Armed Thai troops patrol Bangkok business district

BANGKOK (AP) — Thai troops with assault rifles entered Bangkok's business district Monday to deter a protest march and protect a key bank with razor wire barricades, while anti-government demonstrators stockpiled paving stones nearby in the tense capital.


The government has declared Silom Road, a thoroughfare studded with bank headquarters and office buildings, off-limits to the protesters who have camped in the capital's main shopping district nearby for weeks in their bid to oust Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and hold new elections.

Protest leaders had called for a mass rally Tuesday, with some indicating it may be staged in the business district, raising concerns of more clashes after savage fighting a week ago killed 25 people. However, the protesters have often changed their plans to keep security forces off-guard, and early Monday they appeared poised to launch their march a day earlier than planned.

Troops initially moved in to block entry to Silom, resulting in a tense face-off. The troops later pulled back almost half its 2.5-kilometer (1.5-mile) length to protect a key target of the protesters, the headquarters of the Bangkok Bank which was barricaded by razor wire.

Many of the demonstrators also pulled back, but braced for battle. Protesters piled rudimentary weapons behind razor wire at the intersection— bricks pulled from the area's brick-lined pavements and stacks of bamboo rods.


Another protest leader, Weng Tojirakarn, said there had never been any intention to penetrate into Silom. "Some people might have mentioned it, but it's merely a personal opinion," he said.


Earlier in the morning, soldiers also patrolled one of the city's most famous sex-bar strips, Patpong Road, and an entertainment area for Japanese tourists, which are just off Silom.

Some took positions atop buildings after searching for possible snipers and along a skywalk running several hundred meters (yards) above the road. Others guarded bank buildings, ATM machines and entrances to subway and overhead rail entrances.






A main target of the Red Shirts has been Gen. Prem Tinsulanonda, who the loyalists say was a key leader in the military coup.

Prem is the president of the Privy Council, which advises the Thai king, and also serves as an adviser to the Bangkok Bank, one of the largest in Thailand.

The protesters claim that Prem helped arrange financing through the Bangkok Bank for a golf course that encroached on the Khao Soi Dao Wildlife Sanctuary in southeastern Thailand. That allegation, plus other accusations of shady business deals between Prem and the bank, have been denied.






