Troops stifle protests in central Bangkok
Print Edition
THAILAND’S military government sent thousands of troops and police into central Bangkok yesterday and effectively stifled protests against its seizure of power, limiting them to small groups of demonstrators in and around shopping malls.
The military took over on May 22 after the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra had been weakened by months of protests that had forced ministries to close for weeks on end, hurt business confidence and caused the economy to shrink.
The political turmoil pits the Bangkok-based royalist establishment dominated by the military, old-money families and the bureaucracy against supporters of former telecommunications mogul Thaksin Shinawatra, who is adored by the poor in the north and northeast.
Thaksin, ousted as premier in a 2006 coup, is the brother of Yingluck and was considered the real power behind her government. He has chosen to live in exile since fleeing a 2008 conviction for abuse of power.
Since the latest coup, the military has banned political gatherings of five or more people and protests that have taken place in Bangkok have been small and brief.
Deputy police chief Somyot Poompanmoung said 5,700 police and soldiers were sent into central Bangkok yesterday and rapid deployment units were ready to stop protests elsewhere.
Some malls in the Ratchaprasong area chose to close or have reduced opening hours and the operator of the Skytrain overhead rail network shut several stations in the central area.
Yesterday morning, the area had been swarming with police and media but there was barely a protester to be seen.
The cavernous Central World mall opened much later than usual, at 2pm, but there were only a handful of shoppers in the mall, parts of which had burnt to the ground after an army crackdown on pro-Thaksin protesters in 2010.
A group of protesters gathered on an elevated walkway leading to the nearby Bangkok Art and Culture Center, but troops in riot gear sent protesters and onlookers fleeing.
Earlier, a group of about 30 people had protested inside Terminal 21 mall in the Asoke area.
Most signalled their opposition to the coup by holding up three fingers, which some said stood for freedom, equality and brotherhood. Police detained one of the protesters.
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