Red-shirts storm a Bangkok hospital

[Admin]

and in the meantime....

Red-shirts storm a Bangkok hospital 
The Nation: 30 Apr 2010
Reds storm hospital
By Pongphon Sarnsamak
The Nation
Published on April 30, 2010

In another brazen and controversial move, more than 200 red-shirt guards stormed into Chulalongkorn Hospital last night to check if there were soldiers inside the hospital buildings.

The hour-long incident at the hospital, which is located right next to the red-shirt rally site, was monitored closely on Twitter and triggered a storm of criticism within the social media community.

Hospital director Dr Adisorn Patradul initially refused to let the members of the anti-government Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship (DAAD) into the complex.

However, a source said Adisorn gave in after DAAD co-leader Payap Panket, wanted by police for his role in the tumultuous red campaign, insisted that he be allowed to inspect the area.

Although Adisorn only allowed Payap, five red-shirt guards and reporters to come in, scores of other red-shirt guards poured into the hospital buildings as soon as the door was opened.

During their search, watched by bewildered nurses and doctors, the red-shirt guards seized two men and brought them to the DAAD stage at the Rajprasong intersection. The two were later released after they told the red shirts they were just workers.

The red-shirt guards stopped their search at the hospital at around 8.30pm, but only after police stepped in to negotiate. During the talks, the wanted man Payap was just inches away from the senior officers taking part in the negotiations.

The talks ended with an agreement for the red-shirt guards to be allowed to check the hospital again today. This prompted angry responses from Twitter users monitoring the incident, who described the police action as shameful.

After the red shirts left the hospital, big bangs were heard, creating new tension. But it was later reported to be the mere explosion of firecrackers.

The red-shirt guards' raid of Chulalongkorn Hospital came despite a plea from the Medical Council of Thailand earlier in the day asking the anti-government protesters to keep at least 100 metres away from hospitals.

Besides Chulalongkorn Hospital, the anti-government rally site is also close to the Police General Hospital.

Even before yesterday's raid, Chulalongkorn Hospital had already announced it would close medical services for outpatients at Phor Por Ror and Sor Kor building today.

Medical Council president Dr Somsak Lohlekha said the council had issued a statement asking all parties to respect the work of medical workers at Police General Hospital and Chulalongkorn Hospital.

He said Chulalongkorn Hospital had already stopped receiving new patients while Police General Hospital had transferred patients to buildings that were farther away from the demonstration.

"We are now asking the protesters to step back and not to block the entrance to the hospital. They should not interfere in the operations of medical workers by entering and searching the hospital," he said.

Somsak said the council had issued this statement because it did not want protesters or other parties to use hospitals as a shield for political purposes.

"I hope red-shirt leaders, like Dr weng Tojirakarn, will understand our purpose. No demonstration in any country in the world uses hospital premises to defeat the opposition," he said.

"People are not allowed to honk a horn when they pass a hospital but the demonstrators use loudspeakers every day," he added.

Meanwhile Dr Suphachai Kunarattanapreuk, a committee member of the council, pleaded with the protesters to stay at least 100 metres away from these two hospitals.

Adisorn said the hospital has also issued a second statement, announcing to the public that the hospital will today close its outpatient and inpatient units.

The hospital has already moved all patients from Phor Por Ror and Sor Kor buildings to other buildings near Henri Dunant Road.

The hospital also suspended surgery for emergency patients and has temporarily stopped receiving patients from other hospitals.

The special clinic will be closed from today until Sunday. The emergency unit is still open. Meanwhile all classes for medical students will be closed today.

[nookiebear]

What do they have to do before the army is really let loose on this mob

[Happy Dave]

Amazing Thailand...

[nookiebear]

The McDonalds in Silom has had its windows smashed.......They must be getting very hungry if they want to eat from there!!!

[nookiebear]

Amazing Thailand...

You're dead right........no other country would allow this to continue

[Admin]

Red roadblock ordered removed 
Bangkok Post: 1 May 2010
Reds criticise hospital evacuation

Bangkok Post * Published: 1/05/2010 at 12:51 PM


Leaders of the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) slammed management at a Bangkok hospital Saturday, saying its chaotic evacuation of patients was a ploy to make the anti-government group look bad.

Nurses take a break as patients are transfered from Chulalongkorn Hospital to a diferent one in Bangkok, on April 30. Chulalongkorn Hospital in the Thai capital evacuated most of its patients after anti-government Red Shirt protesters stormed inside in the mistaken belief that troops were hiding there.

The red-shirts have faced heavy criticism after about 100 supporters raided Chulalongkorn hospital Thursday evening under the mistaken belief it sheltered security forces preparing a crackdown, following deadly street violence.

The 1,400-bed hospital evacuated most of its patients because of the incident, and UDD leaders have apologised profusely.

"The hospital did not hear our apology. They dramatised the evacuation of patients, turning it into a tragedy to paint Red Shirt people as bad," UDD core member and opposition Puea Thai Party MP Jatuporn Prompan said in news conference.

"We have been made to look like terrorists and very soon the crackdown will begin," he added.

The red-shirts, who have occupied sections of Bangkok for over a month in their bid to force snap elections, have alleged the hospital was used in an April 22 grenade attack on a pro-government rally that killed one and wounded dozens.

The government said the grenades were fired from inside the UDD's camp -- an accusation the movement has denied.

Tensions are high in Bangkok following the worst political violence in almost two decades which has left 27 people dead and almost 1,000 injured this month in a series of bloody confrontations.

Thailand's Medical Council criticised the storming and asked protesters to respect medical personnel, while police said they would deploy 100 officers to the hospital to ensure neither security forces nor Reds use the grounds.

Many of the demonstrators come from Thailand's rural poor and urban working classes and seek the return of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup and now lives overseas to avoid a jail term for corruption.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva vowed to prosecute those who were involved in the hospital incident.

[Happy Dave]

The McDonalds in Silom has had its windows smashed.......They must be getting very hungry if they want to eat from there!!!

Isn't Ronald McDonald a yellow shirt?

[Admin]

The McDonalds in Silom has had its windows smashed.......They must be getting very hungry if they want to eat from there!!!

Isn't Ronald McDonald a yellow shirt?

  right...

[Admin]

Chula hospital to partially resume 
The Nation: 5 May 2010
Chulalongkorn Hospital resumes some operations tomorrow
By The Nation
Published on May 5, 2010


Medical staff at Chulalongkorn Hospital worked from temporary desks to accommodate outpatients yesterday.

The hospital has stopped using its Phor Por Ror building, which is better equipped, because of last week's raid by antigovernment protesters.

Today, Chulalongkorn Hospital will start readmitting patients who were transferred to other medical facilities following the redshirt protesters' brazen raid on the night of April 29.

In a statement released yesterday, the hospital said it would take back patients who were willing to return.

"The patients will stay in the buildings along Henri Dunant Road," it said.

Chulalongkorn's two largest buildings are located on Rajdamri Road, though the hospital recently decided not to use them out of concern for the safety of its patients and medical staff.

Anti government protesters have been camping out on Rajdamri Road for weeks now, erected bunker like structures and have set off firecrackers in the area. Some nurses said redshirt guards of the Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship (DAAD), which organised the rally, had even asked to search them.

However, the last straw came when hundreds of redshirt guards stormed into the hospital to check if soldiers were hiding in its buildings on Rajdamri Road last Thursday.

On Friday, the hospital transferred all its patients including the Supreme Patriarch to other medical facilities and suspended most of its medical services.

One of the patients, a 70 year old man, had a cardiac arrest while being transferred, and though he has been resuscitated, his brain shows no signs of response.

Kasemrat Prachachuen Hospital said the man passed away yesterday afternoon.

Meanwhile, public condemnation of the hospital raid has prompted DAAD leaders to apologise and remove protesters from the area next to the hospital.

In response to their move, Chulalongkorn Hospital yesterday started providing treatment to the more than 1,000 outpatients who showed up yesterday.

"The hospital will resume full scale services for all its outpatients at the Phor Por Ror building [on Rajdamri Road] from Thursday onwards," the hospital announced yesterday.

According to the hospital, its emergency rooms and delivery theatres will also operate round the clock from today. However, surgery will only be provided for emergency cases. Beyond office hours, all clinics will remain suspended until Sunday.