Thai army moves to end anti-government unrest

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

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Thousands of Thai troops, firing automatic weapons and tear gas, forced anti-government protesters rampaging across Bangkok to retreat yesterday to their main encampment ringing the seat of government. The protesters said they were prepared for a "final stand."

In a major escalation of Thailand's ongoing turmoil, protesters and combat troops locked in a series of tense confrontations and cat-and-mouse chases for 12 hours. At least 94 people were reported injured. The army spokesman said troops fired blank bullets into the crowds and live shots overhead.

As evening fell, some of the 6,000 troops deployed in Bangkok began moving toward Government House, where the protesters have been holding out since March 26. An estimated 5,000 of the demonstrators were gathered in the Government House area.

"This will be our final stand. I beg that you return here and face them together," The Associated Press quoted protest leader, Jatuporn Phromphan, as shouting from a platform near the seat of government. "We will stay right here to end their violence." Army spokesman Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd said troops were narrowing the area of unrest. "It's going to take time, and we are trying to cause as little loss as possible." Hundreds of soldiers and police assembled at the Royal Plaza, about a mile from the Government House confronting about 100 female protesters who screamed "Please stop, brothers." Some hugged the soldiers.

The demonstrators, who are supporters of ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, are demanding the resignation of Premier Abhisit Vejjajiva, saying his four-month-old government came to power illegally. Earlier, the protesters were stationed at a half-dozen points in Bangkok, defying government-imposed state-of-emergency measures that ban gatherings of more than five people.

Deaths claimed

Thailand's intractable political divide pits royalists, the military and the urban middle class against a less well-off rural majority loyal to Thaksin and his populist policies. Last year, politicians backed by the "red shirts" were in power and royalist "yellow shirt" supporters of those now in government held nearly nonstop protests in the capital, culminating in a week-long occupation of Bangkok's main airports.

In an interview with CNN yesterday, Thaksin accused the army of lying about firing blank bullets into the crowd, saying soldiers used live ammunition, killed protesters and dragged away their bodies. "They shot people. Many died," former premier said.

The Emergency Medical Institute of Thailand reported that 94 people, including soldiers, were injured in yesterday's clashes, including 24 who were still hospitalized, according to a report by Reuters. No deaths were reported.

The clashes came two days after protesters forced the cancellation of the Asian summit in Thailand, a big embarrassment for Abhisit, whom they have been trying to oust. "I believe the darkest days in Thailand's history are yet to come as we see no swift solution to ongoing divisiveness," said Prinn Panitchpakdi, a CLSA Asia-Pacific analyst.

Thailand’s baht fell the most in 10 months and ratings companies said the nation’s debt rating may be cut after state-of-emergency measures. The currency extended its loss this year to 2.8 percent as Standard & Poor's and Moody's, which already have a negative outlook on Thailand's sovereign ratings, said yesterday the unrest increased the risk of a downgrade. The turmoil raises the prospect that the military will seize control of the country, Paul Quaglia, director of PSA Asia, a Bangkok-based security firm, told Bloomberg. Thailand has had 10 coups since absolute monarchy was abolished in 1932.

The chaos in the capital will deal another blow to tourism, one of Thailand's biggest foreign exchange earners. Several countries have already warned their citizens against travel. The flare-up came at the start of the Thai New Year holiday, and even as the battles in the streets, in other parts of town squealing children and shrieking adults blasted each other with waterguns to celebrate the three-day Thai new year.

Here is a timeline tracing the political turmoil in Thailand:

Sept 19, 2006: Army stages a coup as PM Thaksin Shinawatra is at the U.N. in New York. He goes into exile in London.

May 30, 2007: Thaksin's party dissolved for breaking poll laws.

Dec 23: The pro-Thaksin People Power Party, or PPP, leader Samak Sundaravej elected prime minister.

Sept 9: Samak found guilty of violating constitution by hosting TV cooking shows while in office and forced to quit.

Sept 17: Somchai Wongsawat, Thaksin's relative, is elected PM.

Dec 2: Court disbands the PPP, bans Somchai from politics.

Dec 15: Opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva, an Oxford-educated economist, becomes third PMin as many months.

March 26, 2009: A blockade of Government House begins.

April 11: ASEAN summit cancelled after protesters overwhelm riot troops and storm part of the conference venue.

April 12: Abhisit declares a state of emergency in Bangkok.