Bangkok clashes: Map
Map of protest areas in Bangkok
Ratchaprasong intersection and the main red-shirt camp: The protest hub, with a stage area and other facilities
Pathum Wanaram Temple: declared a safe area for women and children within the red zone
Dusit Thani hotel: Guests evacuated on Monday after gunfire and explosions just outside the hotel
Ratchaprarop road: One of the flashpoints around the red zone; declared a "live fire zone" by troops on Saturday
Bon Kai area: Another flashpoint and the scene of violent clashes on Sunday after protesters built a barricade
Lumpini Park: A Bangkok landmark and the site of the protesters' largest barricade; several clashes to the south and east of this area in recent days.
General shot: Pro-protest general Khattiya Sawastipol, also know as Commander Red, shot on 13 May; he died in hospital on 17 May
Thai protesters 'accept mediation offer'
Leaders of Thailand's anti-government protesters say they will accept an offer by senators to mediate talks, amid growing pressure to end violence.
Soldier takes his position in Bangkok on 17 May 2010
There have been five days of violent clashes in Bangkok
A leader of the "red-shirt" protesters said the group would agree to the proposal to prevent more loss of life.
But it is not yet clear whether the government will take part in the talks.
BBC correspondents in Thailand say pressure is growing on both sides to end the crisis, amid high tension in the capital. ...<cont>
Two journalists among five killed in Bangkok as death toll rises
BEN DOHERTY
May 19, 2010 - 4:15PM/the AGE
Clashes between red shirt protesters and troops intensify on the streets of Thailand's capital.
Two foreign journalists are among at least five people killed as the Thai army engages in bloody battle with Red Shirt protesters in central Bangkok, reports say.
Are you in Bangkok? Email us with news and pictures or MMS 0406 THE AGE (+61 406 843 243).
Police and hospital sources this afternoon said five people, including an Italian journalist, had been killed as government troops breached the protesters' compound.
Thai troops aboard an armoured personnel carrier take aim at anti-government protesters in Lumpini Park in downtown Bangkok.
In a recent development, elite troops deployed in the capital have been authorised to shoot on sight people looting, committing arson or inciting unrest, a police spokesman said.
"Metropolitan Police deployed about 1000 rapid movement troops and if they find looting, arson or anybody inciting unrest, police are authorised to shoot immediately," police spokesman Major General Piya Uthayo said.
An AFP photographer saw two protesters lying dead inside the camp, while hospital officials said an Italian journalist was killed in the clashes.
A Thai army soldier aims his weapon during the operation. Photo: Reuters
...<cont>
Red Shirts surrender after deadly crackdown
By Matt Brown and agencies
Updated 32 minutes ago/ABC online news.
The Thai army says the situation at the protest site is now under control. (Reuters: Caren Firouz)
Anti-government protest leaders have surrendered at police headquarters in Bangkok after a deadly military offensive to end long-running demonstrations.
Bangkok police said at least five people were killed and more than 50 injured as the Thai military cracked down on a protest camp in the city's centre.
The army says it has halted its operation against the Red Shirts and the situation at the camp is under control, ending a six-week stand-off which has paralysed parts of Bangkok.
At least four Red Shirt leaders turned themselves in and asked thousands of supporters in the camp to leave.
"I ask everyone to go home," said senior Red Shirt figure Nattawut Saikuar in a television interview from the National Police Office, where he was in custody.
"There will be police guarding the road and providing security for you. I hope that you return home safely."
Earlier, Red Shirt leaders had tearfully announced the end of their protest movement in front of a large crowd of emotional supporters, including many women and children.
"We are ending the protests here," said Mr Nattawut from the main protest stage.
"I know this is unacceptable to some of you and some of you do not want to hear but we cannot stand against this cruelty.
"We will exchange our freedom with your safety. We have tried our best."
"I know that you are suffering. Some of us are speechless. But we want to stop any more deaths here," said Jatuporn Prompan.
"I know that if the military comes here many of you will sacrifice your lives and we cannot stand to see that."
Military storms protest camp
Not long after dawn, soldiers and armoured vehicles had moved up to barricades the Red Shirt protesters had established around their camp, where they have been living for weeks.
The military broadcast warnings that an operation was imminent and urged protesters to leave.
Shortly afterwards, armoured personnel carriers breached one of the main road blocks - which had been set alight by Red Shirts - and pushed inside the protest camp.
Troops fired tear gas and automatic rifles at the protesters and the Red Shirts' militia returned fire.
Police and hospital officials said an Italian journalist was among those killed.
Thousands of protesters refused to leave their sprawling camp in the city centre, even as troops entered the protest zone.
Many protesters, particularly women, children and the elderly, took refuge in a local temple in the middle of the so-called red zone. Others gathered around the main protest stage for safety.
The Red Shirts, who are loyal to exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, say the government is illegitimate and want immediate elections.
Yesterday the Red Shirts said they would accept an offer of mediation from the speaker of the senate, after their call for United Nations mediation was rejected by the government.
However last night the government also rejected the senate mediation offer and said it would not negotiate until the Red Shirts ended their demonstration.
An adviser to the prime minister said the government was still willing to talk to Red Shirts if they called off their protest.
Meanwhile Mr Thaksin, who was ousted by the Thai army in 2006, said he feared a crackdown on the Red Shirts could lead to guerrilla warfare.
He told Reuters he was concerned the military operation in Bangkok would spread resentment among the Red Shirts, which could push them towards guerrilla-style tactics.
- ABC/AFP
BBC Live event: Unrest in Bangkok
Tank drives over barricades in Bangkok, Thailand (19 May 2010)
Welcome to our live coverage of events in Bangkok, as troops and anti-government red-shirts clash following months of protests.
Refresh this page to see the latest developments with breaking news and comment, your e-mails and Tweets and insights from BBC correspondents.
All times are BST.
Red Shirts surrender after deadly crackdown
By Matt Brown and agencies
Updated 1 hour 11 minutes ago
ABC News online
Red Shirt anti-government protestors are detained by soldiers inside their camp in Bangkok. (AFP: Manan Vatsyayana )
Anti-government protest leaders have surrendered at police headquarters in Bangkok after a deadly military offensive to end long-running demonstrations, but violence continues to rock other areas of the capital and wider Thailand.
Bangkok police said at least five people were killed and more than 50 injured as the Thai military cracked down on a protest camp in the city's centre.
The army says it has halted its operation against the Red Shirts and the situation at the camp is under control, ending a six-week stand-off which has paralysed parts of Bangkok.
At least four Red Shirt leaders turned themselves in and asked thousands of supporters in the camp to leave.
"I ask everyone to go home," said senior Red Shirt figure Nattawut Saikuar in a television interview from the National Police Office, where he was in custody.
"There will be police guarding the road and providing security for you. I hope that you return home safely." ...<cont>
How did Thailand come to this?
Page last updated at 7:27 GMT, Wednesday, 19 May 2010 8:27 UK
By Vaudine England BBC News, Bangkok
Armoured car drives over barricade in Bangkok on 19 May 2010 Troops used armoured vehicles to smash through the protest barricades
Three months ago, Bangkok appeared to be a successful South East Asian capital city - now government troops and anti-government protesters are fighting in the streets. The BBC's Vaudine England considers how it came to this.
Huge and thriving, Bangkok has long been seen - and seen itself - as a great city. But now there is blood on the streets.
It is hard to imagine how Thailand got to this - and how it will manage to recover.
One explanation is simply that a crazed rabble of poor people came to the city from the under-developed north, flouting their love for a former prime minister - Thaksin Shinawatra - and being paid to do so.
Another vision talks of class war and a peoples' uprising, as the masses rise up on the barricades in a re-make of Les Miserables, the musical about the French Revolution.
The reality lies somewhere in between and can only be understood by a brisk walk through Thailand's recent political history.
It is easy to speak of the 18 new constitutions in the past half-century, and the many coups. It is hard for people living in more settled countries to imagine that level of uncertainty about the basic rules of the political game.
Whatever version of the recent past is chosen, neither violence nor a death-defying commitment to democracy is unusual in Thai politics
Absolute monarchy only gave way to constitutional rule in 1932 and the play of power between the old feudal system, the military and various democratic forces has been fought out ever since, often with fatal consequences.
Certain big dates stand out: 1973, 1976, 1992, 2006 and now 2010.
Thailand's overwhelming image as a Land of Smiles - as a fantasy land of sun, sea, sex and surgery - has been carefully crafted.
It has seduced many, outsiders and Thais, into believing a facade of stability where there was perhaps more a papering over the cracks.
That paper is now badly torn. Deep-seated fissures, long in existence, can no longer be ignored.
If nothing else, commentators agree, the red-shirts have achieved that much.
Bloody history
Thailand lived under variations of military rule most of the time since the 1932 constitution, during World War II, into the 1970s.
On 14 October 1973, more than 70 protesters were killed and 800 were injured when troops opened fire on huge demonstrations held in support of pro-democracy students.
The then military government collapsed; a new constitution and new elections in six months followed.
On 26 September 1976, two students were garrotted and hanged, allegedly by police. Thousands of students gathered in their support and against military rule.
Two weeks later, on 6 October, that tension exploded into the killing by soldiers, police and right-wing mobs of at least 46 people. Students said many more died.
This moment marked the end of a democratic period, and caused parts of a generation to flee to the hills, joining a communist movement which was later decimated. ...<cont>
Fire and blood on the streets of Bangkok
By Matt Brown and agencies/ABC news online
Updated 12 minutes ago
Thai fire authorities say arsonists have set 20 locations ablaze in Bangkok. (AFP)
Violent anarchy is taking the place of organised demonstrations on the streets of Bangkok after anti-government protest leaders surrendered to authorities.
Fire authorities say blazes are burning at 20 locations across the city, including a TV station where more than 100 people are trapped.
TV Station Channel 3's editor Samran Chatto says a fire is burning on the sixth floor of the building and staff are trapped inside.
"We are in a crisis situation now. Some 100 of our staff are trapped inside. The fire has engulfed the sixth floor." Mr Samran told AFP, adding authorities were trying to rescue the staff.
A shopping mall in Bangkok - one of the largest in Asia - has reportedly been completely destroyed by fire and the Thai stock exchange is also burning.
Earlier today, four leaders of the Red Shirt protesters gave themselves up to police and urged protesters to go home after a military offensive left at least five people dead and more than 50 injured.
The Thai army cracked down on a sprawling protest camp in the city's centre, seemingly ending a six-week stand-off which has paralysed parts of Bangkok.
The military says it has halted its operation against the Red Shirts and the situation at the camp is under control.
But at least one break-away group of Red Shirts says they are not giving up and they will continue to fight.
They have warned they will target both Thai and foreign journalists.
There has been rioting in five areas of the city, and protesters are setting fires and burning tyres.
Some hotels have set up wooden barricades.
The country's defence minister says a curfew will be imposed from 8:00pm (local time) in the city to help restore order.
Foreign tourists and Thai travellers will be allowed to travel to Bangkok airports despite the curfew.
Violence has also spread to north-east Thailand, a Red Shirt stronghold, where protesters have stormed town halls and set buildings ablaze in the city of Udon Thani and the town of Khon Kaen. ...<cont>
Thai protests: military crackdown only widens divide
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 19 May 2010 13.33 BST
By opting to use military force against the redshirt protesters, the Thai government has lost the opportunity to craft a settlement for an orderly transition, writes Duncan McCargo
Redshirts are detained by soldiers inside their camp in Bangkok, Thailand. Illustration: Manan Vatsyayana/AFP/Getty Images
Clearing demonstrators from the streets using military force is messy enough, but in a major political conflict like Thailand's, the sweeping-out operation is really the easy part.
Despite almost reaching a negotiated settlement with the protesters last week, the Thai authorities have ordered security forces to overrun the main redshirt encampments in central Bangkok, arresting major leaders and apparently shooting dead at least four people, including an Italian journalist, in a continuation of ham-fisted military tactics already condemned by Amnesty International.
The decision to use force against redshirt protesters was immediately applauded by government supporters - including many long-suffering Bangkok residents - but the costs of such a heavy-handed crackdown will be extremely high.
By opting for a military rather than a security solution, the government has lost the opportunity to craft a settlement for an orderly transition. A roadmap based on a plan for early elections in November had offered a possible way forward, and intermediaries, including the senate speaker and activist academics, had sought to broker further dialogue between the two sides. The UN also made a couple of overtures of assistance, which were immediately rebuffed by the government.
Following the death on Monday of renegade general Khattiya Sawasdipol, better known as Sae Daeng, of wounds inflicted by a sniper, the redshirts had lost their most hardline opponent of compromise.
Sae Daeng and his contingent of men, serving as a self-appointed security detail for the redshirts, had been a key factor in resisting earlier attempts to disperse the protests. The government now had the upper hand in any talks, and the demonstrations were probably within a few days of collapse.
The authorities' show of force today inflamed intense feelings of frustration, resentment and rage among the protesters, who had camped out for more than two months in 90F (32C) temperatures. Bangkok today is an angry city of impossible contradictions and unfathomable hatreds.
The end of the formal protests solves nothing; indeed, it seems to be ushering in a new and even more disturbing phase of random violence and mayhem. The deep-rooted tension between pro- and anti-Thaksin networks have not gone away.
These conflicts date back several years, reflecting a basic divide between two competing colour-coded patronage-based networks. The redshirts are broadly allied with former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. They remain incensed that he was ousted in the disastrous September 2006 military coup which did nothing to dent his electoral support, especially in the populous north and north-east.
Opposing them are the yellowshirts, who are a royalist movement sympathetic to the present Democrat Party-led administration, the military and the bureaucracy. For them, Thaksin represents the dark side of Thai capitalism, seeking cynically to subvert the country's traditional institutions and values for his own advancement and advantage.
The divide between the two sides transcends social class and regional origin, splitting families and households across the nation.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of the issues " and the popular image of the redshirts as non-violent pro-democracy underdogs is woefully simplistic " normalcy will not be restored in Thailand until a genuine accommodation is reached between the two sides. Such an accommodation might take the form of a political deal, a power-sharing arrangement, or some kind of substantial decentralisation. Elections are needed, sooner rather than later, as part of this process.
Nobody should be fooled into thinking that this conflict is over. Whether the fires are quickly extinguished or continue to burn for many nights to come will depend on the willingness of the Thai authorities to act pragmatically, and to listen to voices of reason.
• Duncan McCargo is professor of south-east Asian politics at the University of Leeds and author of Tearing Apart the Land: Islam and Legitimacy in Southern Thailand (Cornell University Press), which won the inaugural 2009 Bernard Schwartz prize from the Asia Society
