Thai minister rejects talks plan from protest leader
Print Edition
A senior Thai minister rejected a proposal for talks from the leader of an anti-government protest movement yesterday as demonstrators rallied at ministries to put pressure on Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to step down.
Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban had suggested that he and Yingluck should hold a televised debate.
“Yingluck is the legitimate leader of the country and Suthep is a man with warrants for his arrest who heads an illegal movement. The prime minister should not talk to Suthep,” said Labor Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung, who oversees a state of emergency imposed last month.
“Suthep is only proposing negotiations, even though he dismissed them before, because protest numbers are dwindling.”
The protesters have blocked big intersections in Bangkok since mid-January and forced many ministries to close as part of a four-month campaign to push out Yingluck and eradicate the political influence of her brother, ex-Premier Thaksin Shinawatra, seen as the real power in Thailand.
The crisis is hurting the economy with confidence and domestic demand both down. Data yesterday showed factory output fell 6.41 percent in January from a year before.
In some good news for the government, China is to buy 400,000 tons of Thai rice, providing funds to help pay farmers who have been protesting because a state rice-buying program has run out of funds.
Violence is on the increase, with almost daily gun and grenade attacks around Bangkok protest sites by unidentified people, and 23 people have been killed since November.
Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha, asked by reporters if the violence would trigger a coup, remained noncommittal and expressed exasperation at the question being put to him time and again.
“We must not discuss this every day,” he said. “I can’t promise whether there will be a coup or not.”
Protest leader Suthep’s debate offer on Thursday came after weeks of refusing to talk.
However, in a speech to supporters later, he showed his more combative side, blaming Yingluck for weekend attacks on protesters.
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