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Thai PM gives 'red shirts' deadline, tension high
Source: Agencies |
May 12, 2010, Wednesday
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THAI anti-government protesters showed no sign of ending their two-month rally in Bangkok after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told them to quit by today and warned the public to expect trouble.
Thousands of "red shirt" protesters remain in a fortified camp in an upmarket shopping district in the centre of Bangkok.
Music and speeches blared from powerful loudspeakers on their stage through the early hours of Wednesday as leaders tried to keep their supporters awake and alert. Most nights the volume is turned down a little until dawn.
Abhisit has offered an election on Nov. 14 -- just over a year before one is due -- to try to end a movement that began in mid-March with a demand for an immediate poll. Twenty-nine people have died in clashes and more than 1,000 have been wounded.
The protesters, mostly supporters of ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra who was ousted in a coup in 2006, have accepted the election date but are now pushing other demands, in particular wanting a deputy prime minister to be charged in connection with a bloody clash with troops on April 10 in which 25 people died.
Abhisit's tone has hardened in the past two days and late yesterday he told reporters the cabinet had decided that the security forces needed to "take measures" quickly.
"This may affect people in the area, not just protesters but also people who work there and people who live there," he said.
"So we ask that the protesters make a gesture by going home tomorrow. Other issues can be discussed later if they are sincere about reconciliation."
DILEMMA
However, the authorities are faced with the dilemma of how to dislodge thousands of protesters, including women and children, from a fortified encampment sprawling across 3 sq km (1.2 sq mile) of the central Bangkok shopping district.
Fresh supplies, including vegetables, meat and bottled water, were brought in on Tuesday and piled up under a large tent in front of the shuttered Four Seasons Hotel.
"We are not going anywhere until the government shows they will take responsibility for the clash," said 39-year-old protester Panna Saengkumboon. "People lost their eyes, their legs and arms. Others paid for this with their lives."
Disparate views among red shirt leaders, ranging from radical former communists to academics more inclined to negotiate, make it hard for them to reach a decision on how to end the protest.
Some leaders harbour political ambitions and need to appease rank-and-file supporters. Others fear that ending the protest now will be a one-way ticket to jail. Some hardliners advocate stepping up the protests to win the fight once and for all.
The red shirts say Abhisit's ruling coalition has no mandate after coming to power in a parliamentary vote 17 months ago orchestrated by the army.
Thousands of "red shirt" protesters remain in a fortified camp in an upmarket shopping district in the centre of Bangkok.
Music and speeches blared from powerful loudspeakers on their stage through the early hours of Wednesday as leaders tried to keep their supporters awake and alert. Most nights the volume is turned down a little until dawn.
Abhisit has offered an election on Nov. 14 -- just over a year before one is due -- to try to end a movement that began in mid-March with a demand for an immediate poll. Twenty-nine people have died in clashes and more than 1,000 have been wounded.
The protesters, mostly supporters of ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra who was ousted in a coup in 2006, have accepted the election date but are now pushing other demands, in particular wanting a deputy prime minister to be charged in connection with a bloody clash with troops on April 10 in which 25 people died.
Abhisit's tone has hardened in the past two days and late yesterday he told reporters the cabinet had decided that the security forces needed to "take measures" quickly.
"This may affect people in the area, not just protesters but also people who work there and people who live there," he said.
"So we ask that the protesters make a gesture by going home tomorrow. Other issues can be discussed later if they are sincere about reconciliation."
DILEMMA
However, the authorities are faced with the dilemma of how to dislodge thousands of protesters, including women and children, from a fortified encampment sprawling across 3 sq km (1.2 sq mile) of the central Bangkok shopping district.
Fresh supplies, including vegetables, meat and bottled water, were brought in on Tuesday and piled up under a large tent in front of the shuttered Four Seasons Hotel.
"We are not going anywhere until the government shows they will take responsibility for the clash," said 39-year-old protester Panna Saengkumboon. "People lost their eyes, their legs and arms. Others paid for this with their lives."
Disparate views among red shirt leaders, ranging from radical former communists to academics more inclined to negotiate, make it hard for them to reach a decision on how to end the protest.
Some leaders harbour political ambitions and need to appease rank-and-file supporters. Others fear that ending the protest now will be a one-way ticket to jail. Some hardliners advocate stepping up the protests to win the fight once and for all.
The red shirts say Abhisit's ruling coalition has no mandate after coming to power in a parliamentary vote 17 months ago orchestrated by the army.
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