(In Dec 2 story, corrects spelling of name in paragraphs 16 and
19)
By Aubrey Belford
BANGKOK, Dec 2 (Reuters) – Teargas, water cannons, rubber
bullets, stun grenades that detonate with a bone-rattling thud –
Bangkok protests have become much gentler.
By Thailand’s bloody standards, the latest round of protests
aimed at overthrowing the government of Prime Minister Yingluck
Shinawatra has been marked, so far, by relative restraint from
security forces.
The police, a force closely aligned with Yingluck and her
brother, exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, have
eschewed open street battles with her opponents. In some cases,
they were conspicuously absent as protesters raided government
buildings and television stations. In others, they have
fortified defensively behind barricades.
On the one hand, this is result of a police force that has
examined mistakes made in previous chaotic clashes, analysts
say.
On the other, it also appears to be a calculated move by
Yingluck to avoid intervention by the military, which has so far
sat out this crisis but deposed Thaksin in a 2006 coup and
killed scores of pro-Thaksin red shirts when crushing 2010
protests.
“The police have learnt their lesson from past protests.
Yingluck’s government must avoid using force while going ahead
with criminal proceedings against those who have broken the
law,” said Boonkayiat Karavekphan, a political analyst at
Bangkok’s Ramkhamhaeng University.
“If they can maintain the rule of law, this will be a
success for the government. It is clear the police are better
trained this time around – their tactics are smarter and their
equipment is more up to date.”
The result has been something akin to siege warfare. At
showdowns near Yingluck’s office and other government buildings
on Tuesday, things moved in a noticeable pattern.
On one side, police waited behind interspersed layers of
concrete and razor wire. Protesters moved in waves, inching
forward before being driven back by alternate volleys of teargas
and water cannons. In contrast to previous years, police speaker
trucks constantly barked out orders to protesters, informing
them in advance of incoming volleys.
But protesters have managed to gradually wear away at the
defences. Wet Hessian sacks, hoses and fans have been used in
places to douse and deflect teargas. Small advances by young men
have succeeded in dismantling some layers of security.
COMMAND CHAIN
It is unclear if protests will move beyond a stalemate.
Police have been stationed at key areas for more than a
month, since major protests bubbled up over a now-shelved
amnesty bill, Wrapping Chewpecha, the police deputy commissioner
general, told Reuters.
Police have in recent years received training from countries
including Britain and the United States.
“Our preparation standards have improved enormously,”
Wrapping said.
“The most important thing is the command chain. Our orders
are clearer and they are filtering down to police in the front
lines,” he said. “We believe things will calm down in a day or
two.”
The police have even earned the grudging respect of Monchai
Vimuktananda, a 65-year-old retired navy officer protesting near
government buildings on Tuesday, who labelled the police
“outlaws” for defending Yingluck.
“It’s very different. Before they used harmful tactics,” he
said.
That includes 2008, when police earned condemnation from
rights groups for firing rubber bullets and explosive
Chinese-made teargas canisters in straight lines and at short
range into anti-Thaksin protesters. Two people were killed and
hundreds were injured.
Protesters are having to shift their approach and focus on
wearing down the police, Monchai said.
(Additional reporting by Amy Sawitta Lefevre; Editing by Robert
Birsel)
