Part I - Background & A night on the bridge Part II - Crossing the lines Part III - A hot afternoon Part IV - The shooting starts Part V - Ian Neumegen, a foreigner killed in the disturbances Part VI - Soldiers advance through Banglampoo Part VII - Aftermath Comments on the Black May 1992 story |
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Part II - Crossing the lines
Morning, May 18, 1992
(Posted on 2Bangkok.com on May 21, 2004)
(Photo: 2Bangkok.com)
The next day I walked to work. This took me from the Dusit area through Banglampoo and over to Sao Ching Cha. Here I am on the bridge over Banglampoo Canal. The barbed wire was pulled back from the night before and traffic has returned to normal.
(Photo: 2Bangkok.com)
Tanao Road closed with barbed wire. Foreigners could pass through though.
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(Photo: 2Bangkok.com)
Protesters occupying Ratchadamnoen Avenue and Tanao Road (Kok Wua intersection). The southeast corner (right side of the photo) is now the site of the monument dedicated to those who died in the October 13, 1973 protests.
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(Photo: 2Bangkok.com)
Another view of protesters at the Ratchadamnoen Avenue and Tanao Road intersection. Note the English-language banner. The age of CNN news influence had just started the year before when world attention focused on the first Gulf War. Protesters made signs in various languages to cater to the handful of foreign journalists covering the events.
(Photo: 2Bangkok.com)
Planters blocking off Tanao Street.
Thousands of troops and protesters milling around--as a foreigner I was allowed to cross all lines and barriers and no one seemed to even notice me. | ![]() (Photo: 2Bangkok.com) |
(Photo: 2Bangkok.com)
(Photo: 2Bangkok.com)
(Photo: 2Bangkok.com)
A German-language banner
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Phone booth graffiti: "Prime Minister must come election only. Suchinda you are dictator." Before this time, graffiti in Bangkok was relatively rare (in any language). For a few years after the 1992 events, it seemed graffiti and vandalism were more common--possibly because of the social disaffection that resulted from the events. |
After crossing Ratchadamnoen Avenue, I arrived to work. After a few hours at work, rumors began circulating among students and staff that the military was moving in many more troops. The school began to spontaneously clear out. |
![]() (Photo: 2Bangkok.com) |
Part III - A hot afternoon