thaizer.com

Although the anti-government red shirts have officially called off their protests in Bangkok, the problems are far from over for the Thai authorities. Some buildings within the protest zone have been set alight and militant anti-government protesters have issued threats against the local and international media. A number of newspaper offices and television stations are already taking precautions and may evacuate staff from office buildings. A fire has been started at the Central World shopping mall and another fire occurred at the Thai Stock Exchange. The Thai military have previously warned agitators that they will be shot on sight. A curfew will take place tonight in parts of Bangkok to allow the Thai security forces to contain the trouble.

Protests in the Provinces

There have been some red shirt gatherings in regional towns and cities in the north and north-east of Thailand with government buildings being the focus of the demonstrations. This scenario was always a possibility and the Thai authorities will now have to show they have the ability to contain any potential unrest outside of Bangkok. In the northern city of Chiang Mai, protesters have been focusing on the governor’s residence and have gathered on Nawarat Bridge on the Ping River although at the time of writing, police appear to have the situation under control. The north and north-east of Thailand are strongholds of support for former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and the red shirt movement.

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• Key Red Shirt Leader To Surrender
• Thai Army Moves in on Protest Site
• How Safe are Other Parts of Thailand at the Moment?
• Thai PM Insists Protests Must End
• Thailand’s Red Shirts, Yellow Shirts and Multi-Coloured Shirts
• Red Shirts March in Chiang Mai
• Who are the Yellow Shirts and Red Shirts?