Anti-government protesters wave the national flag at Government House this week in Bangkok. They have since refused the Thai PM's requests to disperse. (Photograph by : Chumsak Kanoknan/Getty Images)By Rattaphol Onsanit and Daniel Ten Kate
Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- More than 5,000 Thai protesters occupied Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej's office compound for a third day, testing the government's patience in resisting the use of force to arrest organizers and disperse the crowd.
``The court has given me a sword, but I won't use violence,'' Samak told reporters in Bangkok today. ``I want the world to watch the situation and judge what is going on here.''
Samak has sought to avoid clashes because rallies by the same protest group two years ago led to the military coup that toppled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The People's Alliance for Democracy, whose leaders face arrest and are inside the compound, say Samak is a proxy for Thaksin and should resign.
``Samak can wait out the protesters,'' said Jade Donavanik, dean of the law school at Siam University in Bangkok. ``The People's Alliance always held on to their rights according to the constitution, using it as a shield to protect them. But now they have broken their own shield.''
Police have offered free buses to take activists home, and are under orders not to enter the compound to arrest leaders. Inside, cases of water bottles had been stacked up to eye level and large tents helped protect protesters from the heat of the sun. A dozen protesters wearing motorcycle helmets and carrying black batons stood in formation at the gate to the compound.
A Bangkok University poll of 1,023 city residents released yesterday found that about 70 percent disagreed with the sit-in that started Aug. 26 as well as efforts to disrupt traffic.
`Human Shields'
``Protest leaders are now using kids, women, the elderly and monks as human shields,'' Surapol Thuanthong, a police spokesman, said on Channel 3. ``There are many people who are not aware that what they are doing is illegal and they will be brought to justice.''
Nine alliance members, led by Sondhi Limthongkul, an estranged business associate of Thaksin, have been charged with treason and face possible death sentences or life in prison.
The military has ruled out a coup to end the street protests, which have contributed to a 22 percent decline in the benchmark SET Index since they began May 25. The baht has fallen more than 6 percent in the same period.
``If they use force to arrest us, there would be a problem,'' Suriyasai Katasila, a People's Alliance spokesman who is among those facing arrest, told Channel 3. The group plans to appeal a Civil Court order issued last night calling for the protesters to disperse, he said.
`Soft and Gentle'
Samak, who had watched the demonstrations at army headquarters for the past two days, sang 11 Thai traditional songs last night at an event for Olympic athletes, Channel 3 reported. He has called the protesters' demands that he resign ``unreasonable'' and said police will be ``soft and gentle'' to demonstrators.
Protesters have named new leaders to take over should Sondhi and his colleagues be detained.
Sondhi and the People's Alliance have called for a mostly appointed parliament to take over from Samak's People Power Party, which is comprised of Thaksin's allies. Last December the party rode a wave of rural support to win the first election held after the coup.
``Sondhi is not a viable alternative and really never has been a political alternative at all,'' Michael Montesano, an independent political economist in Southeast Asia, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television today. The People's Alliance has called for a political system that would bring a ``much less democratic parliamentary structure and a return to military influence,'' he said.
Sondhi led protests before the coup against Thaksin two years ago. The former prime minister fled to London earlier this month claiming the judiciary is corrupt after the courts issued charges against him, including abuse of power.
``We are not a mob, we are civilized people,'' said Chokchuang Chutinaton, a 63-year-old retired doctor who has joined the protests.
To contact the reporters on this story: Rattaphol Onsanit in Bangkok at
ronsanit@bloomberg.net; Daniel Ten Kate in Bangkok at dtenkate@bloomberg.net
``The court has given me a sword, but I won't use violence,'' Samak told reporters in Bangkok today. ``I want the world to watch the situation and judge what is going on here.''
Samak has sought to avoid clashes because rallies by the same protest group two years ago led to the military coup that toppled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The People's Alliance for Democracy, whose leaders face arrest and are inside the compound, say Samak is a proxy for Thaksin and should resign.
``Samak can wait out the protesters,'' said Jade Donavanik, dean of the law school at Siam University in Bangkok. ``The People's Alliance always held on to their rights according to the constitution, using it as a shield to protect them. But now they have broken their own shield.''
Police have offered free buses to take activists home, and are under orders not to enter the compound to arrest leaders. Inside, cases of water bottles had been stacked up to eye level and large tents helped protect protesters from the heat of the sun. A dozen protesters wearing motorcycle helmets and carrying black batons stood in formation at the gate to the compound.
A Bangkok University poll of 1,023 city residents released yesterday found that about 70 percent disagreed with the sit-in that started Aug. 26 as well as efforts to disrupt traffic.
`Human Shields'
``Protest leaders are now using kids, women, the elderly and monks as human shields,'' Surapol Thuanthong, a police spokesman, said on Channel 3. ``There are many people who are not aware that what they are doing is illegal and they will be brought to justice.''
Nine alliance members, led by Sondhi Limthongkul, an estranged business associate of Thaksin, have been charged with treason and face possible death sentences or life in prison.
The military has ruled out a coup to end the street protests, which have contributed to a 22 percent decline in the benchmark SET Index since they began May 25. The baht has fallen more than 6 percent in the same period.
``If they use force to arrest us, there would be a problem,'' Suriyasai Katasila, a People's Alliance spokesman who is among those facing arrest, told Channel 3. The group plans to appeal a Civil Court order issued last night calling for the protesters to disperse, he said.
`Soft and Gentle'
Samak, who had watched the demonstrations at army headquarters for the past two days, sang 11 Thai traditional songs last night at an event for Olympic athletes, Channel 3 reported. He has called the protesters' demands that he resign ``unreasonable'' and said police will be ``soft and gentle'' to demonstrators.
Protesters have named new leaders to take over should Sondhi and his colleagues be detained.
Sondhi and the People's Alliance have called for a mostly appointed parliament to take over from Samak's People Power Party, which is comprised of Thaksin's allies. Last December the party rode a wave of rural support to win the first election held after the coup.
``Sondhi is not a viable alternative and really never has been a political alternative at all,'' Michael Montesano, an independent political economist in Southeast Asia, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television today. The People's Alliance has called for a political system that would bring a ``much less democratic parliamentary structure and a return to military influence,'' he said.
Sondhi led protests before the coup against Thaksin two years ago. The former prime minister fled to London earlier this month claiming the judiciary is corrupt after the courts issued charges against him, including abuse of power.
``We are not a mob, we are civilized people,'' said Chokchuang Chutinaton, a 63-year-old retired doctor who has joined the protests.
To contact the reporters on this story: Rattaphol Onsanit in Bangkok at
ronsanit@bloomberg.net; Daniel Ten Kate in Bangkok at dtenkate@bloomberg.net
8 comments:
Mass protest will be in Phnom Penh
The people of Cambodia must use their people power to prevent further erosion of democracy and human rights and gross violation of international law. Also, the incoming US ambassador must take note
no way, as long as we have hun sen in his power, poeple power will not exist in Cambodia.
Wrong!
Hun Sen must be toppled, and the democracy must be restored.
To accomplish all that, people power must be used.
PAD...doing good.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's popularity is in the decline. Plus, every time when he hears the the phrase "People Power," it makes him jittery, although the Vietnamese would like to use him for a few more years before putting him to sleep (like others, one by one). In the meantime, he and his close advisors are working on an escape plan and other contigency plans surreptitiously.
As Mr. Hun Sen keeps a close watch on Gen Kim Yan, Mr. Sok Kong keeps a close watch on Mr. Hun Sen.
Someone's days are (nearly) numbered.
That's all bullshit, all tough talk and all crazy predictions. Unlike the Thais or the Malaysians or other citizens in other countries, we all know full well that Cambodians are just too chicken to do anything. Whether we like him or not, the reality is Hun San will rule until he dies. The only hope we have is that he will die soon.
My beloved Khmers!
The ultimate reason why we Khmer are too chicken, we are psychologically frightful of deaths, 'cause we have mentally went through the stupid civil, the killingfield, and now gone through the killing and punishing Hun Sen's regime!
Hah lol lol.. These Khmers are so stupid. This PAD is being used and paid by the tyrant in Thailand to get rid of Thaksin and his allies.
These protesters are clueless what they are being used. Democracy in Thailand? Lol LOl LOl...
No no no democracy in Thailand, it is an absolute Monarchy.
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