Thailand extends security measure as rally continues
Source: Agencies |
March 24, 2010, Wednesday
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THAILAND extended a tough security law yesterday for another week after opposition protest leaders called for a "historic rally" to paralyze Bangkok in a bid to force an election that appears no closer to succeeding.
Tens of thousands of protesters remained at their open-air encampment in their trademark red shirts, calling for Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to dissolve parliament in a rally that has now entered its second week.
Security concerns were highlighted when two grenades exploded in the compound of the Public Health Ministry, about 1 kilometer from where the cabinet had earlier met.
The usual venue, Government House, has been avoided because of its proximity to the protests. The explosions, like previous incidents, were not blamed on the "red shirts" and caused no injuries.
Protest leaders, allied with ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, have not revealed details of their plans for the rally on Saturday and whether the demonstrators will fan out across the city as at least 65,000 of them did at the weekend.
"The cabinet sees that there is still a need to be vigilant," Abhisit said, adding the law has been extended until March 30 for Bangkok and some surrounding districts.
The rally has so far been orderly. Most analysts say the protesters are likely to struggle to maintain momentum and expect Abhisit to prevail due to support from the majority of parliament, the powerful military and Bangkok elite.
These factors have encouraged continued fund flows into Thai assets, pushing Thai stocks to around a 20-month high yesterday, drawn by cheap share prices and high dividend yields.
The bourse closed up 1.3 percent, when foreign investors bought a net 1.88 billion baht (US$58.17 million) of shares, raising their net purchase to about 42.16 billion baht in the last month.
Abhisit has refused to call an early election, which the Thaksin-allied Puea Thai Party would be well-placed to win. That scenario presents a risk to investors and raises the chance of another judicial or military intervention to keep Thaksin and his allies out of the corridors of power.
Abhisit insists the deep political divisions would undermine any chance of peaceful polls.
Tens of thousands of protesters remained at their open-air encampment in their trademark red shirts, calling for Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to dissolve parliament in a rally that has now entered its second week.
Security concerns were highlighted when two grenades exploded in the compound of the Public Health Ministry, about 1 kilometer from where the cabinet had earlier met.
The usual venue, Government House, has been avoided because of its proximity to the protests. The explosions, like previous incidents, were not blamed on the "red shirts" and caused no injuries.
Protest leaders, allied with ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, have not revealed details of their plans for the rally on Saturday and whether the demonstrators will fan out across the city as at least 65,000 of them did at the weekend.
"The cabinet sees that there is still a need to be vigilant," Abhisit said, adding the law has been extended until March 30 for Bangkok and some surrounding districts.
The rally has so far been orderly. Most analysts say the protesters are likely to struggle to maintain momentum and expect Abhisit to prevail due to support from the majority of parliament, the powerful military and Bangkok elite.
These factors have encouraged continued fund flows into Thai assets, pushing Thai stocks to around a 20-month high yesterday, drawn by cheap share prices and high dividend yields.
The bourse closed up 1.3 percent, when foreign investors bought a net 1.88 billion baht (US$58.17 million) of shares, raising their net purchase to about 42.16 billion baht in the last month.
Abhisit has refused to call an early election, which the Thaksin-allied Puea Thai Party would be well-placed to win. That scenario presents a risk to investors and raises the chance of another judicial or military intervention to keep Thaksin and his allies out of the corridors of power.
Abhisit insists the deep political divisions would undermine any chance of peaceful polls.
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