Red-shirt Leaders Blame Silom Clash on Third Party

UPDATE : 22 April 2010

Leaders of the red-shirt group this morning addressed events that took place yesterday, denying their involvement in a rocket attack on a fuel depot in Pathum Thani and accusing a third party of inciting confrontation between the group and Silom residents.

Sala Daeng Intersection devolved into violence late last night after Silom residents responded to being pelted with stones and firecrackers by the red-shirt protesters.

The short skirmish, later resolved by security forces, left four people on the Silom side with head wounds and one Australian businessman with slingshot injuries to his head and left ear.

The clash was the second and more violent of confrontations between the area's residents and the red-shirt demonstrators after the two groups were engaged in a tense standoff two nights ago.

Riot police had to intervene by aligning their ranks between the two groups until the Silom residents finally dispersed in the early morning.

Red-shirt core leader Weng Tojirakarn later emerged to state his belief that Silom residents that clashed with his group last night did not actually belong to the area but were imposters sent by the government and other groups to incite violence and justify the use of military and police force to disperse the red-shirt rally.

He assured, however, that red-shirt members would not fall into the trap, noting that businesses on Silom Road have actually benefited from the closure of Ratchaprasong Intersection.

Fellow red-shirt chief Kwanchai Praipana echoed Weng's statement, saying that he had spent last night trying to keep over 20,000 red-shirt protesters near Sala Daeng Intersection away from the 70 to 80 Silom residents.

Kwanchai added that he believed the group engaged in the confrontation last night was paid troublemakers and Democrat Party supporters with only a handful of actual Silom residents coaxed into taking part in the incident.

Kwanchai accused those on the Silom side of provoking the red-shirt demonstrators.

On the rocket attack at a fuel depot in Pathum Thani province yesterday, red-shirt leader Kokaew Pikunthong assured that his group was not involved, suggesting instead that a third party was attempting to exacerbate the situation.

He said increasing instances of bombings and chaos in the South and throughout the nation could be attributed to the government's concentration of military and police forces in Bangkok. 
By: TAN network