Thai protesters criticise hospital evacuation
BANGKOK, May 1, 2010 AFP - Leaders of Thailand’s “Red Shirt” protests
slammed management at a Bangkok hospital Saturday, saying its chaotic
evacuation of patients was a ploy to make the anti-government group look
bad.
The Reds have faced heavy criticism after about 100 supporters raided
Chulalongkorn hospital Thursday evening under the mistaken belief it
sheltered security forces preparing a crackdown, following deadly street
violence.
The 1,400-bed hospital evacuated most of its patients because of the
incident, and Red leaders have apologised profusely.
“The hospital did not hear our apology. They dramatised the
evacuation of patients, turning it into a tragedy to paint Red Shirt
people as bad,” Jatuporn Prompan, one of the group’s core leaders, said
in news conference.“We have been made to look like terrorists and very
soon the crackdown will begin,” he added.
The Reds, who have occupied sections of Bangkok for over a month in
their bid to force snap elections, have alleged the hospital was used in
an April 22 grenade attack on a pro-government rally that killed one and
wounded dozens.
The government said the grenades were fired from inside the Reds’
camp — an accusation the movement has denied.
Tensions are high in Bangkok following the worst political violence
in almost two decades which has left 27 people dead and almost 1,000
injured this month in a series of bloody confrontations.Thailand’s
Medical Council criticised the storming and asked protesters to respect
medical personnel, while police said they would deploy 100 officers to
the hospital to ensure neither security forces nor Reds use the grounds.
Many of the Reds come from Thailand’s rural poor and urban working
classes and seek the return of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra,
who was ousted in a 2006 coup and now lives overseas to avoid a jail
term for corruption.Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva vowed to prosecute
those who were involved in the hospital incident. |