0
BANGKOK (AFP) -- Hundreds of Thai police and troops, backed by armoured vehicles, converged on the "Red Shirt" anti-government protesters' camp in Bangkok Wednesday, raising fears of an imminent crackdown.
AFP reporters saw 12 armoured personnel carriers (APCs) with machine guns mounted on top arrive in the Silom business district, and two took up positions in front of the protesters' homemade barricades.
Nearby, several trucks dropped off troops wearing balaclavas and carrying weapons and riot shields.
Hundreds of armed police were forming lines in Sukhumvit Road, a main thoroughfare leading into the protest zone, backed up by some 20 police vans on the roadside.
Thailand's army spokesman declined to comment on whether a crackdown was imminent against the protesters, who since Monday have defied a deadline to disperse after occupying Bangkok's main retail district for six weeks.
"I will not answer any questions," spokesman Sunsern Kaewkumnerd told AFP.
Red Shirt leaders warned late Tuesday that they were concerned a crackdown would be launched at dawn, after the government ruled out negotiations until the demonstrators abandoned their heavily fortified rally base.
Security forces had battled with protesters since Thursday last week as they attempted to seal off the sprawling protest site, triggering clashes on the perimeter that left 39 dead and hundreds injured.
The violence, which eased Tuesday with only sporadic gunfire, turned parts of the city of 12 million into no-go zones as troops used live ammunition against protesters, who fought back mainly with homemade weapons.
"There's a very significant reinforcement of troops on Silom," a police officer from Lumpini district near the protest site told AFP.
Asked whether a crackdown was under way he said: "Normally military will not inform police because this is a military operation alone."
A police spokesman said Tuesday that there were still around 5,000 protesters, including hundreds of women and children, at the fortified site despite the fighting and a campaign for them to return home.
Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said the campaign to contain the protest was progressing well but that the public "must be patient as the operation is taking time".
"The operation will go ahead but the government will try to avoid confrontation and if there are losses they will be minimised," he said Tuesday.
Amnesty International accused the army of "reckless use of lethal force" in its campaign to seal off the protest zone, which has left 39 dead and 279 wounded since Thursday.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Monday called on both sides to negotiate an end to the violence, saying there was a high risk it could "spiral out of control" after the expiry of Monday's deadline.
"To prevent further loss of life, I appeal to the protesters to step back from the brink, and the security forces to exercise maximum restraint in line with the instructions given by the government," she said.
But protesters were in defiant mood at their encampment late into the night Tuesday, dancing and waving heart-shaped clappers in front of a stage as leaders rallied the crowd.
The Reds are campaigning for elections to replace the administration of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, which they consider illegitimate because it came to power with the backing of the army in a 2008 parliamentary vote.
The Reds are mostly supporters of fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra who was ousted in a 2006 coup. A controversial court ruling ejected his elected allies from power, paving the way for Abhisit's government to be appointed.
-- ©Copyright AFP 2010-05-19
Published with written approval from AFP.
