THE TELEGRAPH: Thailand's anti-government protesters brought anarchy to a swath of Bangkok last night in defiance of a government deadline to disband mass demonstrations at the heart of the capital.
Mobs set fire to office towers and expensive blocks of flats across a three-mile zone of chaos in one of south-east Asia's richest cities.
Army reinforcements established road blocks and checkpoints but failed to deter the spread of the Red Shirt movement, which is loyal to exiled billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra.
An afternoon deadline for the clearance of Ratchaprasong, the main demonstration site, passed with a 5,000 strong crowd defying a warning that it was "no longer safe".
The deadline, set by Abhisit Vejjajiva, Thailand's Eton-educated prime minister, was dropped after encountering the opposition of the country's military high command. >>> Damien McElroy and Ian MacKinnon in Bangkok | Monday, May 17, 2010
THE BOSTON GLOBE: Leadership rejects protesters’ call for UN mediation
BANGKOK — Antigovernment unrest boiling over in downtown Bangkok spread to other areas of the capital and Thailand as the military defended its use of force in a crackdown that has left 36 people dead in four days. Thai leaders flatly rejected protesters’ demands that the United Nations intercede to end the chaos.
Rapid gunfire and explosions echoed before dawn today outside the luxury hotels bordering the barricaded protest zone, where the military has attempted to seal in thousands of demonstrators camping in the downtown streets. Guests at the upscale Dusit Thani hotel were rushed to the basement for safety.
Yesterday, plumes of black smoke hung over city streets where protesters set fire to tires, fired homemade rockets, and threw gasoline bombs at soldiers who used rubber bullets and live ammunition to pick off rioters who approached their lines. Army sharpshooters crouched behind sandbags and fired to keep attackers at bay.
Leaders of the protesters, who have dubbed themselves Red Shirts, said they wanted talks mediated by the UN, provided the government agreed to an immediate cease-fire and pulled its troops back. >>> Chriss Blake | Monday, May 17, 2010
