Stories tagged with protest
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Bangkok under state of emergency
On Tuesday morning at 07:00, current Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej declared a state of emergency, effectively putting the capital Bangkok under the full control of the army. Following increasingly violent clashes between PAD anti-government protestors, pro-government protestors, and police, Samak enacted his authority to declare the crisis official.
The prime minister’s declaration was prompted by overnight fighting between anti-government and pro-government protestors in the streets of Bangkok. One man was killed and dozens of protestors injured during the running street fights. General Anupong Paojinda, the commander of the Thai army, has been put in control of the crisis, and now has absolute power to deal with the political unrest in Bangkok.
The state of emergency effectively means that any protest gathering of five or more people is prohibited. The police and military can use whatever force they deem necessary to disperse the illegal gatherings. Media that encourages public protesting can also be censored or shut down.
United front of Democracy against Dictatorship leaders stated immediately that they would “obey the law and go home,” thus ending their rally at Sanam Luang. The People’s Alliance for Democracy’s (PAD) Suriyasai Katasila, stated that his group would now meet to discuss their next move. This new Emergency Law has never been officially used in Thailand, and takes the stand-off to a new unpredictable level. Samak is nominal head of Thailand’s Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc), so the army and police are effectively under his command.
All travellers heading to Bangkok should be aware that there will likely be delays in all areas of infrastructure and transport, as well as the rising potential for street clashes.
Check the latest news at The Bangkok Post
Posted by: Andrew on 02 Sep 2008, 16:49 -
Mass protests threaten to unseat govt
The political standoff between the Government and the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) reached crisis point on Friday morning as the tens of thousands of PAD protesters laid siege to Government House in Bangkok, in a final attempt to force the cabinet to resign. Violence erupted when a 5000-strong anti riot squad tried to evict them from the nearby Makkasan Bridge, promptly massed threats from unions and groups across the country.
In scenes reminiscent of the massed protests that eventually prompted a coup to overthrow former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the 8-month old government were faced with the dilemma of letting the anarchy continue and spiral out of control or use force to disperse them. Thailand has previously had two traumatic experiences of the police getting violent with protestors and on both occasions the government were eventually compelled to step down.
The current protest has been building for several months but took an ugly turn on Tuesday when the PAD usurped their peaceful demonstrations with more militant attacks and occupation of several government buildings and a TV station which they accuse of being government bias. Despite the PAD losing some credibility in the move, the aggressive response from Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej has prompted many civil groups to threaten civil disobedience in support of the PAD. The result is the closure of several airports and threats of strikes.
The PAD's main goal of their 'final push' is to force the current government, lead by the PPP, to step down, despite their being democratically elected after the junta returned civilian rule in January of this year. However they have come under increasing criticism for being self-serving, incompetent, corrupt and acting as a proxy for Thaksin, who is now in London, a fugitive from a pending corruption case.
Although the protest is some distance from tourist sites in Bangkok and unlikely to effect their safety, the situation could rapidly spiral out of control and force the military to become involved. Of more concern to tourists is the disruption to transport services resulting in the protests expanding out of Bangkok, particularly to highways and airports.
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Posted by: Andrew on 29 Aug 2008, 13:32