| 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 |
(Photo: 2Bangkok.com)
Part VI - Soldiers advance through Banglampoo
Tuesday, May 19, 1992
(Posted on 2Bangkok.com on June 5, 2004)
The next day the military clamped down around the city. Groups of motorcyclists numbering in the hundreds roamed, destroying government property and stopping traffic, one step ahead of the military. From the roof of my building I watched as government troops fired on motorcyclists near the bridge over Banglamphu Canal in a sweep through Banglamphu.
(Photo: 2Bangkok.com)
A small crowds taunts a line of soldiers advancing down Chakkra Phong Road.
(Photo: 2Bangkok.com)
Moments later soldiers fire into the air and the protesters fall back. The items in the street are the remains of potted plants that the protesters were throwing at the soldiers.
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(Photo: 2Bangkok.com)
People retreat from the Chakkra Phong-Phra Sumen intersection.
(Photo: 2Bangkok.com)
Soldiers fire again. This photo was taken by holding the camera above the edge of the balcony. Bullets or buckshot or some kind of projectile was raining down on the roof of the building. In the upper left of the photo is smoke from gunfire.
(Photo: 2Bangkok.com)
Another shaky shot of soldiers about to cross Banglamphu Canal.
(Photo: 2Bangkok.com)
This was the last shot (above) I took before I was noticed. The soldiers shouted at me and almost simultaneously peppered my building with shot. Behind them was a column of plainclothes soldiers carrying weapons--there were many plainclothes military men among the soldiers.
Later the next day, some men on motorcycle, carrying what
appeared to be very old weaponry and wearing bandannas over their faces,
stopped along Samsen Road for a short time so people in the nearby market
could get a look at them. People mostly ignored them and several shop
owners along the street sniffed at them saying they were clearly soldiers
pretending to be troublemaking protesters.
During this time the government-controlled radio and TV stations for
a time showed the same programs and for a time had announcers insisting
everything was normal and that there was nothing unusual going on. This
was just as the city was close to anarchy.
I had to stay at home for three days and there were constant sounds of gunfire off and on during this time. There is nothing like hearing sporadic gunfire to keep one awake.
Part VII - Aftermath