Bangkok Curfew Imposed As Violence And Fires Rage In Thailand

As protests and violence are nevertheless taking place, officials have declared a curfew for Bangkok and other areas. If the situation in Thailand doesn’t start to die down, this may be prelude to something worse. The Red Shirt protesters aren’t backing down entirely, and anti-government protests are still going on. Several foreign governments are urging their citizens to avoid Thailand altogether or to leave as soon as possible.

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Encampment of Bangkok protesters raided

The damage done by the riots will take a lot more than a little quick cash to fix, and also the government still lacks confidence among a large section of the public. A camp full of Red Shirt protesters has been raided by the Thai military, according to the Christian Science Monitor. After the raid was over, Bangkok also as other areas of Thailand had a curfew imposed. To stay away from further bloodshed, leaders of the Red Shirts announced they were surrendering. Following this announcement, further violence broke out in Bangkok streets, and various buildings were set on fire in apparent arson attacks.

Advisory issued to British in Thailand

Following the violent Bangkok protests, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office has advised British nationals to avoid traveling to Thailand, according to the BBC. The British Embassy had closed on May 14 due to violence within the capital. They are advising Britons in Bangkok and other areas of Thailand to stay home if at all possible, and if they must travel, to do so after curfew hours with all appropriate paperwork to ensure their safety. Thai officials said travel after curfew hours can be fine if all passports and appropriate paperwork are on hand and people are cooperative with police and military checkpoints.

Further unease

Following the camp of Red Shirts was raided, fires broke out which emergency services had difficulty getting to. The Red Shirt protesters are deeply unsatisfied with the current government, and are calling for the government to hold urgent elections. This can be a result of a long chain of events, and it won’t be solved overnight.

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Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2010/0519/Clashes-fires-roil-Bangkok-despite-red-shirt-protest-leaders-surrender

BBC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8693122.stm