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her er lidt set med militæret og politiet øjne


Colonel says situation is 'a civil war'
SPECIAL REPORT: Soldiers tired, stressed - and unarmed - were left at the mercy of thousands of red shirt protesters,



Bad timing, underestimating the situation and intense pressure all contributed to the failure of the security forces operation to disperse the red shirt demonstrators from Phan Fa Bridge on Saturday, army sources say.

"This is a civil war," said an infantry colonel who took part in the operation.

"The red shirts have firearms. They fired at soldiers. Soldiers were unarmed. They only have anti-riot gear.

"How could they fight with those people? Many were killed and many were injured. We've never seen such a scene. Thais killed soldiers. Who did they think we are? They kept shooting at us."

The colonel said security forces had been ordered to move into the Phan Fa area to disperse demonstrators in the early hours of Saturday. But the operation commander did not issue an order as to when the operation would begin.

Coincidentally, a group of red shirt demonstrators tried to burst into the headquarters of the 1st Army. The commander then ordered security forces to move into the Phan Fa area.

A sergeant said: "The forces should have gradually reclaimed the street space from one point to another. But our commander said we must seize Phan Fa Bridge by that night [Saturday night]. So we had to quickly move in.

"Protesters were emotional. Soldiers were also emotional. Some subordinates were killed. Some supervisors were injured. We're angry.

"Protesters were armed. There was an armed militant force. But soldiers did not have a gun. We fired tear gas and rubber bullets, but the protesters were not afraid."

The sergeant said soldiers who had live bullets fired their guns to protect themselves only when they thought the situation was life-threatening.

Another colonel in the Saturday operation said security forces should have waited until the protesters were more exhausted.

"We shouldn't hurry," the colonel said. "Don't set a timeframe to finish the operation before Songkran. We should have based our decision on the situation. But our supervisors feared that if the operation dragged on, more protesters would join the demonstration."

Normally, security forces would wait for the most appropriate time because the operation risked the loss of lives, the colonel said.

He said security forces should have waited until the protesters were exhausted or less alert. Dawn was an appropriate time to launch the operation, he said.

However, security forces on Saturday began their operation in the afternoon with an aim to reclaim the demonstration area.

"It was not easy, but high-ranking supervisors in the armed forces were emotional," the colonel said. "They wanted the operation to finish in one day."

Meanwhile, a lieutenant colonel said security forces were in a rush to finish their operation on Saturday because of mounting pressure.

"We soldiers were embarrassed by the clash at Thaicom [ground satellite station] earlier," the lieutenant colonel said.

"The public also demanded that the soldiers speed up the dispersal.

"We were criticised and pressured. We couldn't be slow."

Another source said army chief Anupong Paojinda had assigned his deputy, Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha, to be in charge of planning and commanding the operation.

Gen Prayuth told reporters on Saturday night that security forces had to retake the rally site from the UDD by Saturday and he would not allow demonstrators to continue breaking the law.

The source said Gen Prayuth had planned to ask the government to invoke martial law to facilitate the security forces' operation. But he changed his mind upon learning that Maj Gen Walit Rojanapakdi, commander of the 2nd Infantry Division (Royal Guards), was seriously injured and several soldiers, including Col Romklao Thuwatham, were killed during the clash.

Gen Anupong and Gen Prayuth agreed to halt the operation as ordered by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

The prime minister ordered the operation to cease upon receiving reports of the high number of casualties.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, the director of the Centre for Public Administration in Emergency Situations, said he was very sorry that soldiers were killed and injured because he had issued the order that they carry only shields, batons and tear gas canisters.

"They were unarmed, so some of them were killed," he said.

Mr Suthep said he had not expected the red shirts to have an armed militant force among them.

Those militants did not care whether soldiers or protesters or innocent people were harmed by their weapons, he said.

kilde http://www.bangko...-civil-war