Reds receive stern Army warning

The Army yesterday gave the red shirts a stern warning against staging a rally on the prohibited Silom Road - as the crisis grew more complicated with the People's Alliance for Democracy re-emerging to give an ultimatum to the government.

Security forces would never allow a repeat of use of force against riot troops, Army spokesman Colonel Sansern Kaewkamnerd said yesterday, suggesting tough measures will be used to stop the protests spreading from Rajprasong intersection to Silom Road.

However, Sansern said troops will only disperse the red shirts when the timing is right.

"If I say when, the operation is doomed to fail," he said.

The rally by the red shirts, due to held on Tuesday, was just a gimmick to use crowds as shields to safeguard leaders facing arrest, he said.

Numbers at Rajprasong quite a lot, he said. The crowd surged to around 13,000 on Saturday night and dropped to about 4,000 yesterday morning.

The anti-riot force would not allow the reds to parade around the capital or set up a new site at Silom, he said, vowing to contain the rally where it is.

He said a number of special operations teams were dispatched to stakeout high-rise buildings around the rally site in order to prevent any infiltration by armed terrorists.

Crowd control measures would be stepped up and protesters discouraged from entering Rajprasong. Police will issue citations for those who refuse to heed warnings at the barricaded zone.

"Whatever happens, there will be no repeat of assaults against the riot forces, seizures of official vehicles and arms," the Army spokesman said.

He said the riot forces were under strict instruction to exercise restraint but would have the right to repel life-threatening attacks. He also ruled out concern over the enforcement of martial law.

Red-shirt leader Jatuporn Promphan said the government had veered off course by trying to fault the red shirts for harbouring terrorists in their midst.

Jatuporn demanded the red shirts have equal access at stakeout points set up by the riot forces. In the April 10 violence, a lot of people were shot dead by gunfire from buildings, he claimed.

Red-shirt leaders insist Silom protest will go ahead

Red-shirted leaders still insisted on a protest on Silom but were vague on how it would take place, only urging red shirts in rural areas to travel to the capital and take part in the upcoming mass rally.

Metropolitan Police Region 1 commander Maj-General Wichai Sangprapai said he was negotiating with the red shirts - to try to limit the rally near Siam Discovery to Pathumwan intersection, and to shift loudspeakers away from Chulalong-korn Hospital.

Police have beefed up security at Bangkok Bank headquarters after the red shirts threatened to rally on Silom Road.

Businessmen for Democracy Club secretary-general Pornsak Limboonyaprasert said any protests on Silom would inflict untold damage on the business community.

The PAD, meanwhile, gave the government seven days to resolve the crisis with the red shirts or the movement would organise counter rallies which could have unknown consequences.

All core leaders of the PAD, except Sondhi Limthongkul, and about 3,000 ranking members turned out at Rangsit University auditorium to "brainstorm" a way out of the political predicament.

It was the first gathering of the yellow shirts from across the country since the red shirts began their Bangkok rally on March 12.

"The red shirts have caused polarisation with words like 'prai' and 'ammat' but their real intention is to mobilise the masses as a means to transform the political system," Chamlong Srimuang said.

The violence on "Black Saturday" would not have erupted with so many soldiers killed if the government had taken effective legal action against the red shirts, he said.

Somsak Kosaisuk said any drastic reform of the government system should come via Parliament.

"I believe Thais don't want chaos," he said, referring to the violence-prone street protests by the red shirts.

Pipop Thongchai blamed fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and Pheu Thai Party chairman Chavalit Yongchaiyudh for the April 10 violence.

Hardcore leftists and certain remnants of the nowdefunct Communist Party of Thailand had teamed up with the red shirts to try to trigger a civil war, he said.

The PAD issued a statement condemning Thaksin and his army of red shirts for trying to incite a rebellion.

Pheu Thai Party, the red shirts and a private army were seeking to agitate the public, leading to an uprising, it said in the statement.