Thai PM pleads for protests to end
Print Edition
Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra appealed yesterday for anti-government groups to end ongoing street protests after the parliamentary defeat of an amnesty bill failed to defuse political tensions.
The bill, which critics say was aimed at allowing divisive former Premier Thaksin Shinawatra to return home from self-exile, was rejected by senators in a unanimous vote on Monday.
Anger over the amnesty proposal saw around 50,000 people cluster in the political heart of Bangkok late into the night, with more than 3,000 anti-government protesters remaining on the streets early yesterday.
The opposition Democrat Party has called for a three-day nationwide strike starting today despite assurances from the ruling Puea Thai party not to revive the bill.
Yingluck, who is Thaksin’s sister, urged demonstrators to reject the strike and end their protest. “As many of their demands have been met, I plead for those protesting to stop,” she told reporters, appealing to the public to give her government time to run the country.
Thaksin, who is widely believed to control the government from exile, also wants to withdraw the bill, his legal adviser Noppadon Pattama said. “We thought the bill would lead to reconciliation ... but it was an error of judgement,” he said.
But protesters remained defiant. Some say they do not believe the government’s pledge to drop the bill, while others want to use the momentum from the amnesty defeat to topple the government.
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