16 years ago, Bangkok’s glamorous central business district and popular tourist destinations became the site of a massacre.

In the early morning of 19 May 2010, after 6 days of blocking the protest sites in central Bangkok with soldiers and armoured vehicles, the military launched a crackdown on Red Shirt protesters. By the end of the day, the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) would announce the end of the demonstration, which began on 12 March 2010, and turn themselves in to the police.

The 19 May 2010 crackdown was the second of two military operations against Red Shirt protesters in Bangkok. Authorized under the State of Emergency in place at the time, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and the Centre for Resolution of Emergency Situation (CRES) launched two crackdowns: the first on 10 April 2010 and the second on 19 May 2010.

In the operations spanning those two dates, 94 people were killed and over a thousand were injured. Most of those killed were shot with live rounds to the head and torso, and many were shot several times. 

The use of military force against the Red Shirt protesters is considered one of most violent suppressions of a mass demonstration in contemporary Thai history. 

On 10 April 2010, around a month after the Red Shirt protests began in Bangkok, the Prime Minister ordered the CRES to crack down on protesters at Phan Fa intersection and the nearby Ratchadamnoen area in Bangkok’s old town. 21 civilians and 1 reporter were killed during the operation, 20 of them shot with live rounds. Meanwhile, 5 military officers were killed.

The crackdown began in the afternoon. Armed soldiers were deployed around the protest site. Water cannons and tear gas were used. Helicopters circled above the protesters, dropping tear gas and leaflets, and at around 15.30, soldiers began firing rubber bullets.

Although the CRES said in a press conference that there was no report of protesters being injured by live rounds, injured protesters have been arriving at hospitals since the afternoon. Among them was Kriangkrai Khamnoi, a 23-year-old tuktuk driver, who was shot in front of the Ministry of Education and later died. Following an inquest into his death, the Criminal Court ruled that Kriangkrai had been killed by military bullets. Two other protesters also died from the effects of tear gas used during the crackdown.

Tension rose as darkness fell on Ratchadamnoen Road. At the Khok Wua Intersection, a few metres away from the popular nightlife district at Khaosan Road, military personnel were facing off against protesters who had blocked the intersection with metal barriers. After dark, soldiers began marching up to the protesters, firing tear gas and rubber bullets. Shots were also fired into the air. The protesters retaliated by throwing objects.

As night fell, reports began surfacing that protesters at Khok Wua were being shot. The dead and injured were transported out of the area while protesters continue to block the intersection to prevent soldiers from moving into Ratchadamnoen Road.

It was at around 20.30 that photos were taken of a group of armed “men in black” clashing with military personnel around the Khok Wua intersection. However, the protesters killed in the clash on Ratchadamnoen Road had been killed earlier in the night, such as Bunchan Maiprasoet, who was shot on Dinso Road at around 18.00 – 19.00 and died from loss of blood at Ramathibodi Hospital.

In September 2014, after the military coup led by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), 5 people were arrested and accused of being the “men in black.” All charges against them have been dropped because prosecution witnesses gave conflicting testimony. The individuals who clashed with the military that night remain unidentified.

The entrance to Khaosan Road, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Bangkok, is on Tanao Road, the site of several clashes between the protesters and military personnel.

9 people were killed in the clash at Khok Wua intersection and Khaosan Road, all of whom were shot in the head and chest.

Meanwhile, on Dinso Road, near the Democracy Monument, protesters faced off soldiers stationed at the Satriwithaya School as helicopters continued to drop tear gas. As night fell, protesters threw objects at the military lines and soldiers retaliated with rubber bullets and tear gas. Two bombs also went off behind the military lines, killing 5 soldiers.

After the bombs went off, soldiers began firing at the protesters. Some witnesses also said that shots were fired from on top of buildings in Satriwithaya School. 

9 people were killed that night on Dinso Road. Among them was Hiroyuki Muramoto, 43, a Japanese cameraman working for Reuters. He was shot in the chest while filming on Dinso Road and died en route to hospital.

On 13 May 2010, the CRES began its second crackdown. After the government declared a second Severe State of Emergency, the military blocked off the protest site at Ratchaprasong intersection by closing several main roads running through Bangkok’s central business district and prohibiting everyone except residents with proof of residency from entering the area. Utilities - water, power, and telephone signals - were cut to put pressure on the protesters at Ratchaprasong, which was the last standing main protest site camp after the 10 April crackdown. The effort would eventually be followed by an all-out attack on 19 May 2010.

Soldiers were deployed around central Bangkok, including in Lumpini Park, a large public park in central Bangkok.

Between 13 – 19 May 2010, 60 people were killed during the operations in Bangkok, while 3 were killed in other provinces. Among the dead were civilians, volunteer medics, and a journalist. There was no evidence that any civilian killed during this time was armed.

Maj Gen Khattiya “Seh Daeng” Sawasdipol was the first casualty of the 13 – 19 May 2010 crackdown.

Maj Gen Khattiya was a military officer who aligned himself with the UDD and was training UDD protest guards. On 13 May 2010, he was approached by a group of journalists for an interview while inspecting the barricades near Lumpini Park. As he was speaking to the reporters by the exit of the Silom MRT station, he was shot in the head. It was later speculated that he was assassinated by a sniper stationed on a high-rise building in the area.

Maj Gen Khattiya died on 17 May 2010, 4 days after being admitted to hospital for treatment. 16 years later, the circumstances of his death remain questionable. His case never made it to court. Not even an inquest was conducted.

Hours after Maj Gen Khattiya’s assassination, clashes occurred between the protesters and military personnel deployed in and around Lumpini Park. It was at this time that Chatchai Chalao, a 25-year-old taxi driver, was shot in the head on the footpath by Rama IV Road, opposite Lumpini Park.

In video footage released by AFP, Chatchai was seen holding a video camera facing the army barricade near an overpass near the U Chu Liang building. It later appeared that he was shot while hiding behind a table in front of a nearby office. The South Bangkok Criminal Court ruled following an inquest that Chatchai was shot by the group of soldiers stationed at the army barricade on Rama IV road.

The crackdown continued in the days that followed. Both live and rubber rounds were used, while military personnel barricaded several main roads in an attempt to push protesters out of Rama IV and Wireless roads.

On the morning of 19 May 2010, soldiers marched on the protesters’ barricades blocking Ratchadamri Road. Soldiers and armoured vehicles were deployed in and around Lumpini Park. Live rounds were fired at the protesters, killing 6 people.

Among them was Thawin Khammoon, who was shot while near the Lumpini Park parking lot on Ratchadamri Road. 

Italian photographer Fabio Polenghi was another casualty of the crackdown on the morning of 19 May 2010. He was fatally shot while taking photos on Ratchadamri Road, near Sarasin intersection.

While Polenghi was being carried off the road, an unidentified man took his camera. Neither the man nor the camera have ever been found.

Inquests were held into the deaths of Thawin and Polenghi. Although the court did not rule who shot them, it ruled that the bullets came from the line of soldiers moving from Saladaeng intersection into Ratchadamri Road.

Photographs from 19 May 2010 show that soldiers were stationed on the BTS Skytrain track near the Siam BTS station.

Other photos show that soldiers were also stationed on the BTS Skytrain track that morning between the Saladaeng and Ratchadamri stations. Eyewitness have said that soldiers were firing from the train tracks onto the protesters.

In the afternoon of 19 May 2010, UDD leaders announced the end of the demonstration and turned themselves in to the police. Some protesters left the protest site at Ratchaprasong intersection and boarded buses provided by the government at the National Stadium to return to their home provinces. Others went to the Pathum Wanaram Temple, a temple located between Siam Paragon and Central World which had been declared a sanctuary for protesters who were unable to leave to stay until the situation was resolved.

In the evening, soldiers moved down Rama I road and opened fire in front of the temple. There were also reports of soldiers firing into the temple from the train track above.

6 people were killed at Pathum Wanaram temple, including paramedics and a volunteer nurse. An inquest in court found that they were killed by gunfire from personnel stationed on the BTS train tracks and that there was no evidence of a group of armed “men in black” firing from the temple as claimed by the military.

Despite several inquests ruling that the protesters were killed by military fire, none of the cases made it to court. Attempts to prosecute the officers involved were denied, with courts saying that they did not have jurisdiction. And as the expiration of the statute of limitations looms in 4 years, no progress appears to have been made in the investigation into cases still pending.