Shoot to Kill

*

Shoot to kill, the government troops have been ordered; shoot to kill in order to defend the citadels of capitalism. The government now has serious bloodf on its hands. Even here in Chiang Mai there is a curfew, with none of the bars or clubs open, most everything closing at 8pm. Black smoke rolled over the Tapai Gate after a group of red shirt protestors set alight a pile of tyres. There was shooting at the airport. A general had his house burnt down. Against the wild night. Against times he could never understand. Against a cruel indifference. Too depressing, James said, throw in some humour. I'm going to meet someone I know, he thought clearly, 24-hours before running into him in chance encounter the prospects of which were infinitesimally small. Come inside, the English rent boy said. I'm in there. That means there's a party going on. Baw falls asleep at the bar. The succession of sex workers grows ever more frenzied. Time stands out of mind. He doesn't know anymore. Get this, get that, get the other; there's no oblivion; but there's certainly a fair amount of fun. Walking through the dawn raids, the bodies lingering outside discos. It's alright for you, you sleep all day, you are young. I am old and I don't sleep. Ever. As if the off switch had been destroyed. Master master.

Infinite in the gloom, and infinite in longing, the disco song beats out: I want to make love to you right now, right now. As if all this humping was getting anywhere. I wouldn't sleep with me, he laughingly declares, as tales of their exploits spread through the inner heart, that frozen frozen waste. I don't want to go home, he declared. Colonel Kurtz, the heart of darkness, James gibes, and we all collapse. Inky black clouds spread across the night sky. All for one and one for all. Take me to your heart, take me to your soul, goes another song of the moment. What is this? Give him 3,000 baht and he'll f... your brains out. As if anything mattered. They were all in a trance, mesmerised by the extremities, working, working, for all to see, time honoured and time out of mind, equivalent, I would say, to a four star general on a military operation; exposing all night life, all opportunity; the shuttered bars, closed for curfew, dragged through the brothels one last time; the heat is on, the heat is on; as if anything mattered and inspiration could rise. She lay between them with her wet hair strangled in the pillow. He was always more accommodating after a girl. That was the way they were made. Instant friends everywhere. I've come to give you kindness. Take away your heart. I made a few mistakes I don't want to talk about, he said. I'm your mother, not your confessor, she replied.

In the bleating heart of dawn; in a famous time, in a little piece of history; where everything was uncovered; here his old body lay sandwiched, and nothing could be more inglorious, more ridiculous; yet there was more fun to be had. They came and they went. Tfhey were shouldered on high. Their pert faces looked up. The girls were lined up for examination. Often the dark forces were gathered, as if this was the final spree. But insane as it was; here in the dawn, here in the night sky, there on the dance floor, there, there, where the heart was clear and free, where everyting was wild and nothing was for free, the baht rolling out, time out of mind, time for all men to be surrendered, for all that was there, cheap, cheap, insane little spirits, pigeons roofing on fibro rooftops; and he came short and long into another place; calling, calling, for forgiveness, for restitution, for the blessings of another day; for a life he never imagined, for gender benders galore; for time arrived and time pleasured; and the watching, the watching, I'm sorry, he said, after another disgrace involving short time girls; and was more accommodating than ever. He scowled into his old self and longed to be free. If only there was a way, to shed all these old pasts; to be infinitely clear on this; to make way for another and another; for the years to crawl past and for him to take a giant leap back int time; to those times when he stayed out all night every night and the city; and most anyone he chose; was all available. It was a different story now.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/7741635/Bangkok-in-flames-as-protesters-refuse-to-back-down.html

Rioters set fires at the stock exchange, electricity headquarters, banks and government offices. Siam Theatre, a much loved city institution, collapsed in flames. Hundreds of people had to be rescued from the burning headquarters of Channel 3 television. The death toll since fresh outbreaks of violence on Thursday now stands at 51.

The government issued "shoot on site" orders for a dawn raid as troops tried to disperse 2,000 Red Shirts who had been camped in Rajprasong, the capital's premier shopping and office district, for more than six weeks.

Seven of the Red Shirt leaders surrendered to police but militant gangs waged an arson and looting spree. The vast Central World shopping centre was torched as government troops shot to kill in a last ditch effort to defend it.

When the army finally marched cautiously into the protesters' former stronghold they discovered that the 2,000 strong crowd had dwindled to one woman.

Kuesadee Narukan, an elderly nurse, stood holding a red flag in the deserted arena. The sound system remained on and rice was cooking on the boilers. "I am not afraid. I am ready for my punishment," she said. "I am a fighter for democracy.

A few lame stragglers on the makeshift beds were arrested. The others had left for a sports stadium to be loaded on to buses for home.

A Red Shirt commander yesterday said that the violence would continue. "All this area will burn and wherever I go I am okay because the army is fighting ghosts far behind me," the self-styled Commander Toei said. "They are attacking the Red Shirt stage but all of Bangkok is supporting our effort."

An offer of early elections from Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, a 45-year old Old Etonian, has failed to defuse the impasse. In a televised address last night Mr Abhisit said that he would "get through" the crisis and "return peace" to the country.

"I would like people to feel confident that my government, all officials and I strongly intend to get through this and we will return peace to the country and recover", he said.

A curfew from 8pm to 6am was in place last night to stop the violence but there were doubts it would hold. With the police acting as bystanders, the army is the only force that can impose order street-by-street during the first curfew in 18 years.

In a mark of how widespread trouble had become the curfew was later extended to 23 province.

The protesters wants the dissolution of parliament and rehabilitation of Thaksin Shinawatra, a former prime minister deposed in 2006.

Thaksin Shinawatra, the exiled prime minister who commands the loyalty of the Red Shirts, was however officially branded a terrorist last night.

Mr Thaksin yesterday denied he had control of the Red Shirts and said: "A military crackdown can spread resentment and these resentful people will become guerrillas."

International concern over the violence in Thailand has grown more acute. Japan became the latest nation to call for a negotiated solution and the Foreign Office has strongly advised against all travel to the country.