January 29, 2014 (ATN) - Thaksin Shinawatra's proxy regime, currently ruling in Thailand, have again attacked protesters, this time with the deadly 40mm M-79 grenade launcher - a weapon of war used extensively by pro-Thaksin terrorists in violence that left 92 dead in Bangkok in 2010. Thai PBS reported in their article, "Lard Phrao protest site comes under M-79 grenade attack," that:
The protest site of the Network of Students and People for the Reform of Thailand (NSPRT) was attacked by M-79 grenade launcher again before dawn today, causing injury to a protester. The grenade attack happened at about 3 a.m. today at the NSPRT’s protest site at Lard Phrao intersection. The grenade landed on an open space not far from a tent where anti-government protesters were relaxing and sleeping. Protest leader Issara Somchai said the M-79 grenade was believed to be fired from the overhead tollway and fell on the ground inside the Jatujak park where protesters were staying overnight. One protester was injured and was rushed to hospital.
Image: Damage caused by an early morning M-79 grenade attack that left one injured. The M-79 grenade launcher is extensively used by terrorists tied to Thaksin Shinawatra and his proxy regime. ....In 2010, pro-Thaksin terrorist leader, defected Thai Major General Khattiya Sawasdipol, had bragged to the foreign media that he had "300 armed men trained for ''close encounters'' and armed with M79 grenade launchers" (Guardian). M-79 grenade launchers are used almost exclusively by paramilitary ranger units from which Thaksin drew his terrorist army - but pictures of "black shirt" terrorists wielding the 40mm M-203 grenade launcher were also taken during clashes with the Thai military in 2010. Human Rights Watch ("Descent into Chaos" PDF page 62) also noted that militants working among Thaksin Shinawatra's "red shirt" supporters carried, among other war weapons, the M-79. Image: Flashback to 2010 - Thaksin Shinawatra's "red shirts" were augmented by some 300 heavily armed, professional mercenaries. In 2010, as seen above, Thaksin's militants employed M16s (with M203 grenade launchers), AK-47s, as well as M79 grenade launchers and an assortment of hand grenades and pistols. The regime had threatened covert violence, in what appears to be a repeat of 2010 - this time aimed at dislodging protesters. ....The implications of attacks on protesters using these specialized, difficult to obtain weapons, confirm that Thaksin Shinawatra and his US-backed regime are deploying professional mercenaries in their ongoing campaign of terror against growing protests.While the West defends violent neo-Nazis in pro-EU protests in Kiev, Ukraine, they have condemned peaceful protesters in Bangkok, calling them "anti-democratic militants" and claiming Thaksin's proxy regime is the "democratically elected" and "legitimate" government of Thailand. More Information on the M-79 Grenade LauncherOne of the most notorious attacks carried out in 2010 using the M-79 grenade launcher was the April 22 attack on the Sala Daeng elevated train station in Silom, Bangkok which left one woman dead and many others injured. While police sympathetic to Thaksin Shinawatra and his "red shirt" mob claimed the grenade was fired from buildings in which there were no militants or red shirts, this omits the fact that the weapon can not only be fired directly, but also indirectly.Hoping that people were ignorant of this fact, Thaksin Shinawatra and his proxies attempted to claim the Thai Army fired at protesters, not the 300 or so militants admittedly deployed by Thaksin.However, the Thai government reported that the grenades were fired from nearby Lumpini Park, an area held exclusively at the time by Thaksin's red shirt supporters. From Lumpini Park to the train station, if fired indirectly, the M-79 grenades would have an unobstructed path between the two rows of tall buildings that line either side of the road and train station elevated above.Graphics: (Top) Taken from a US Army field manual (FM 23-31) the M79 grenade launcher is clearly capable and intended to be used as an indirect, mortar like weapon as well as for direct fire. Elevations of 69, 58, and 41 degrees yield ranges of 200, 300, and 400 meters respectively. (Middle) A photograph and graphic, looking from Lumpini Park toward the Silom area - a view the attackers would have seen before firing their grenades indirectly toward the elevated train station. These trajectories (bottom) clearly show the grenades could easily be fired clear over the highway overpass cited as an impassable "obstacle" by Thaksin Shinawatra's propagandists. ....The maximum range of the M-79 when used indirectly is 400m, shot at an angle of 41 degrees. When the angle of fire is increased to 58 degrees, targets at 300m can be hit. At 69 degrees, area targets as close as 200m can be accurately hit using indirect fire. At these angles and ranges, the grenades would have easily cleared the "obstacles" cited by Thaksin's propagandists, including a highway overpass separating the Silom area from Lumpini Park and hit each of the targets, coming in at steep angles as if fired from above (see above graphics).Considering these facts and the layout of the Silom area, it is unlikely the attacks came from anywhere else besides the park Thaksin's red shirts were occupying.In the coming days and weeks, and as the regime gets more desperate and employs a greater degree of violence against protesters, it is important to keep these facts in mind to counter the lies the regime will inevitably tell to cover its tracks - lies that will be repeated and enhanced by its large Western backing throughout media outlets like Reuters, CNN, the BBC, and a myriad of paid-bloggers working in Thaksin Shinawatra and his lobbyist's employ.
