Tourism in Bangkok Still at a Standstill as Violence Escalates

18 May 2010 2153 | World Travel News

Apparently the violence in Bangkok has escalated. Troops have started to open fire on rioting Red Shirt anti-government protestors. This has once again turned the Thai capital into a battlefield and a place where tourists do not want to travel to.

Last Friday, these so-called Red Shirt protestors seized and vandalized several military vehicles. At least one of them was set on fire. The television channel France 24 said one of its correspondents was shot in the leg while reporting on the outbreak. A Thai photographer was also reported to have been shot.

The good news, if any, was that the streets were mostly empty of all civilians during the outbreak. The United States Embassy, which is in the protest area, was shut down and offered voluntary relocation to employees. Other embassies in the area are also closed, as well as schools and businesses.

Protest leaders addressed thousands of people who are camped in the downtown. These people have been their for weeks, demanding that the government resign and hold new elections. So far, the military has held back, fearing widespread casualties.

This confrontation began near the spot where the shooting of an influential anti-government general took place. Reports show that he was shot by a sniper. The general, who had become a symbol of the lawlessness that his been ripping through Thailand, has been able to pit the nation?s poor against its establishment. The general had angered the government by joining the red shirt movement. The government accused him of a role in the violable that has taken more than two dozen lives since the protests started in mid-March.

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