Red Shirt Problems

We have been having problems around town this week with the Red Shirts (or the UDD, United Democrats against Dictatorship). They are the group who support ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and who oppose the Yellow Shirts (or the PAD, People's Alliance for Democracy). Hmmm. . . we seem to be suffering from a surfeit of democrats, or democracy or something. A lot of these problems have been happening in my neighborhood. I ran into a Red Shirt rally on Thursday night, but they were just driving around the moat and up Huey Gaew Road. I parted company with them after about a mile when I came to my turn. But on Friday, there were police all over my area of town, and they closed off one end of my road to keep the Red Shirts away from the Chiang Mai University Auditorium. When I see the Red Shirts in large numbers, or confronting police, I just go the other way and have no problems. The following is from Thaivisa.com, giving a news account of the last couple of days. Despite the unrest, life largely goes on normally here. Oh, except for the fact that most of the large private schools in town have shut down because of the flu. No word on how long they will be closed. So many of my students had a holiday of Friday.

Water canon used against Chiang Mai redshirt’s - 14 police injured
By John Le Fevre

CHIANG MAI (thaivisa.com): -- Police in the Northern Thailand city of Chiang Mai have used water canon to disperse red-shirt protesters after two days of violent clashes that saw 14 policemen injured.

The protesters, members of the United Front for Democracy (UDD), had gathered in opposition to Finance Minister Korn Chatikavenij’s attendance at a meeting with banks owned by the Finance Ministry at the Chiang Mai University auditorium.

The clashes began following the arrest on Thursday of a 45-year-old redshirt protester, Niyom Luangcharoen, who was detained by police as he allegedly tried to enter Chiang Mai airport with a gun and ammunition to join other protesters waiting on Korn’s arrival.

Following Niyom’s arrest about 200 protesters besieged the Puping Rachaniwet police station demanding his immediate, unconditional release.

When police refused to conform to their demands, the protesters attacked the police lines with stones, wooden sticks and catapults, damaging a number of police vehicles in the process.

Eight policemen were injured in the melee, with two of them currently receiving treatment in the ICU ward of a local hospital.

Protesters then blocked the main Huay Kaew Road and when ordered to disperse by police, retaliated by throwing firecrackers, injuring one bystander. Shots were also allegedly fired at police, but no injuries were reported.

Somkid Boonthanom, chief of Provincial Police Region 5, said the redshirt protesters had gathered again on Friday to rally against Korn meeting with local business owners and police reinforcements were drafted from neighbouring Lamphun and Lampang provinces to assist.

Following further clashes with police, the protesters withdrew to the Chiang Mai Grand Waroros Palace Hotel, home to the main redshirt community radio station.

Somkid said about 1,000 police had been required to disperse the protesters, with many of them being equipped with protective riot clothing, batons and shields.

The finance minister was in Chiang Mai to follow up on development projects worth Bt18.8 million (about $US 546,000), that he said should benefit the majority of the population.