Thai opposition leader dies, protesters warned

Bangkok, Thailand (News Today) - An airplane circling above downtown Bangkok and a televised warning broadcast multiple times Monday ordered protesters to vacate the demonstration area immediately.

The warnings said those who do not leave by 3 p.m. (4 a.m. ET) will face a maximum sentence of two year's imprisonment. But government officials have not said what they plan to do after the deadline has passed.

The warning came as a city virtually unrecognizable after four days of clashes braced itself for more unrest Monday after doctors announced the death of a key anti-government leader who was wounded by a sniper's bullet last week.

Maj. Gen. Khattiya Sawasdipol -- a renegade general better known as Seh Daeng, which means Red Commander -- died at 9:20 a.m. Monday (10:20 p.m. Sunday ET), Vachira Hospital officials told CNN.

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Members of the radical faction of anti-government protesters that Khattiya headed told CNN they observed a three-minute silence when his death was announced Monday. Some were in tears as they described him. But it was unclear whether his death would spark more violence or dampen their resolve.

At least 35 others have died in the bitter standoff between anti-government protesters and troops since Thursday, with 11 of those deaths occurring in sporadic fighting throughout Sunday and overnight. At least one of the fatalities was a soldier, the Erawan Emergency Center said Monday.

"We're very concerned about these rapidly climbing casualties," said Phil Robertson, deputy director of the Asia division of Human Rights Watch.

Robertson told CNN that the organization is calling on militant groups among the anti-government protesters to stop using violence, and calling on the government to follow U.N. principles on use of force and firearms. He said violence in densely populated neighborhoods is placing innocent civilians at risk.

On the scene: Bangkok at boiling point

"We're very concerned that both of the sides, both the army and the Red Shirts, are in denial and digging in, and we think this is very dangerous," Robertson said.

But neither side showed signs of pulling back Monday, as black plumes of smoke filled the air and the sound of gunshots continued to echo through the capital's streets.

The government ordered schools and offices closed Monday and Tuesday "in order to ensure the safety of the public" after the protests paralyzed the city center.

The government's television announcement said the area had become dangerous "because terrorists are trying to cause injuries and deaths in the area."

What are the protests about?

The threat of violence silenced normally bustling streets, trapping people in their homes and shutting down offices, schools and shopping centers.

A spokesman for the Royal Thai Police said a group of doctors were traveling to a Buddhist temple Monday to provide medical care to women and children who have taken shelter there.

Supatra Jenstitvong-Assavasukee said the violence has forced her manufacturing and trade business to move meetings with clients to the outskirts of the city, shut down her son's school and stopped her from shopping downtown.

"Everyone hopes for it to be over really soon. It's really destroying a lot of things," she said.

Beth Saengow, a school administrator who lives in Bangkok, said it seems like the violence is escalating.

"Usually Thailand is a peaceful country ... I'm sure it will affect the tourism. I'm just worried about the economy," she said.

At least nine international embassies in Bangkok -- the U.S., British, Belgium, Canadian, German, Japanese, New Zealand, Swedish and Australian embassies -- said they will remain closed until Tuesday at the earliest as a result of the clashes.

The anti-government United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), also known as the Red Shirts, has said it was willing to negotiate an end to the unrest with United Nations mediators if troops move out of the area where protesters have amassed by the thousands for weeks.

However, government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn told reporters the Thai government has a policy of not allowing organizations to intervene in its internal affairs and can resolve its own problems.

The government has declared a state of emergency in 22 provinces along with the Bangkok metropolitan area, Panitan said. It has also banned financial transactions with 106 companies and individuals over the protests, he said.

"The government has been under pressure to be more decisive in its action," a senior Thai government official told CNN. "We have been showing patience and restraint." That, he said, has upset those who want the government to take action against the protesters.

The populist, left-leaning Red Shirt opposition has been demanding that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva dissolve the lower house of Parliament and call new elections. The group supports former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 bloodless military coup.

Source : CNN

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