 Sajja says he saw Thai soldiers shoot a monk and around 10 other people at Din Daeng on April 13, 2009 and then remove the bodies and wash the road (face obscured by request over personal safety concerns). Photo John Le Fevre |
A Bangkok monk says claims by the Thailand government that the army only fired blanks at red-shirted pro-democracy supporters at Din Daeng last Monday are not true and that those shot include a Buddhist monk.
The accusations by the head monk of a Bangkok city temple come despite repeated claims by Thailand Prime Minister Abhisit Veijajiva that the only fatalities from the government crack-down on pro-democracy supporters were the result of clashes between protesters and residents in the Nang Lerng market area on Monday (April 13th) night.
The monk, who chose the pseudonym “Sajja” (the word truth in Thai) for his safety and asked that his temple not be named, said he went to the Din Daeng area around 6.00am on April 13 after hearing reports of clashes earlier that morning between the Thai army and red shirt protesters.
“I was standing about 200 meters away and the soldiers started shooting at people who were on the street. They were not wearing red shirts and there was no protesting happening at the time.
“I saw people falling down when the army was shooting at them and others run away. One of those who fell down was a monk and there was also some children there. I don’t know which temple the monk was from. I saw the soldiers pick about 10 people up off the ground and load them into a large pale-blue, almost white coloured van and then they hosed the blood off the road,” he said.
Mr “Sajja” said that while he could not be sure the people loaded into the van were dead, there was no noise coming from any of them that he could hear.
“Later I went to the soldiers and asked them why they had shot those people and they didn’t answer me. They just loaded bullets into their guns and made signs for me to move away”.
Prime minister Abhisit has repeatedly claimed that the rioting that followed the state of emergency declaration on Sunday (April 12th) has been handled using “soft measures” and that no protesters had been killed by the Thai army.
 Claims that the Thai army only fired over the heads of red shirt protesters is refuted by this photo clearly showing soldiers at Pratunam taking aim. Also note the soldiers at the rear have a khaki bag at their waist the other soldiers do not. Also note that none of the weapons have Blank Firing Attachments (BFAs) fitted. Photo John Le Fevre |
This has been supported by statements by Thai army spokesman Colonel Sansern Kaewkamnerd who said on Tuesday (April 14th) that “if the protesters show that they intend to hurt the officials, we will use military training rifles on them with blank bullets made from paper, which will not hurt the protesters.”
Mr “Sajja” said the bullets he saw being loaded into guns at Din Deang looked like real bullets to him. He said he was not a military expert but the description he provided was that of metal-jacketed live ammunition as opposed to the very distinctive colour of training rounds or blanks.
“I’m not a soldier, but I know what blood looks like. I was very shocked to see them shoot these people and especially sad to see a brother monk shot,” the elderly monk said.
Meanwhile the opposition Phak Puea Thai (PPT) party today opened a complaints desk at the party’s head office to collect the names of those shot or missing after clashes with security forces earlier in the week.
 Puea Thai officials take a statement from relatives of a man shot by Thai soldiers on April 13. Photo John Le Fevre |
Prakal Riddiloy, a PPT complaints officer said “we know many people have been killed, hurt or are missing after the military action earlier this week. We intend to raise this matter as soon as parliament opens next week.”
The state of emergency and clash between red shirt protesters loyal to fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and government troops was the latest in a long-running back-and-forth battle over Thailand’s political future following the ouster of the elected People’s Power Party government of Thaksin Shinawatra by a military coup d’état in September 2006.
Late last year hundreds of thousands of tourists were stranded after both of Bangkok’s airports were seized by yellow-shirted so-called People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) supporters.
The siege ended when Thailand’s Constitutional Court disbanded the ruling People’s Power Party (PPP) under changes to Thailand’s constitution introduced by the military junta in 2006.
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This news broadcast from tv.truelife.com appears to substantiate claims of people being at least injured at Din Daeng by the Thai military in the early hours of April 13, 2009. Video uploaded to YouTube by “Baszard66″. Note that this video may be subject to censorship by the MICT in Thailand. |
Following the de-registration of the PPP a number of former government coalition members, including members of the PPP, switched sides enabling the Democrat Party lead by Mr Abhisit to form government. Those PPP members who did not change sides formed the PPT party.
The so-called “red shirts” formed under the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), a group with close links to Shinawatra, first laid siege to Thailand’s Government House on March 26 demanding prime minister Abhisit dissolve parliament and call fresh elections.
The UDD stepped up its campaign against the government of Mr Abhisit with a mass rally on April 8 which attracted over 150,000 people.
On April 11 thousands of red shirt protesters caused Thailand enormous loss of face when they stormed the luxury Royal Cliff Hotel and Resort in Pattaya forcing the 10 Asean member heads of state plus those of six regional dialogue nations to flee and the 14th Asean Summit to be postponed.
ENDS:
© John Le Fevre, 2009
More background on Thailand’s political problems can be found at Thailand on the edge ahead of mass pro-democracy protest
Photos of Monday’s clash between red shirt protesters and the Thai military can be found at Battle for Bangkok photo special
A video compilation of the five days is at Songkran Battle for Bangkok, April 8 – 13, 2009, red shirt pro-democracy protests in Bangkok
A video clip distributed by the UDD showing two military assaults on red shirt protesters at Din Daeng on April 13, 2009 can be found here Battle for Bangkok – Thai army verses red shirt protesters.
More video on the Thailand military action at Din Daeng can be found here ทหาร vs นปช สลายการชุมนุม สามเหลี่ยมดินแดง and also here ทหารยิง m16 ปะทะเสื้อแดง 13.04.09
Comments in either Thai or English are welcome by clicking the Comments tag below. However, please also provide a translation of any comments written in Thai. Comments that are derogatory to HM the King of Thailand will be edited due to Thailand’s strict lèse-majesté laws.
John, hi. Nice to know you. Just commenting on the ‘Monk witnesses shooting at people’ story. As I understood soldiers were shooting to disperse the rioting red-shirts by shooting BLANKS, so apparently they were aiming at them to make it APPEAR they were shooting real ammo at them.
If the red-shirts had been informed the army would only use blanks, then it wouldn’t have had much of an impact on them would it? They’d just keep on rioting, wouldn’t they?
Thanks for your great work,
Freyk
Comment by 2ploenchit — May 11, 2009 @ 7:58 pm |
Hello Freyk,
Thanks for your comment. There is no doubt that some of the soldiers were firing blanks, paper bullets or training rounds, whatever you want to call them, however it is impossible for an M16 to fire on semi-automatic or automatic mode with a Blank Firing Attachment in the end of the barrel to capture and return the exploded gas to return the firing mechanism. None of the M16s seen on that day were fitted with a BFA yet many were able to fire in semi-automatic and automatic mode. The only way this is possible is with (1) live ammunition or (2) a BFA attachment. I’ve also copied your comment to the relevant story so other people can see this reply.
Thanks again for reading.
Comment by John Le Fevre — May 11, 2009 @ 8:01 pm |
I had previously believed that the claims any died had been created by propaganda efforts on the part of the red shirts lead by Thaksin. Now, I don’t know what to think. Even the international media seemed to ridicule Thaksin for these claims. I guess they didn’t see this broadcast. The problem is that this is not strong enough proof, but if the monk could be believed, it changes my views indeed. Such cover-ups have happened in Thailand before, so I know it’s possible, but was hoping it was not. Just want to add that although it could be true the soldiers killed redshirts, I believe when Thaksin was PM he had people killed and had it covered up just the same. Or, at least things happened under his tenure and of course it’s not clear how close he was to the murders, such as the Muslim lawyer. The war on drugs can be attributed to him, however.
Comment by Joshua — May 7, 2009 @ 7:23 pm |
we have all seen the bodies and some handcuffed and bloody redshirts being loaded into three small military covered trucks before dawn at Din Daeng…
where were these bodies and people taken?
if they were taken to hospitals, were they accounted for?
if not, where were they taken?
Comment by David Brown — April 28, 2009 @ 8:28 pm |
[...] Red shirt leaders repeated their accusation that a number of people were killed by the Thai army at Din Daeng and their bodies spirited away and secretly disposed of – a charge the Royal Thai Army and the Government has constantly denied. (See Monk – I saw Thai army shoot monk and people shot at Din Daeng) [...]
Pingback by Red shirts defiant as “third hand” blamed for Thailand riots and assassination attempt: Thai tourism plummets « Photo_journ’s newsblog by John Le Fevre — April 28, 2009 @ 1:38 am |
the Abhisit government has been remarkably swift in organising identifiaction and arrests of redshirt leaders and those alleged to have been involved in attacks in Pattaya, the Interior Ministry and Lopburi
but, why has there apparently been no effort to identify and arrest those alleged to have been involved in the murders at Nang Lerng and the gas tanker scare at Din Daeng?
surely there were many witnesses to both events..
is it because the government knows that redshirts were not involved in those incidents?
or some other not so politically sensitive reason?
.
Comment by David Brown — April 26, 2009 @ 8:27 pm |
redloveyellow
please point me at the evidence that support your allegations…
“attacked Nang Lerng Community and killed 2 poeople. They also attacked a mosque in Petchaburi Rd.”
I have seen plenty of video and eyewitness acounts of the gas truck but please help me find and review evidence of your statements about Nang Lerng and mosque incidents
Comment by David Brown — April 23, 2009 @ 10:28 am |
Thank John , . Show me some picture, you are journalist but no photo . prove it and make me believe what you see.
Comment by just thais — April 23, 2009 @ 12:09 am |
Thanks for your comment. If there were photos available they would be displayed. In the absence of photos the media has to rely on eye-witness accounts as claimed by this monk. There were few photos of the 52 people officially declared killed by the Thai military in the Black May 1992 protests either.
Comment by John Le Fevre — April 23, 2009 @ 9:33 am |
Thank you for the article :-)
Comment by thai student — April 22, 2009 @ 10:09 pm |
Strongly support comment of Contemplative. John Le Fevre intentionally ignored unacceptable behaviours of the RED Shirt. They attacked Nang Lerng Community and killed 2 poeople. They also attacked a mosque in Petchaburi Rd. They used a gas truck as a weapon which seriously threatened people in Din Daeng area. But John Le Fevre did not report these events. NOT SURE IF HE IS A REAL JOURNALIST.
A good journalist should not be biased. . If I were the editor, I would certainly throw this story in a trash bin as it is sub-standard, one sided and imbalanced.
Comment by redloveyellow — April 22, 2009 @ 8:09 pm |
Far from ignoring the unacceptable behaviour of the red shirts I have displayed numerous photographs of them in action. I was at Nang Lerng and saw the people there being incited to attack the red shirts. I also was there at the time one of the red shirts was shot. I have also commented about the gas tanker and the attack on the local residents by the red shirts. So, far from ignoring it, I have documented it.
What I find to be amazing though is your small minded approach to the matter that perhaps some people did die at Din Daeng. The UDD video which is online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvY7kzaV9V4 clealry shows a wet road. It is also clearly after 4am. I can see from your comment though that is much more important to attack me, than even contemplate the possibility that people were killed. How many people are still missing from Black May, 1992? Answer: 187.
That’s the reason why you are not, nor never will be, a journalist or an editor.
Comment by John Le Fevre — April 22, 2009 @ 9:56 pm |
6days with 30comments, um.. great job and not bad at all for some “accusation” with, may be some “fact” inside.I just follow the link from my friend’s fwd mail and found your article very entertaining to read. And, just found out that not only some information-shortaged Thai people who have faith in the power of the RED SHIRT, but also some foreigner. Keep staying longer here might help you find some “fact” other than “accusation” in a short period of time.
Comment by TANTHAI — April 22, 2009 @ 5:18 pm |