Thai protesters told to ditch red shirts as bomb threats rattle capital

Thai protesters told to ditch red shirts

BANGKOK — Leaders of Thailand’s “Red Shirt” protesters told their followers Monday to ditch their signature crimson attire so they can go undercover in case of a possible government crackdown on their stronghold in the country’s tense capital.

The government said it still hoped to resolve the problem peacefully, despite a breakdown in negotiations, but could not allow the protests that have paralyzed a key part of Bangkok to go on indefinitely. “We’re required to keep peace and return the area to normalcy,” government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said.

While there was no violence in the central Bangkok shopping area where protesters remained camped for a 24th day, an explosion injured eight people late Sunday near the home of former Prime Minister Banharn Silapa-archa, who is allied to the ruling coalition, police said.

At least 26 people have been killed and nearly 1,000 others injured since the Red Shirts began occupying Bangkok’s commercial center more than a month ago, closing down five-star hotels and shopping malls.

Thousands of Red Shirts camped in the protest enclave Monday heeded a call by protest leaders to change into regular attire so they will not be visible if security forces move to clear the area and send them fleeing into city streets.

The strategy was also aimed at helping protesters coming in from rural provinces get past military and police checkpoints, one protest leader, Kokaew Pikulthong, told Thai Rath newspaper.

Meanwhile, a group of counterprotesters known as the Yellow Shirts have stepped up demands that authorities crack down on the demonstrators, implying they might take matters into their own hands if nothing is done soon.

“The government has the responsibility to protect the people, but instead shows its weakness and inability to enforce the law,” said Suriyasai Katasila, a leader of the Yellow Shirts.

He also called on his supporters to join up with civic groups around the country to take action against the Red Shirts and their enclave in the city.

Panitan painted a picture of a government that has left itself few immediate ways out of the crisis.

He said the government could not tolerate the protesters camping out in the city anymore, but appeared to rule out sending in security forces anytime soon because that would likely lead to violence. He also said political negotiations to resolve the crisis peacefully would remain on hold until the government had arrested Red Shirt leaders accused of inciting violence.

“There will be no negotiations until shadowy elements are contained,” he said.

Red Shirt leaders have urged their supporters in provincial areas to confront security forces being brought in to help crack down on the protests, and many have set up roadblocks to prevent police reinforcements from moving into Bangkok.

The conflict has been characterized by some as class warfare.

The Red Shirts consist mainly of rural supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and pro-democracy activists who opposed the military coup that ousted him in 2006. They believe Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s government — backed by the urban elite — is illegitimate because military pressure and complex legal maneuvering brought it to power.

Over the weekend, Abhisit rejected a compromise offer by the Red Shirts, dashing hopes for a peaceful end to the standoff.