<p>&nbsp;&quot;I shall return to seek revenge...,&quot; reads a message, probably written by a red shirt, on a steel Skytrain column adjacent to the burnt down but still smouldering CentralWorld shopping mall, close to Rajprasong intersection.</p> <p>It was Sunday, 9am, a &quot;big cleaning&quot; day, which took place four days after the military crackdown that led to at least 16 deaths and arson attacks on more than 30 spots in Bangkok and beyond.</p> <p>Thousands of volunteers - mostly young and adult, educated Bangkok middle class - were doing all they could to help the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) clean up the dirt and rubbish and remove all the anti-government messages such as &quot;Abhisit Murderer!&quot;, &quot;Abhisit Bastard, Go and Die&quot; in the area.</p>

<p>As some hardline red shirts vowed to go underground to fight a violent war against the government and the old elite, other, pro-peace red shirts met to discuss how to carry on the struggle peacefully.</p> <p>Sombat Boon-ngam-anong, a key member of the red-shirt movement who led protests from a minor stage in the Din Daeng area for a few nights after the main protest site was cordoned off by the military before the crackdown on Wednesday, said he had met with some 300-plus red shirts on Thursday to discuss the future of a peaceful struggle.</p>

<p>HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL&nbsp;</p> <p>Fourteenth session, Agenda Item 4, General Debate</p> <p>A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status.</p> <p>1. As Thailand was elected this May 13 to the Human Rights Council (HRC), albeit as the result of a clean slate, the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) urges the members of the Council to take note of Thailand&rsquo;s record of non-compliance with many key international human rights obligations and ensure that its membership results in marked improvement concerning these. That Thailand was elected even as the Royal Thai Army was shooting and killing people in Bangkok amid intense political turmoil--itself a result of undemocratic and anti-human rights forces having recaptured control of key state institutions since the 2006 military coup--remains a significant concern.&nbsp;</p>

<p><em>Andrew Buncombe reports from the streets of Bangkok which have become a lethal battle zone</em></p> <p><em>Thursday,&nbsp;20 May 2010</em></p> <p>There was nothing for us to do but take cover, as the incoming fire sprayed and hissed. People lay flat, terrified, crouched behind cars, tried to squeeze themselvesinto the meagre protection offered by the wheel hubs. They took cover frantically, diving behind not just cars, but trucks, trees and even flower pots.</p> <p>This was near to the entrance of a Buddhist temple, a supposed oasis, a place of prayer. But we knew its sanctity had been fatally breached when the crack of rifles and the sound of bullets ricocheted close to the temple's souvenir shop.</p>

<p>Reporters Without Borders condemns the violence against journalists by Red Shirt demonstrators and the government&rsquo;s continual violation of the right to information. Thailand has rarely experienced the level of violence that was reached today, just hours after the army staged its assault on the Bangkok district occupied by former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra&rsquo;s supporters.</p> <p>The press freedom organisation is also every worried by the fact that the activities of journalists in Thailand have been brought to a virtual standstill.</p>

<p>The Asian Human Rights Commission shares in the worldwide concern over the recent violence in Bangkok, and especially deplores the loss of life, irrespective of all other factors. It calls upon the government of Thailand to do all that it can to restore peace and ensure public security without further bloodshed.&nbsp;</p>

<p>At 1.20pm, upon being told that red-shirt leaders at Rajprasong Intersection have decided to turn themselves to the police &quot;in orderto save lives&quot;, those red shirts who gathered at Klong Toey delta became very upset at the young messenger on stage.</p> <p>&quot;If you won't fight then get out!&quot; a protester shouts at the man.&quot;We won't give up easily and if the leaders won't fight then we shall fight by ourselves. Anger burst out.</p> <p>One doubted if the speaker was a real red shirt or not as they refuse to believe what they heard.</p>

<p>A decisive government push to dismantle a weeks-old protest in&nbsp;Bangkok has triggered more violence and heightened security risks&nbsp;throughout Thailand, with the media caught in the frontlines and&nbsp;crossfires of the ensuing chaos.</p>

<p>BANGKOK&mdash;As journalists wanting to enter the barricaded camp at Ratchaprasong, we joined the queue and were checked by Redshirt security guards.&nbsp;</p> <p>This may be central Bangkok, but as soon as we were inside the barricade, we were in a different world. Hundreds of red-shirted people sat around&mdash;women, children, the elderly, monks&mdash;some chatting, some sleeping, some watching the news on TV.</p>

<p>1. The growing contention between the state and antigovernment protestors in Thailand has deepened into a full-scale crisis, with no clear resolution in view. During violence on 10 April 2010, at least 24 people were reported killed and over 800 wounded. After a month of continuing protests, the state decided to end the protests with force. Between 13 and 17 May 2010, the government has reported that at least 35 people have been killed, all civilians, and at least 232 wounded. Unofficial reports put the numbers much higher.</p>

<p><strong>Abide by UN Principles on Use of Force and Firearms</strong></p> <p>(New York, May 16, 2010) &ndash; The Thai government should immediately revoke the designation of neighborhood areas as &ldquo;live fire zones&rdquo; that might be used to justify the unnecessary and unlawful use of lethal force, Human Rights Watch said today. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>Pro- and anti-government radio stations pitched their voices against one another yesterday as a reflection of the fierce battles on the streets of Bangkok.</p> <p>The Samut Prakan-based FM101.25 radio station received calls yesterday morning from irate red shirts calling on the protesters to burn down the buildings where snipers were waiting to shoot down leaders and other civilians.</p>