Tuesday, September 2, 2008
BANGKOK (AFP) — Thai police called in army reinforcements early Tuesday as violent clashes between protesters in Bangkok left one person dead and dozens injured, officials and local media said.
There were reports of gunshots being fired as thousands of baton-wielding pro- and anti-government protesters clashed in the capital Bangkok.
Thai television showed protesters wearing helmets and carrying batons running though the streets, fighting with each other and throwing rocks, as people lay bleeding on the street.
The violence took place not far from the site where about 15,000 demonstrators have been besieging the main government compound for a week, demanding that Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej step down.
"Thousands of protesters from Sanam Luang went to the scene and clashed," the police officer in charge of the area told AFP, referring to a plaza where protesters often gather.
"There were reports of gunfire, but police cannot confirm who fired or how many were injured," said the officer, who did not wish to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
Thailand's national police chief Patcharavat Wongsuwan said the army had been called in to help calm the situation, but that invoking a state of emergency was still not necessary.
"The number of police is still enough to take care of the situation but we have asked the assistance from the army," he told a local news channel.
Government-owned television station NBT said four units of unarmed soldiers -- about 320 troops -- had been deployed to maintain order.
Peeratong Saichoew, a doctor with the Bangkok administration's media reporting bureau, said early reports were that at least one person had died.
"Initial reports which need to be confirmed later are that one died and 38 were injured. There is a report that one person was injured from gun shots while the rest injured from fighting. Now they are being treated at six hospitals nearby," he said.
Supporters of the so-called People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) have been squatting at Government House since last Tuesday. Tensions flared when they briefly scuffled with police on Friday.
They are demanding that Samak step down, accusing him of running the country on behalf of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
But Samak has refused to bow to their demands and has said he is determined to end the crisis facing his seven-month-old government without bloodshed.
The increasing tension over the past week has prompted the powerful army chief to twice deny that the military was planning to stage a coup to end the turmoil.
Thaksin was overthrown in a coup in September 2006 following a massive PAD campaign against him, and his ally Samak has accused the anti-government coalition of trying to spark another putsch.
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