Policy reading creates a bloody mess

Chronology : Days of Chaos

Two people are dead and about 400 were injured after a crackdown on protesters at Parliament early yesterday sparked a day of rioting in central Bangkok.

The Somchai government's move to use force to clear the way for the prime minister to read its policy statement in Parliament created mayhem on the streets.

Angry mobs attacked and shot at police, but violence came out from both sides.

Dozens of protesters were injured in the initial crackdown just after dawn, then many police were hurt in clashes through the day - stabbed, shot and crushed by a truck driven by protesters.

A bomb exploded in front of Chart Thai Party headquarters, killing a man, hundreds of metres from Parliament.



The Jeep Cherokee vehicle was thought to belong to a member of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), the loose coalition of conservative elite and business opponents backing the prolonged protest against the government, which they damn as a proxy of deposed premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

Police said an unknown man was killed instantly when the bomb went off, and he may have accidentally ignited the explosion.

The first clash in front of Parliament occurred at about 6.30am as police tried to clear a way for the MPs and senators to a session to hear the Somchai government's policies. Protesters had surrounded Parliament since Monday night.

More than 70 of protesters were injured, including Thanya Kulkaeow, who lost his left leg, and two others, who lost a foot and a hand, respectively.

Officials could not explain how tear gas canisters could hurt protesters so critically. Doctors said such injuries were caused by a powerful explosive. And there was speculation that unknown parties launched a grenade or device from behind the police line.

Further clashes occurred after the parliamentary session as police tried to clear the way for ministers and MPs to leave the compound.

Protesters later began to use force against officials. The first police casualty was Pol Sgt Maj Taweep Klanniam, who was stabbed by a sharp flagpole. He was rushed to an intensive care unit at Phramongkutklao Hospital.

"A flagpole pierced his right rib and went deep into his liver," the hospital's public relations chief Dr Pirapol Pokpong said.

Three police were injured as protesters fired shots at them during a clash in front of the Parliament. The wounded police were locked in the Parliament building for hours as protesters blocked the gate.

PAD spokesman Suriyasai Katasila said the gunmen were not members of the group and maintained a claim that PAD protesters never used violence.

Police Captain Kraingkrai Tinsamee, deputy superintendence at Tao Poun station, was injured when a protester drove a pickup truck on him while he met with colleagues at U-Tong Nai intersection. He was still unconscious late last night.

More rounds were fired at about 7pm at the Metropolitan Police headquarters, injuring at least four people including Police Major General Kosin Bounsrang, deputy commander of Border Police, who came to help maintain law and order in the capital.

One woman died after being admitted to Ramathibodi Hospital.

It was a bloody way to start a new government.