Signal, No Noise

May 18, 2010

Large numbers of troops and military vehicles gather in Bangkok near protest zone

Filed under: Asia,Military,South East Asia,Thailand — mungurk @ 20:55

source

Associated Press

- May 18, 2010

Thai troops fire guns from vantage points into encampment of protesters in central Bangkok

BANGKOK

BANGKOK (AP) — Thai troops have opened fire at a fortified encampment of anti-government protesters in central Bangkok.

BANGKOK (AP) — Thai troops have opened fire at a fortified encampment of anti-government protesters in central Bangkok.

Associated Press reporters saw the troops positioned on an overpass overlooking the encampment firing automatic rifles sporadically at the encampment Wednesday. There was no sustained shooting.

Some troops were also seen crouching on the elevated tracks of a light rail system that runs over the encampment.

The firing came after a large number of troops and armored carriers gathered at the edges of the encampment at daybreak amid reports of a final assault on the camp the protesters have occupied for weeks.

At least 39 people have been killed and more than 300 people wounded in seven days of clashes in Bangkok.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

BANGKOK (AP) — Thai troops and armored vehicles gathered early Wednesday at the edges of the barricaded encampment of anti-government protesters in downtown Bangkok and fired tear gas in what appeared to be the start of a final crackdown to disperse them.

“This is D-Day,” said one soldier when asked if this was the final push.

Sporadic gunfire was heard at daybreak after overnight rumors of a military push to clear the thousands of protesters. Soldiers extended their blockades around the protest site and used loudspeakers to tell all people to return to their homes. Smoke billowed above the city skyline as a government building was on fire in another part of Bangkok.

At least 39 people have been killed and more than 300 people wounded in seven days of clashes in Bangkok between the protesters and troops. All but one of those killed are civilians who were shot.

Hundreds of troops and police, many armed with M-16 assault rifles, were seen in nearby streets and alleys. Three armored personnel carriers were parked in front of the upscale Dusit Thani hotel, across the street from the southern edge of the barricade. Their machine gun mountain turrets pointed toward the barricade wall of tires and bamboo sticks, and troops crouched behind the vehicles.

Soldiers were overheard saying on a military communications radio that troops had entered Lumpini Park, which is behind the barricade.

Wednesday’s troop movement appeared to be the final push by the troops to clear the encampment that the protesters have occupied since mid-May to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, dissolution of Parliament and immediate elections.

It came after Abhisit rejected protesters’ unconditional offer to negotiate Tuesday and insisted there would be no talks until the dwindling anti-government movement abandoned its encampment in Rajprasong, a ritzy area of central Bangkok.

On Tuesday, protest leaders argued over whether they should continue to resist the crackdown. The government estimated that only 3,000 people remain in the downtown encampment, down from 5,000 on Sunday and 10,000 last week.

After a meeting with senators, at least one Red Shirt leader appeared to offer an immediate, unconditional cease-fire to end the violence — a prospect that was met with jeers at the main protest site.

Another leader said any truce would not mean an end to the protest.

“We have come too far to surrender,” said Jatuporn Prompan, a key protest leader. “We are negotiating to have them stop killing, but not to surrender.” He also urged Red Shirt protesters in other provinces to decide their next move.

The protesters say the current administration came to power through manipulation of the courts and the backing of the powerful military, and that it goes against results of a 2007 election to restore democracy after a military coup.

The protesters’ two-month standoff deteriorated into street clashes Thursday after a military adviser to the Red Shirts was shot by an apparent sniper, just after the army surrounded the protest zone in an attempt to cut off supplies of food and water.

According to government figures, 67 people have died and more than 1,700 have been wounded since the Red Shirts began their Bangkok protest in March.

With no end to the protest in sight, authorities had announced that a two-day public holiday was being extended to Friday and there would continue to be a ban on selling gasoline in several Bangkok districts because rioters were using it to make weapons. Police also outlawed the sale of tires in the capital without a police permit because rioters were using them to set fires.

Previous attempts to negotiate an end to the standoff have failed. A government offer earlier this month to hold November elections fell apart after protest leaders made more demands.

The violence in Bangkok, a popular stop for tourists heading to Thailand’s world-famous beaches, has caused concern internationally.

The United Nations called for a negotiated solution to the crisis, saying Monday that “there is a high risk that the situation could spiral out of control.” It urged the military to show restraint and the protesters to “step back from the brink.”

Amnesty International condemned the military’s use of live ammunition in its bid to suppress the protest, saying in a statement that the government “cannot allow soldiers to essentially shoot at anyone within an area it wishes to control.”

The military defended its use of deadly but limited force, saying troops fired only to protect themselves and Bangkok’s citizens and did not pursue pre-emptive attacks.

“If they don’t move close to us, there won’t be any losses,” army spokesman Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd said. The government has repeatedly blamed “terrorists” within the Red Shirt ranks for instigating violence.

___

Associated Press writers Denis D. Gray, Thanyarat Doksone, and Vijay Joshi contributed to this report. Additional research by Sinfah Tunsarawuth.

March 29, 2010

Thailand: More bombs, shootings on Sunday night

Filed under: Asia,South East Asia,Terrorism,Thailand — mungurk @ 12:30

source

More bombs, shootings on Sunday night

  • Published: 29/03/2010 at 03:34 PM
  • Online news: Local News

Bomb explosions in Chiang Mai on Sunday night, and gunmen open fire at two Bangkok Bank branches in Bangkok, one near former prime minister Banharn Silpa-archa’s Bangkok residence, and another in northern Phayao province.

Two explosions occurred in Chiang Mai in the North on Sunday night, in what police viewed as an attempt to create a disturbance.

In the  first incident, an M26 hand grenade was hurled into the compound of the Administrative Court on Chiang Mai-Lampang road about 10.30pm.  The grenade landed on the back yard of the court building and the explosion left a hole about 10cm deep.

A home-made bomb exploded about 11pm near a telephone booth on Moon Muang road, causing a little damage to the booth’s glass partitions.

Pol Col Sombat Supapa, deputy provincial police chief, said the two incidents were apparently intended to cause chaos.

In Phayao province, Dok Kham Tai district police reported on Monday morning that gunmen opened fire at the Bangkok Bank branch and threw ping pong bombs into the bank’s compound. The building was hit by more than 20 M16 rounds, causing damage to the wall and glass windows.

The attack occurred about 2am on March 27.

Pol Maj-Gen Jarin Insuwanno, the Phayao police chief, has set up a team to investigate Dok Kham Tai district police because the shooting took place on Saturday morning, but was not reported until Monday morning.

Phayao governor Cherdsak Chusri on Monday morning went to examine the damage to the bank.

In Bangkok, police said bullets were fired at two Bangkok Bank branches on Sunday night, one in Bang Yi Khan area and just 300 metres from the house of Chart Thai Pattana Party chief adviser Banharn.

A police officer is checking a bullet hole at a Bangkok Bank branch near ex-PM Banharns’ house.

Bang Phlat police chief Adisak Khunphan said they were informed of the attack on Monday morning, but the attack was made on Sunday night.

The shots caused damaged to the front of the bank. There were no injuries, he said.

Earlier on Sunday evening, police reported an attack on the bank’s Saphan Khao branch and found five bullets holes in the bank’s front door.

Police were examining video from the bank’s security cameras.

December 16, 2009

Plane seized by Thais linked to alleged smugglers

Filed under: Asia,East Asia,Military,North Korea,South East Asia,Thailand — mungurk @ 09:14

source

Dec 15, 10:09 AM EST

By GRANT PECK
Associated Press Writer

BANGKOK (AP) — A weapons-laden cargo plane impounded in Bangkok has links to at least two men accused of global arms trafficking, including one fighting extradition to the U.S. from Thailand, an analyst said Tuesday.

The five-man crew of the aircraft that arrived from North Korea – four from Kazakhstan and one from Belarus – have been charged with illegal arms possession and face up to 10 years in prison.

The men were being held at Bangkok’s high-security Klong Prem Central Prison, the current home to suspected Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, once dubbed the “Merchant of Death” for allegedly supplying weapons to dictators and warlords around the world.

Thai officials impounded the Ilyushin Il-76 transport plane when it landed in Bangkok on Saturday to refuel, and discovered what they said was 35 tons of explosives, rocket-propelled grenades, components for surface-to-air missiles and other armaments – exported in defiance of a U.N. embargo against North Korea.

Hugh Griffiths, a researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, told The Associated Press the aircraft was previously registered under a company named Beibars, which has been linked to Serbian arms trafficker Tomislav Damnjanovic.

In the past, it has also been registered with three companies identified by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control as firms controlled by Bout. The U.S. is trying to extradite Bout, who was arrested in March 2008 during a U.S.-led sting operation and subsequently indicted on four terrorism charges in New York.

Researchers said the arms were likely destined for African rebel groups or a rogue regime such as Myanmar. The aircraft’s documentation had falsely described its cargo as oil-drilling equipment, and declared it was bound for Sri Lanka. Thai officials are skeptical that that was the true destination.

Col. Supisarn Bhakdinarinath, head of the Thai police inspection team, estimated the value of the weapons at about 500-600 million baht ($15 million-18 million).

Supisarn said more serious charges, possibly carrying the death penalty, would be added because the haul included explosives.

Prison director Sopon Thititam-pruek said the crew members were being held in separate cells, and guards were keeping a close eye on them to prevent them from meeting Bout.

Griffiths said the past owners of the aircraft have been documented by the United Nations as trafficking arms to Liberia, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Sudan and Chad. He said the plane also was used to ship arms from the Balkans to Burundi in October.

“They are like flocks of migrating birds, these aircraft. They change from one company to another because the previous company has either been closed down for safety reasons or been identified in a U.N. trafficking report,” Griffiths said.

Siemon Wezeman, a Senior Fellow at SIPRI, said the types of arms found in the aircraft – used to add firepower against planes and tanks in the arsenal of government forces – were typical of those used by insurgent movements, and raised suspicion they could be headed for an African rebel group.

Possible buyers included Sudan, which might pass the weapons to rebel groups in Chad, and Eritrea, which might keep them for its own arsenal or pass them on to warring factions in Somalia, said Christian LeMiere, editor of the London-based Jane’s Intelligence Weekly.

The United States, which is particularly concerned about North Korea selling weapons and nuclear technology in the Middle East, reportedly tipped off Thai authorities to the illicit cargo. The U.S. Embassy has declined to comment.

Impoverished North Korea is believed to earn hundreds of millions of dollars every year by selling missiles, missile parts and other weapons to countries such as Iran, Syria and Myanmar.

U.N. sanctions were imposed in June after the reclusive communist regime conducted a nuclear test and test-fired missiles. They are aimed at derailing North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, but also ban North Korea’s selling of any conventional arms.

—

Associated Press writers Grant Peck and Jane Fugal in Bangkok, Malin Rising in Stockholm, Misha Dzhindzhikhashvili in Tbilisi, Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow, and Foster Klug in Washington contributed to this report.

December 13, 2009

Thailand detains plane filled with 35 tons of weapons from North Korea

Filed under: Asia,Counterterrorism,East Asia,Military,North Korea,South East Asia,Terrorism,Thailand — mungurk @ 09:57

source

December 13, 2009 6:49 a.m. EST

Bangkok, Thailand (CNN) — Thai authorities seized a cargo aircraft carrying tons of weapons from North Korea during a refueling stop in Bangkok, a government official said.

The pilot told Thai authorities the aircraft was headed to Sri Lanka, but its final destination was unknown, according to Panitan Wattanayagorn, a spokesman for the Thai prime minister.

It contained about 35 tons of weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades, shoulder-launched rockets and tubes that may be missile components, the spokesman said.

The plane, which was detained Saturday, had five people onboard — four from Kazakhstan and one from Belarus. They will appear in court Monday on charges related to illegal weapons smuggling, the spokesman said.

Thai government officials acted after working with several intelligence agencies for several weeks, the spokesman said. The cargo was taken to a military base while the plane, which is registered in Georgia, remains at Don Muang.

Sri Lanka officials said there were no shipments scheduled in the country either by air or sea from North Korea.

“We have asked the Sri Lanka embassy in Bangkok to obtain details from the Thai authorities,” the ministry said. “We will have more information on the progress of their investigation later on Sunday.”

Such an aircraft could not have landed in any of Sri Lanka’s airports without prior authorization, officials in Colombo said.

Last year, two arm dealers were arrested in Thailand. The men’s arrest came after a series of events that involved law enforcement agencies from at least five countries, including two undercover agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Viktor Bout and his associate, Andrew Smulian, made millions of dollars delivering weapons and ammunition to warlords and militants, officials said.

Bout is accused of supplying weapons to war zones around the world — from Sierra Leone to Afghanistan. He has repeatedly said he has not broken any laws and the allegations against him are lies

A Thai court rejected a U.S. extradition request for Bout in August.

CNN’s Dan Rivers and journalist Iqbal Athas contributed to this report.

November 16, 2009

Thai arrested on espionage charge in Cambodia

Filed under: Cambodia,Counterintelligence,Intelligence,South East Asia,Thailand — mungurk @ 08:53

source

  • Published: 13/11/2009 at 03:35 PM
  • Online news: Local News

Cambodian police have charged a Thai man with spying on fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, further inflaming a diplomatic crisis between the neighbouring countries.

The spy row erupted as Thaksin played a relaxed round of golf with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, underscoring Bangkok’s powerlessness to make Phnom Penh extradite the fugitive politician to serve a jail term for conflict of interest while prime minister.

Siwarak Chothipong, a 31-year-old employee of the Cambodia Air Traffic Service, which manages flights in the country, was accused of stealing Thaksin’s flight schedule and sending it diplomats at the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodian deputy police chief Lt-Gen Sok Phal said on Friday.

Lt-Gen Sok Phal alleged that Siwarak handed over the flight schedule to the first secretary at the Thai embassy, who was then ordered by Cambodia on Thursday to leave the country on Thursday for carrying out activities inconsistent with his official duties.

Thailand responded on Thursday by ordering out the first secretary of Cambodia’s mission in Bangkok.

Mr Siwarak appeared in municipal court on Thursday and was charged with stealing information that could impact national security. If found guilty, he faces up to 15 years in jail.

Officials said  police were investigating whether more people were involved.

Thailand rejected the “malicious” allegations against its citizen.

“It’s not true. It is a malicious and false claim,” Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya told reporters before boarding a flight with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to attend the Apec regional summit in Singapore.

Mr Kasit said he believed Mr Siwarak had been framed. He affirmed that the Foreign Ministry would ensure he receives proper treatment and justice.

As for Thai staff at the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh, Mr Kasit said the Cambodian government was duty-bound to ensure their safety. Thailand accepts the same responsibility for  staff at the Cambodian embassy in Bangkok.

Mr Kasit said problems caused by the former Thaksin regime were still far from at an end. Thaksin was now using a neighbouring country as a base in his efforts to topple the Abhisit government, serving his own interests and causing damage to Thailand without any care for the majority of people.

Cambodia expelled the Thai first secretary and Thailand reciprocated on Thursday in a sign of the growing tensions caused by the Cambodian government’s appointment of Thaksin earlier this month as an economic adviser.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said on Friday the Thai military attache would remain in Phnom Penh.

Military ties must remain in place as a channel for negotiatons to prevent tension along the border, he said.

He again gave an assruance the government would not let the problems affect the daily lives of Thai people living along the border with Cambodia.

He said Phnom Penh’s demand that the Thai government sack Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya was out of line. This was an internal matter for Thailand and a foreign government had no say in it.

Mr Suthep said  the government was being careful not to stir up too much among pariotism or people might not act rationally.

He was responding to a question about reports that SMS messages had been sent to Cambodian people not to use products made in Thailand.

Thaksin, who was ousted in a 2006 coup, arrived in Cambodia on Tuesday to take up the role and Hun Sen on Wednesday rejected Bangkok’s formal extradition request for Thaksin.

The countries had already recalled their ambassadors last week.

Thaksin on Friday met a group of supporters before playing golf with Hun Sen in the tourist hub of Siem Reap. Hun Sen and Cambodian officials laughed and applauded Thaksin’s shot as he teed off first at the luxury Angkor Golf Resort.

He was later due to meet around 50 MPs from Thailand’s main pro-Thaksin party, Puea Thai, who had crossed the border Friday, Puea Thai lawmaker Pongpan Sunthornrachai said.

Thaksin hit out at the Thai government during a lecture in the capital Phnom Penh on Thursday, accusing Thai rulers of “false patriotism”.

Thaksin has pledged to help impoverished Cambodia understand finance, reduce poverty and lure more foreign investment. Cambodian officials have indicated he would leave the country Friday or Saturday and was not intending to live there.

Abhisit on Thursday ordered a review of two road construction projects with Cambodia that involved loans of more than 1.4 billion baht (42 million dollars) to Phnom Penh, the finance ministry said.

Thailand has already put all talks and cooperation programmes with Cambodia on hold and also tore up an oil and gas exploration deal signed during Thaksin’s time in power.

Tensions were already high between the two countries following a series of clashes over disputed territory near an ancient temple and the row threatens to mar a weekend summit of regional leaders with US President Barack Obama.

Twice-elected Thaksin fled Thailand in August 2008, a month before the Supreme Court sentenced him to two years in jail in a conflict of interest criminal case.

Get Adobe Flash playerPlugin by wpburn.com wordpress themes

Powered by WordPress