As violence and unrest continue in Bangkok, the government has imposed a curfew. Worse may come if Thailand doesn’t have some type of order restored. The anti-government Red Shirt protesters are not giving up, and violence is beginning to escalate. Foreign governments are beginning to urge their citizens not to travel there if possible.
Resource for this article: Bangkok curfew imposed as violence and fires rage in Thailand
Bangkok protester camp raided
The damage that has been done will take a lot more than a little money now to undo and restore order and confidence in leadership among the citizens. According to the Christian Science Monitor, troops from the Thai military entered an encampment of anti-government protesters. A curfew was imposed for Bangkok as well as other areas in Thailand soon after. As soon as government troops had taken over the camp, leaders of the Red Shirt protesters announced they would surrender to stay away from further violence and bloodshed. Further rioting started, and numerous buildings were set on fire.
Advisory issued to British in Thailand
According to the BBC, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office has issued an advisory to all subjects of the Crown in Thailand. The violence in Bangkok forced the British Embassy to close on May 14. Any Britons in Bangkok or in Thailand are advised to stay indoors and not to travel within the country, or if they must to do so after curfew hours to ensure safety and to carry all appropriate identification and paperwork with them. Thai officials said travel after curfew hours will be fine if all passports and appropriate paperwork are on hand and people are cooperative with police and military checkpoints.
Further unrest
After the camp of Red Shirts was raided, fires broke out which emergency services had difficulty getting to. The current government is not very popular, and Red Shirts are calling and demonstrating for an urgent new election. This could take awhile to resolve.
Read more on this topic here
Christian Science Monitor
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2010/0519/Clashes-fires-roil-Bangkok-despite-red-shirt-protest-leaders-surrender
BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8693122.stm
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