Protests in Bangkok turn grimmer: German journalist mistreated
The demonstrations in Bangkok are getting a bit grimmer. A number of skirmishes with riot police are reported. A German journalist has also reportedly been attacked in the Dusit district, the Bangkok Post writes.
Nick Nostitz, a freelance journalist who has lived and worked in Thailand since 1993, has filed a complaint about the incident with the Thai police.
He stated that he was attacked by the demonstrators' security forces when he was taking pictures of the protest march. This took place at the intersection between Nakhon Ratchasima and Sri Ayutthaya. His glasses and photographic equipment were damaged in the attack.
According to the victim, he was designated by the protest leader Chumphol Julsai with the statement that he would be a 'Red Shirt reporter'. The man was then attacked by those present. The reporter said he was lucky that the police relieved him because otherwise he would have ended up in hospital.
Just before this incident, an officer of the riot police was also allegedly attacked by security forces from the protesting crowd. The policeman observed the protest march from a vehicle. The camera he used was taken away and taken by Chumphol.
Breaking News The government has extended the Internal Security Act (ISA) to all of Bangkok, Nonthaburi and two districts outside of Bangkok. The decision is in response to the occupation of two ministries and the Public Relations Department. The demonstrators say they will stay there until the government resigns. The ISA had been in effect for three districts of Bangkok since October 9. The ISA offers the possibility to impose curfews, set up checkpoints and restrict the movement of protesters.
As a journalist, you would almost take a Thai flag and a red and yellow shirt with you (and then wear the right ones where you are reporting) in case some idiot thinks you are a “spy of the enemy/other”… Less useful Julsai's action.
What strikes me about the Dutch reporting (NOS, nu.nl, etc.) is that people do talk about the "ten thousands" who are active today, you don't hear anything about the more than one hundred thousand of yesterday, or they formulate it in such a way that the corpse whether “only” tens of thousands were protesting on Sunday.
I think the figure of one million is very far-fetched, I myself also find the Shinawatra cabinet three times nothing, but with such claims you still lose credibility. Or will the protest leaders themselves believe that there were so many (they clearly cannot count).
Currently sitting just off ratchadamnoen rd .yesterday sunday very many protesters. Many left today. Just had to go through it to reach the hotel. The atmosphere here is also becoming a bit grimmer at the moment. As a tourist, it is better to stay away from it. You never know things can turn around like that and then you don't want to be involved. Last night I was also awakened by small explosions. Although something from heavy fireworks, ping pong bombs or something, were not without danger. TIP for anyone who wants to run a 0% risk stay away for others quite interesting to watch the protests from a distance.
On a FB page (Bluesky Channel) this man, Nick Nostitz, was called rotten in 700 comments in an incredibly aggressive way. One of the most striking aspects of the current political conflict is the brutal way people treat each other. An interview with this man with good insights into the Thai situation can be found on the link below:
http://www.stickmanweekly.com/StickmanBangkokWeeklyColumn2009/NickNostitz.htm
Then this reporter shouldn't have been walking around there, that's his risk.
@bal: according to international humanitarian law (IHL), journalists enjoy special protection for their work in conflict situations, among other things. Apparently the police officers in the area have understood this correctly!
Or Mr. Gori…protest leader should not have called for violence/escalation. Everything would be peaceful, right? When I read the background about this journalist, he has written a lot about politics (see link to Stickman's article elsewhere). Apparently he has stepped on some people's toes with that and Suthep has difficulty with well-founded criticism... A bit sad. I don't like the current cabinet 3 times, elections seem fine to me (the question is what will happen next because the Democrats and Peuy Thai both do not exactly have national interest/citizen interest as their number one priority), but Suthep strikes me as a bit of a tantrum. who prefers to escalate and confront rather than look for a long-term solution and dialogue.
Correction: I meant Chumphol.
It is logical that a journalist accidentally runs a risk in the heat of battle. But people call a journalist, even if he is not objective (although the German comes across as neutral to me), that is just sad and actually even criminal (calling for aggression/hatred towards a person).
I came back from Thailand the day before yesterday.
Walked between the demonstrators myself for a few days.. and saw the situation / atmosphere with my own eyes.
The streets were full of sleeping people at night.
I didn't find the atmosphere grim those days when I walked along to a distance in front of the government building.
I have put a few videos on Youtube that I made myself.