Thai troops move in to guard key Bangkok bank

Thai troops moved into Bangkok's business district to deter a major protest march and protect a leading bank with razor wire barricades.

A leader of the "Red Shirt" protesters accused the troops of preparing the area as "a killing field".

The government said Silom Road, headquarters of the Bangkok Bank and several others, is a no-go zone for the protesters, who are trying to overthrow prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and force him to hold new elections.

Protest leaders had called another mass rally tomorrow and security forces expected it to be around Silom Road. But the Red Shirts often change their plans at the last minute.

As they stockpiled bricks and paving stones behind the razor wire, one protest leader said: "I'm worried about the force allocation pattern here. It looks greater than necessary for just guarding the Silom area. They are making it into a killing field."

Soldiers also patrolled the famous sex-bar street, Patpong Road, and an entertainment area for Japanese tourists, both just off Silom. Others searched for rooftop snipers and guarded cash machines and entrances to stations.

Some Thais, returning to work on Silom after the long new year holiday, supported for the troops.
"I'm opposed to the idea of the demonstrators entering Silom. Everything will collapse. The economy will collapse," said Kritsana Chumkong, a 38-year-old office worker.

A key target of the Red Shirts has been general Prem Tinsulanonda, who they say was a leader of the military coup in 2006 that installed Mr Vejjajiva.

Prem is the president of the Privy Council, which advises the Thai king, and also works for the Bangkok Bank, one of Thailand's largest. They claim that Gen Prem helped arrange finance through the Bangkok Bank for a golf course that encroached on the Khao Soi Dao Wildlife Sanctuary in the south-east. The allegation has been denied.

On April 10, troops tried to eject the Red Shirts from their camp in the old city but the attempt erupted into the worst political violence in Thailand in 18 years. At least 25 people were killed and more than 800 were hurt.