WE Volunteer (WeVo) protest guards and police clashed in front of Myanmar embassy on Sathorn road late afternoon today (Feb. 1) after the latter moved in to break up a peaceful rally against the coup mounted at the neighbouring country this morning, Siam Rath newspaper reported.
The WeVo guards arrived at the embassy at 3.30 p.m. with Myanmar demonstrators having already separately assembled there earlier to voice their support for Aung San Suu Kyi and opposition to the coup.
The WeVo guards, who had brought amplifiers along, read out a statement condemning the coup in Myanmar and called upon the military to stop arresting and detaining people and accelerate the return to democracy.
However at 5 p.m. riot police arrived and formed a line in their effort to break up the WeVo rally.
At 5.02 p.m. a loud explosion was heard on the riot police side with coloured smoke that fireworks generally give off spreading out.
At 5.10 p.m. WeVo guards tried to tell the police that they had come empty-handed and to stop advancing towards them. However some objects were thrown at the police.
After that the clash between the two sides escalated with the guards throwing bricks and iron bars at the police with this spreading out till St Louis BTS station.
A group of Myanmar citizens who had rallied at the embassy before the guards arrived wore red shirts and hats with images of Aung San Suu Kyi and her late father General Aung San screened on it with this being a symbolic expression of their opposition to the coup.
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Riot police and WeVo guards clashing on Sathorn road late afternoon. Photos: Siam Rath
