Thaindian News

Bangkok, May 14 (THAINDIAN NEWS) A renegade Thai general was shot in the head last evening as he gave an interview to a reporter.

Major General Khattiya Sawasdipol, 58, who had gained the nickname Commander Red or Seh Daeng and supported redshirt protesters, was reportedly ’shot by a sniper’ in Bangkok as the army moved in on protesters in the commercial district. Khattiya was said to be an active duty soldier was had helped build the barricades around the business district.

Khattiya was accused of being a terrorist, and marshaling a paramilitary force among the red-shirt protesters of Thailand. An aide who answered the general’s cell phone told The Associated Press that the injuries were severe. “Seh Daeng was shot in the head,” he said before hanging up. He did not identify himself. The claim that the work was done by a sniper has not yet been verified. Khattiya was conducting an interview with The New York Times at the time of the shooting. According to the reporter, Thomas Fuller, who was about 2 feet away from him when he was shot, “The general fell to the ground with his eyes wide open, and protesters took his apparently lifeless body to the hospital, screaming out his nickname.” He stated that he had heard a loud, firecracker like bang just as the general fell. Fuller says the general’s last words, spoken in Thai, were: “The military cannot get in here.”

“Within the past couple of days protesters were counting on him to provide combat experience to the guards,” Sean Boonpracong, a spokesman for the Red Shirt protest group, told Bloomberg by phone, referring to the general, who is also known as Seh Daeng. “It’s a psychological blow.”

It is suspected that the shooting may cause even more violent clashes. Efforts to find a peaceful solution to the fighting in a two month standoff had recently feel through, and battles between the protesters and the troops have resulted in the deaths of 29 people in the past two months. It is considered to be Thailand’s worst political violence in 18 years. The US and UK Embassies in Thailand closed their doors today due to concerns over the violence.

Following last evenings violence, The Centre for Resolution of Emergency Situation (CRES) extended the state of emergency to 15 additional provinces mostly in the North-East region of Thailand. The 15 provinces are Chonburi, Samut Prakan, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Ayutthaya, Khon Kaen, Udon Thani, Chaiyaphum, Nakhon Ratchasima, Si Sa Ket, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Nan, Lampang and Nakhon Sawan.

Thailand’s Prime Minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva changed his mind after offering an election for the people on November 14, thirteen months early in order to end the fighting, because the protesters did not disperse by the midnight deadline. “Since they didn’t end the protest, that means they reject the offer” of November elections, Abhisit told reporters in Bangkok yesterday. “The election date is now up to me to decide.” The army started cutting off power, water and phone signals and blocking roads and canals off around the protest site. If anyone is caught attempting to enter the area, they could face up to two years in jail.

Reports of the shooting came during expectation of security forces cracking down in the area. A military lock down imposed on the area to evict thousands of red shirt protesters was taking place. Khattiya was said to have helped construct the barricades which brought downtown Bangkok to a halt, and to have promised to fight the army if it launched the expected crackdown. The red shirts are mostly among the rural poor. They are demanding an immediate dissolution of the parliament, because they claim that the coalition of the government by the Prime Minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva came to power by illegitimate means by manipulation of the courts and military backing.

Khattiya was said to be unconscious in the intensive care unit of a Bangkok hospital. Samart Ariyakul, a doctor from Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s medical department, told state-owned Thai PBS television. Police are investigating who shot him, said Prawut, the police spokesman.