Baby at the barricades: Are Tai dissenter victimisation children as human shields?

By Saint David Williams
Daily Mail
18th May 2010

Standing on a barricade of Tyre with his head clearly visible to Tai soldier looking at through their gunsights, a young boy peers along a near deserted Krung Thep street.

It is a shocking mental image which appears to show the child, clutching a bottle of milk in one hand and steadying himself on the Tyre with the other, being used as a human shields? yesterday by Red shirt dissenter besieged in the heart of the Tai capital.

A picture of the child on the frontlines was posted on YouTube as 5,000 protesters, including many women and children, braced themselves for the military to move in to endeavour to clear them from the fortified encampment.

The Tai military has accused the Red shirt of victimisation women and children as shield since outbreak of force turned the street of Krung Thep into a field five days ago.

A government deadline guaranteeing safe transition for anyone going expired yesterday, with only a handful taking up the offer amid fright the protest will spread to other cities.

Last night Red shirt leaders were said to have proposed a ceasefire during a five-minute telephone set call with Thailand’s prime minister of religion Abhisit Vejjajiva.

Rebel leader Nattawut Saikua said the Red shirt were ready to negotiate and to submit themselves to the courts. ‘It’s time to return peace to the country We are ready to move toward peace and the negotiations,’ he said.

‘The more the situation turn on, the longer people’s life will be in danger.

‘There is no use for gunshot to be heard in capital of Thailand right now, because the number of casualty would never bring triumph to any side.’

His telephone call followed a day of fresh force that saw the death toll rise since Thursday to 37 – almost all civilian – and the number injured increase to 266.

As plume of midst black smoke hung over parts of Bangkok, military whirlybird dropped cusp on the camp, barricaded with walls made of tyres, bamboo pole and razor wire, calling on dissenter to leave.

Fighting near the 1.2-square-mile camping ground had been intense overnight. A projectile hit the 14th floor of the Dusit Thani Hotel, popular with British tourists, triggering gunfire from all around.

Soldiers have encircled the core protest land site government say they are not shooting to killing but want only to choke coil off the Red shirt by film editing entree to food, water and power.

There were concern last night that the force could grow after greyback Tai General Khattiya Sawasdiphol, who was shot by a sniper while portion to organise the Red shirt defences, died from his wounds.

The Red Shirts, many of whom hail from the impoverished north and NE of the country, are trying to unseat Mr Abhisit and force immediate elections.