In Bangkok
THE call came at 6.15am, from German freelance photographer Nick Nostitz. ''The police are going to move in any minute'' he said.
By the time I was organised, it was over. Police had moved in and fired several rounds of teargas to clear a path through the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) which had besieged Parliament overnight with thousands of supporters, hoping to scupper the government's policy speech.
After days of stalemate and waiting, the tension had snowballed into a violent climax once again. Many were hurt; one man had his leg severed apparently from a direct hit by an exploding tear gas canister. The police succeeded in clearing a side entrance into Parliament, allowing MPs to enter and convene the session.
PAD protestors block an entrance to
Parliamant House.
PHOTO: REUTERS
I reached the scene at around 10.30, and was given a bottle of water by a PAD supporter. I walked from Royal Plaza with our Southeast Asia correspondent Leslie Lopez.
Streams of PAD supporters dressed in yellow were arriving, some of them armed with wooden and bamboo sticks and clubs and iron rods. Many of them were women (about half of PAD supporters at the protests are women). They were no doubt galvanized by reports of the clash in the morning.
The mood remained upbeat. Tear gas lingered in the air at the scene of the clash, where a phalanx of police in riot gear was facing down jeering PAD supporters.
''How can they do this to the people'' one PAD supporter shouted, his chest heaving with exertion, his T-shirt soaked with sweat. Like many of the PAD's frontline ''guards'' he had a helmet on. We saw others with helmets and motorcycle goggles, and of course scarves over their faces.
We got news of a clash at police headquarters, and got into a tuktuk to race to the scene. Halfway through however, Nick called again saying shots had been fired at Royal Plaza – which we had walked through just minutes before. Gunshots had been fired by PAD supporters, he said.
We got to Royal Plaza and saw PAD supporters firing what looked like firecrackers at police, who were lined up on one of the approach roads to the big square just around the corner from Parliament – and roughly midway between Parliament and Government House which has become the headquarters of the PAD.
Several of the firecracker-like missiles skittered along the road into the police lines. The police then retaliated with several tear gas rounds which exploded loudly in front of us. We ducked and ran, sheltering behind trees and cars. Confusion reigned for a while. A PAD supporter came by handing out cold wet towels to use as protection against the stinging gas.
After a while, we left.
It was clear that the PAD crowds would keep building up, and sporadic clashes could well take place through the afternoon. ''We are going to stand our ground, it's do or die'' one PAD supporter told us.
Hours later, Deputy Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh resigned, ostensibly to take responsibility for the police action that had left so many injured.
Hear an audio clip from the protest scene here.