out to him for allowing me to share them with you.
Click any photo to see it larger size in the original album Lesson not learned – Thai soldiers inspect a red-coloured vehicle in Bangkok’s central district following clearing of the Red Shirt protesters. Behind the car, a Thai traffic policeman on a red-coloured motorbike gives a ride to a colleague not wearing a helmet (below pink triangle), thus breaking the law. Throughout the disturbances of the last two months, the police have been accused of being Red Shirt supporters and sympathisers. When Red Shirt mobs attacked and torched a provincial city hall on Wednesday, an eyewitness reported the police stood aside smiling, leaving the army no choice but to open fire, killing five and wounding others. That unit’s commander is reportedly furious with the local police division. The unequal application of Thai laws, was one of the red protestors’ main grievances initially. |
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 “Peaceful Protestors – Not Terrorists” the sign said That may have been true of many of the women, children, and senior citizens who remained daily to hear speeches & popular music, but the rally hid a far less altruistic element, a large and militant hard core with pre-made plans for a swathe of destruction if they didn’t get their way. |
 Center World – Thailand’s largest, and the second-largest shopping mall in Asia, partially destroyed by arson immediately following the surrender to authorities by several Red Shirt leaders. Photographs and videos show it was undisputedly the work of Red Shirt supporters. |
 Country comes to town – contrasting with the modern splendour of the fashionable shopping malls around her, this red shirt vendor of cold drinks shows how it’s done in the rural towns and villages, often with no more than an old umbrella or handy tree for shade from the tropical sun. |
 At rest, but ready – Thai soldiers in full combat gear rest in the shade of a car park entrance while a colleague stands watch from an upper vantage point. Patrolling cooler temperate urban areas is bad enough in this level of equipment, but in the tropical hot season it is dangerously dehydrating and exhausting. |
 During the protests, this main thoroughfare was host to thousands of Red Shirt supporters of all ages. I’ve walked this street more than a few times, and it’s normally 24-hour wall-to-wall traffic, with pavements choked by street vendors and queues waiting for buses and taxis. |
 Checkpoint or Patrol? The uncertainties of urban military policing play out in this scene. These soldiers have no way to know who is friend or foe, nor do the other civilians around them. Tension remains high, and violence or shooting could break out without warning. |
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