Protesters Crackdown 16th May
The third day of the cleaning process by the military left several dead and injured. Various hot spots in Bangkok are open war zones with burning tires between barbed wire and live bullets coming from soldiers and protesters.
Din Daeng in the afternoon – usually a busy intersection in the heart of Bangkok, stuffed with cars and traffic jam, today just huge crowd of protesters.
The flyover bridge towards the Victory Monument is covered in huge smoke clouds. Surrounding shops and businesses are closed and the atmosphere is filled with fear and anxiety.
A very apocalyptic atmosphere was surrounding the intersection. The air was filled with a heavy thick rubber smell and everyone’s eyes were tearing whenever the wind was shifting.
Right behind the corner are several military checkpoints. Soldiers shooting with live bullets on everything that moves along the several walls of tires. Sometimes shots got through the tires and injured protesters.
Nearby a military truck burns down. Yesterday morning this truck was about to move to a military checkpoint and deliver barbed wire and other supplies for the soldiers – It was stopped by dozens of protesters, broken down and lighten up.
A little bit away another burned down truck, this time it’s a garbage truck.
New tires arrived from Lat Phrao. All protesters are highly motivated and trying to get the long burning material to the broken barricades.
Nearby buildings have been damaged a lot by the heavy fires and also by thrown stones of protesters. It was not possible for any firetruck to enter the area.
After the dawn I moved to Ratchaprop, which has been a very near hot spot for several days. The area was cleared and retaken by the soldiers. It was quiet, but the scene was stunning and still reminding on the heavy fights of the last days.
Between military trucks and barbed wire some soldiers are washing their cloth, relaxing and eating.
Back at Din Daeng protesters cheering up the masses in front of the barricades near the fly over bridge to Bangkok’s Victory Monument.
The darkness lead to more vandalism and also non-protesters joined the crowd and used the anarchistic situation to let off their steam.
A very similar atmosphere at Rama 4, which has been one of the most dangerous places in the last couple of days during the crackdown. Here hundreds of protesters gathered and build up a new stage in the middle of street. New barricades, a huge supply of tires and a well functioning infrastructure have been built up in just one afternoon.
Kloeng Toei Metro Station
A big black smoke cloud was dominating the center of the road. The nearly 10m high flame was out of control shortly before midnight. A nearby shop for motorbikes with a huge gas tank was a problem and protesters and residents tried everything to avoid an explosion. Luckily the wind shifted and nothing happened that night.
After midnight I took another turn into the Red Shirt rally site at Ratchaprasong. You are only allowed to get through the checkpoints if you have a valid Presspass or if you are a resident nearby. Several checkpoints also control cars/motorbikes and handbags for weapons or any other supply to support the protesters in the sealed area. Everything beyond the warm zone (non-fire zone) is completely dark. Stuffed with armored vehicles and hidden soldiers in every corner.
Ratchaprasong seems much less manned than just a few days ago. Many protesters had left the area because of the rising violence and the fear of a rushing crackdown through the military forces.
The remaining protesters (whole rally site about 5000) were quite relaxed. They were sleeping or sitting next to the stage where protests leaders stating their opinions and motivating the people.
At Ratchprasong it was quite safe, but after I left the area to go back home through Pratunam I have seen many Red Shirts protesters with handguns and shotguns patrolling through the dark.
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Just curious, why do you do this? thrill seeking or something else? you take a pretty high risk here without anyone covering you imho.
Amazing work…
Keep it up – Thanks
great tour through Bangkok on that day! good pictures!
[...] on twitter, he tweets as he moves around bkk, even in recent days and in the darkness: vaitor.com Protesters Crackdown 16th May Din Daeng in the afternoon – usually a busy intersection in the heart of Bangkok, stuffed [...]
These are some of the best images of may 2010 rebellion that Ive seen. You dont just have courage, you have real talent.
Also your tweets, like these images, have been very illuminating over the last few days. You have risked your life to keep thousands informed, and I want to thank you for your invaluable input thusfar.
Thank you for your great work, risking your life to keep the news spreading.
THANK YOU and keep up the great work!!!
Yes, thank you for all your tweets and pictures and helping to keep us all so informed! It is much appreciated.
Great picture(that we don’t want it)i’m thai(bangkoker) it’s so sad to see this. It’s look like a zombies attack city.Hope everything going to be fine soon.
Thanks for your work. Your images are outstanding and helps me understand what’s happening there. Stay safe!
Great work, thanks for taking the pictures. To jan: someone’s got to cover the important stories, even though they’re usually the dangerous ones
Please know that your tweets are very much appreciated. Your pictures tell the rest of the (sad) story.
Just be very careful.
Good stuff. Keep it up but – more importantly – stay safe.
Thanks, great pictures and report. Take good care yourself.
Great photos. Out of interest are you Thai or Western as I was wondering how you move around easily and get into such good positions for your photos.
Be careful either way though!
What govt will use the army against its own people?
Although I think your a nutta for going into these dangerous areas, you’re doing a great job keeping us all updated with excellent coverage and images to boot. Thanks!
Stay safe, Flo. Looking forward to that coffee when this all calms down.
The day Seh Dang was shot and other provocations were happening, a rally call must have gone out throughout the Northeast. I happen to be in a village known for its seniments in support of the Red Shirt protesters, I watched from about 30 meters away as a plain unmarked older pickup truck was loaded with rifles by three men, perhaps a dozen or so carried by the barrel with four in each hand.
No wonder strict emergency orders were imposed on most Isan provinces.
The best set of pictures I have seen so far. Great work and I have to say you have really a huge talent.
There is a big difference between your pictures and them from mass media.
Yours are much much better.
Don’t take to much risk and be careful.
Nebenbei bemerkt, die Seite ist wirklich gelungen
Thanks for the images. Sad that both sides lose their senses. Whatever the differences, they need to listen and find a compromise. Anger will not get us anywhere, just more dead and injured.
Terrible red group!.Thai people want this red group get in mentol hospital as fast as possible.
love ur work. lot of people wld appreciate such unbiased and real info. good luck, keep safe.
Abhisit stop order to kill Thai people!!!
Abhisit was illegal prime minister. This goverment was form by thai army.
Thailand needs true democracy.
Thanks for your work, it is amazing. Looking through the pictures and reading through the captions, my perception is that the protesters are unarmed and being attacked by the soldiers.
That is not “true.”
If you see clips on April 10th incident, you’ll know that there are unidentified black suit militants hiding themselves with the protestors. Those guys armed with heavy weapons such as M16 and M79. They launched the M79 to the Silom people who gathered to protect their residential or business offices from the protestors.
A few weeks ago, hundred of protestors invaded into Chulalongkorn Hospital (one of the two hospitals sitting in the protestors’ camp) claiming that some soldiers sneaked in to Sniper the leaders. Found none but resulted in evacuation of new-born babies and patients to other hospitals. Unfortunately, some lives were gone.
Most of the fire in these pictures were lit by the protestors. Yesterday, they were trying to explode the gasoline truck by shooting hand-made rockets and bombs to. Unfortunately, mission was incomplete.
I did not refuse that the Thai army and police also used weapons. They are under spotlights and can be seen easily whereas those unidentified militants are hiding in the dark and shooting. As a Thai, I feel really bad of what is going on now. I did not want to make the country worse than this. Therefore, I beg you to illustrate the story from both sides that would be most appreciated.
although you definitely risked your life doing this. I’d have to say your images are pretty lop-sided.
Maybe you didn’t see the residents who were stranded in the middle of this “battle”. The odd places that the reds decide was “THEIRS” to take. All the streets that were NEVER theirs to do as they please. The places where the real residents have lived all their lives only to be displaced and have their homes forcefully taken away from them. Their lives destroyed by the bunch of hired thugs from the rural outskirts.
Bullies and thugs. Why not show images of the innocents
( shop owners, workers, those who live in those areas) that are displaced and threatened by these creatures.
Man you did amazing work risking your life, thank you for keeping informed
This is a rebellion, not a “Protest”.
WAKE UP, SHEEPLE.
The Military are ENTIRELY justified in shooting every last one of these buggers – they are armed with M16’s, AK-47’s, M79’s, Molotov Cocktails, and Handguns and shotguns – even the photographer said so.
Democracy is not “I DON’T LIKE THIS GOVERNMENT SO I’LL KILL EVERYONE WHO DISAGREES WITH ME”.. Thaksin has mislead the rural people into believing this.
Hey “Thai Patriot” – remember that Yellow, Red, Blue, Pink etc., are ALL Thais.
This horrible situation is the result of powerful men with blind followers dragged along.
We all know that Thais, Reds, Yellows alike more than often get along. This whole crisis has seriously been manipulated into being.
PEACE FOR THAILAND.
I love this sentence, very funny from a semantic point of view:
BKK Blogger – Flo looks very Thai indeed: http://www.vaitor.com/?page_id=83
Thai Patriot – Is not every Thai a patriot?
Keep up the good spirit. Be careful. God bless you!
fucking dumbass people. should kill them all
respect man. keep it up!