Further updated: Isolating Rajaprasong
The Bangkok Post (29 April 2010) reports that the government’s CRES has ordered the red shirt rally site at Rajaprasong isolated, blocking all roads and preventing people entering. Police and army reinforcements have massed at the Saladaeng intersection and businesses and offices in adjacent areas have been advised to close early.
Update 1: A reader tells us that an evening walk through the area of Times Square and the Asoke BTS showed a fairly heavy military presence, with soldiers carrying heavy automatic weapons as well as the shotguns that fire rubber bullets, with some up on the BTS platform as well as on the sidewalks. He noticed loudspeaker and water cannon trucks. There was a barricade up at the front of the Sheraton Hotel and Times Square, with 4 or 5 heavily armed soldiers on the latter. A temporary command post/logistics base has been set up inside the Times Square building, with offices, communications, as well as sleeping quarters.
Update 2: Our reader today (30 April) tells us that the military presence in this area has increased. The reader says that Sukhumvit’s outbound side appears to be closed off/blocked to the Chidlom side of the Times Square Building. More heavily armed soldiers are acting watchful and alert on the Asoke Sky Train Station, especially towards the Chidlom direction. There are many more heavily armed soldiers than there were on Thursday on the sidewalks on both sides of Sukhumvit around the Asoke BTS escalator along towards Robinson Department Store. More piles of razor wire have been dropped off on the sidewalks on both sides of Sukhumvit, presumably ready to be used to block Sukhumvit and maybe the entrances to the Skytrain station. The water cannon trucks are still in place. The Army sound truck has switched from love ballads to Thai patriotic music. There are some large orange/red plastic barriers stacked up at various points preseumably to block off Sukhumvit. There are a lot of heavily armed soldiers around the eastern side of the Sofitel Hotel on Sukhumvit.
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