Thailand declares state of emergency
The red-shirted supporters of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra retreated from parliament, but tens of thousands remain in Bangkok’s main shopping district, refusing orders to leave until Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva dissolves parliament. The “red shirts” responded to the decree with defiance, exhorting followers in rural provinces to mass at city halls.
“We will declare war,” said Arisman Pongruangrong, a “red shirt” leader. “No more negotiations.”
The state of emergency bans public gatherings of more than five people and gives the army broad powers to control crowds. But Abhisit said the government would not use force.
“The government’s goal is to help the situation return to a normal way of life, to maintain the sanctity of the law,” he said in a televised statement hours after a siege on parliament.
The scene outside parliament was among the most chaotic and confrontational since the sporadic protests began on March 12. Protesters massing outside gates of the sprawling complex pressed up against a line of police in full riot gear. When some “red shirts” forced open the iron gate, police melted away and hundreds swarmed on to the grounds, including dozens packed on a truck that drove into the main entrance.
They pressed up against security forces outside the lobby doors, but left after about 20 minutes only to regroup outside the gates, brandishing guns and tear-gas canisters they said were seized in scuffles with military police.
Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban and several ministers scaled a wall in the compound and escaped by military helicopter. Some left before the break-in, including Abhisit.
“We have achieved our mission today,” Korkaew Pikulthong, a “red shirt” leader, told the crowd through a bullhorn. The ministers had held a cabinet meeting earlier and some had left before the protesters broke through.
Despite the tension, Thai stocks and the baht currency rose on confidence the government, with support from the military and the royalist establishment, will survive the increasingly bold showdown with the mostly rural and working class protesters.
Foreign investors have been ploughing money into fast-recovering economies of south-east Asia and have not left Thailand out despite the turbulence. Since February 22, foreigners have bought a net $1.73 billion (€1.29bn) of Thai stocks.
Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij, however, said prolonged protests could inflict damage on the economy, south-east Asia’s second biggest, by causing output this year to be “significantly worse” than a government projection of 4.5% growth, and possibly delay an expected interest rate rise.
He said another month of protests... “would be intolerable, not only to the economy as a whole but for the sanity of Bangkokians”.
Abhisit faces pressure from Bangkok’s elite and middle class and even his own government to halt the rally, but has held back to avert a confrontation many believe would cause worse damage.
Threats to arrest the protesters have not been carried out, emboldening a movement that has tapped an undercurrent of frustration over a level of income disparity that ranks among Asia’s widest, according to World Bank statistics.
An Internal Security Act that allows troops to impose order was also extended yesterday for two more weeks. But there was no sign of an imminent crackdown as “red shirts” parade through the city on motorbikes, cars and pick-up trucks, waving red flags.
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