- Army warns protesters against occupying banking district
- PM Abhisit skips national address for a second week
BANGKOK, April 18 (Reuters) - Thailand's military vowed on Sunday to "punish" anti-government protesters if they march on Bangkok's central business district, heightening fears of more violence after bloody clashes left 24 people dead a week ago.
Red-shirted supporters of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra said on Saturday they would take thier protest to the financial district, two blocks away from their main downtown protest base, on Tuesday, in defiance of an emergency decree.
"We won't let them go anywhere further," army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said.
Sansern stopped short of using the word "crackdown" but said protesters occupying the plush shopping and hotel district for a 16th day would be dealt with.
"Let's say that we are left with no choice but to enforce the law," Sansern told TNN television. "Those who do wrong will get their punishment. Taking back the area along with other measures are all included in enforcing the law. All this must be done."
An uneasy calm has prevailed in the capital over a Thai new year holiday period in the wake of Thailand's worst violence in almost two decades, which triggered a huge selloff in the stock market .SETI after six weeks of gains.
A heated confrontation between troops and demonstrators, who are demanding that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva dissolve parliament and step down, led to bloody clashes on April 10, the first outbreak of violence in the six-week protests.
Adding to concerns about more unrest, leaders of the anti-Thaksin "yellow shirt" movement -- representing royalists, the business elite, aristocrats and urban middle class -- met on Sunday to discuss their position on the crisis.
The yellow shirts staged a crippling eight-day blockade of Bangkok's airports in December 2008, which stranded more than 230,000 tourists, disrupted trade flows and led to credit ratings downgrades for Southeast Asia's second-largest economy.
The siege ended when a pro-Thaksin ruling party was dissolved for electoral fraud, paving the way for Abhisit's rise to power after a parliamentary vote the red shirts say was influenced heavily by the military in a "silent coup".
Abhisit rebuffs claims his government is illegitimate and has refused to step down. He failed to deliver his regular televised address on Sunday for a second week and has been uncharacteristically reclusive since last week's clashes.
ELITE TARGETED
Several thousand protesters rallied on Sunday at the Rachaprasong intersection, dubbed their "final battleground", listening to speeches and huddling in the shade as the burning sun took its toll. More were arriving for a rally that typically draws tens of thousands by evening.
The planned protest on Tuesday would target Bangkok Bank BBL.BK, Thailand's biggest lender, which red shirts have linked to the elite they say conspired to bring down elected governments backed or led by Thaksin, who was ousted in a 2006 coup and fled into exile ahead of a graft conviction.
Protesters have taken aim at Prem Tinsulanonda, a former army chief, premier and honorary adviser to the bank, who serves as the top aide to Thailand's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
Faced with criticism over the military's handling of the protests, Abhisit appeared on television on Friday to announce that responsibility for security had been handed to army chief Anupong Paochinda, who retires in September and has been reluctant to tackle the protests.
"I think him passing responsibility to the commander-in-chief is his way of pushing him to actually do something, since he will be responsible for what happens now," said Joshua Kurlantzick of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a U.S. think tank.
"I'm not sure it's Abhisit trying to evade responsibility. He's still going to have to face the consequences at the polls at some point."
The seemingly intractable five-year crisis has fuelled speculation that with the government and security forces in disarray, and concerns about clashes between rival demonstrators, hardliners within the military may decide to stage a coup to end the impasse, which analysts say would likely backfire.
(Additional reporting by Eric Gaillard and Nopporn Wong-Anan; Editing by Nick Macfie)
12 comments:
what rights do soldiers have to punish their own people?
police have authority to enforce the laws in the country, the military should be ready and restricted to fighting external enemies under civilian government control!
the redshirt protests disrupted traffic but were non-violent and did not damage people or property until the star wars over-equipped military tried to frighten them into moving
why is the government stopping Thai people hearing what the protesters are saying?
Siam army will not shoot at Thai red shirt, they are only threatening, maybe Hun Sen army that will do that job to their own people.
5:56 PM
http://www.amerilao.org/gallery_29_UDD-of-Thailand_4.html
Abhisit Vejjajiva is a dictator.
What can both sides do here? One want to restore laws and orders and the others want their demands and choices met. Is this the beginning of the loss of freedom of election here in Thailand?
"One want to restore laws and orders" ?
You kidding right? want to restore laws and orders my ass. What about the yellow shirt ? This government wants to restore laws and orders with that first?
AH Abishit illegal government never like democracy and this is one more step to destroy democracy completely from Thailand!
Thai dog armies killed Khmer before Hun Sen killing Khmer. At least Hun Sen is more civilized than Ahbullshit, he never killed and invaded Thai dog shit thief nation.
ey, come on, barking for good, my Khmer fellows. Or you guys are busy begging in downtown Bangkok. Hun Sen did not give enough shit for ya??
Thai military like a frog fear a stone, just heard a bomb then running so fast, how can they fight with the experienced Khmer rouge soldiers?
As I know, the military will protect their people but Thai military just shooting their people for the power of Amat just because of his fucking girl who is the king wife now.
If you're Cambodian, you're nothing to laugh at Thai, comparatively to Thailand, Cambodia is a piece of shit because Thais have right to protest, they have freedom of expression, if Khmers do exactely the same as RED shirts, what would be happened ? You don't remember year 1997 ?
Your country is run by a band of thives, bandits, outlaws..
Those red shirts protesters are VERY lucky that they are in Thailand. If they are in Cambodia, Hun Sen will KILL them all. For example, just to scare off some members of the SRP, Hun Sen declared that in a mere two hours, he can order his troops to capture the entire Phnom Penh and will punish all who dare go against him on the charge that those protesters are considered terrorists. Hun Sen will kill ALL protesters in Cambodia. So the red shirts are very lucky because Prime Minister Abhisit is very nice to the core.
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