“Bangkok at war”. “The worst in 20 years”. ”Approaching civil war”.
For the past week, it has been headlines like these that have dominated the Scandinavian press, and on Norwegian VG website one is immediately met by the image of a city set on fire by a demonstrator. Bangkok appears to be a city on the verge of civil war, and at the moment, Thailand is the centre of the world’s attention.
Escalating unrest
The different media are describing the current events as the worst uprisings in Thailand for decades. The situation escalated and turned violent on Thursday last week as the army followed up on orders to clear the demonstrators from the Ratchaprasong intersection in the business district in central Bangkok.
However, the clashes between the protesters and government troops are not restricted to one area. The demonstrations are taking place in multiple locations, and soldiers use real ammunition as well as rubber bullets and grenades to clear the sites. The demonstrators have also proven to be quite well equipped themselves. They respond to the attacks by throwing rocks, Molotov cocktails, grenades, gasoline bombs and by setting things on fire.
So far, the conflict has claimed 35 lives and hundreds have been injured, and the Scandinavian authorities encourage everyone to stay away from Bangkok – for those who live in the area, they need to stay clear of the protests.
Constant updates
Scandinavians based in Bangkok are experiencing the sudden attention from the media in their home countries. Several of them have already been contacted by journalists and appeared in different news papers where they talk about how the political situation is affecting their daily lives.
But the sudden interest in Thailand has also resulted in the fact that many Scandinavian news papers have chosen to send their own correspondents to Bangkok to cover the demonstrations. They will cover the situation in detail and Scandinavians in Asia can keep themselves up to date on the various news websites.
Read more about the demonstrations in the Thai capital here:
Hotel i Bangkok er under beskydning – JP
Ingen vil trække sig i Bangkok – JP
Det værste jeg har set i tyve år – DR
Dansk ambassade tæt på Bangkoks kaos – DR
Thailand på randen av borgerkrig – VG
Begynnelsen på slutten for rødskjortenes leir – VG
Nordmenn bør holde seg vekk, langt vekk – VG
Kvinnar och barn evakueras i Bangkok – Aftonbladet
Bangkokin yhteenotoissa jo yli 30 kuollutta – Ilta Sanomat
