PAD founder Sonthi Limthongkul is reportedly in the hospital after being shot early Friday morning. At first, the Bangkok Post said Sonthi suffered only minor injuries, but now they quote a doctor as saying that Sonthi was hit in the head with shrapnel which penetrated his skull but not his brain, that he's out of danger, but that he'll remain in intensive care for about a week. His bodyguard and driver were also injured, but the Post says their injuries were not as serious. The attack happened when the car pulled into a gasoline station to refuel. As the vehicle sat next to the pump, two gunmen on motorcycles drove up, shot out the tires and then sprayed the vehicle with bullets.
The PAD, of course, is the group behind the Yellow Shirt protesters, who were responsible for forcing Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra from office. They continued to demonstrate for two years, until Abhisit Vejjajiwa was picked to head up a new government composed of oppostion parties earlier this year.
For months now, rumors have swirled that Sonthi's life was in danger, not from Thaksin's supporters, but rather from Sonthi's PAD allies. Sonthi and Thaksin were once business partners and both have tremendous popular support. It wasn't until Sonthi threw his support behind the anti-Thaksin movement that opponents were able to generate the huge rallies that resulted in Thaksin's overthrow. There have been whispers that the PAD's military and royalist supporters were worried that Sonthi had become too powerful and that they would decide to eliminate him before he could become a threat. It will be interesting to see whether the police are able to locate any suspects, and if so, which faction the suspects are connected to.
Either way, the shooting could plunge the city into another round of violence, although the shooting had little effect on the value of the Thai currency or Thai stocks on Thursday.
For months now, rumors have swirled that Sonthi's life was in danger, not from Thaksin's supporters, but rather from Sonthi's PAD allies. Sonthi and Thaksin were once business partners and both have tremendous popular support. It wasn't until Sonthi threw his support behind the anti-Thaksin movement that opponents were able to generate the huge rallies that resulted in Thaksin's overthrow. There have been whispers that the PAD's military and royalist supporters were worried that Sonthi had become too powerful and that they would decide to eliminate him before he could become a threat. It will be interesting to see whether the police are able to locate any suspects, and if so, which faction the suspects are connected to.
Either way, the shooting could plunge the city into another round of violence, although the shooting had little effect on the value of the Thai currency or Thai stocks on Thursday.
In the early 1990's, I worked for Sonthi at his Manager Monthly magazine. He was a very nice boss then, and probably still is now. I wish him a speedy recovery.
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