Thai protesters seek revenge after clashes
10-OCT-2008 Intellasia | Reuters
Oct 10, 2008 - 7:00:00 AM
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| Thai soldiers in riot gear look on Thursday, October 9, 2008, near government House in Bangkok, Thailand. Thai soldiers have helped maintain an uneasy calm in Bangkok but anti-government protestors have vowed to avenge those killed and injured in clashes this week with police.
(AP Photo/David Longstreath) |
Protesters seeking to topple Thailand's government on Wednesday threatened more demonstrations in the capital, a day after two people died and over 400 were injured in the worst street violence in 16 years.
Prime minister Somchai Wongsawat briefed Southeast Asian ambassadors on the deepening political crisis, telling them the government was "confident that it can take care of the situation," a diplomat at the meeting told Reuters.
The long-running campaign and recent violence have hurt investor confidence and distracted policymakers when they should be focused on slowing economic growth and the fallout from the global credit crisis, analysts say.
Leaders of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) vowed to press on with the four-month street campaign.
"We can't stand this government with blood on its hands. More people will hit the streets to oust this government," Sirichai Maingam, a leader of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), told TV 3 television.
The streets around parliament were quiet after the military deployed unarmed troops overnight to help police restore order.
Police identified the man killed by a car bomb near parliament on Tuesday as Methee Chatmontri, a former police colonel and relative of a PAD leader in northeast Thailand.
Deputy Bangkok police chief Amnuay Nimmano told reporters they were investigating the source of the explosives and whether Methee knew the owner of the Jeep SUV destroyed by the blast.
A female protester also died in the clashes with police who fired volleys of teargas and stun grenades at the crowds. Demonstrators fought back with stones, clubs and pistol shots.
"SOMCHAI, THE TYRANT"
During a visit with injured police in hospital, Somchai defended their use of teargas against the protesters.
"Police were stabbed with steel bars, flag poles and even shot. The rally wasn't as peaceful as the protesters claimed," he told reporters.
As he left, Somchai was accosted by a female PAD supporter who shouted: "Somchai, the Tyrant. Somchai, the Killer."
PAD radio and television broadcasts urged supporters in the provinces to join the street campaign, which began in late May.
The PAD is an extra-parliamentary coalition of businesspeople, academics and activists who see Somchai as a puppet of Thaksin Shinawatra, his brother-in-law, who was deposed in a coup in 2006 and has fled to exile in London to escape graft charges.
"The marked escalation in violence now further threatens the business climate, tourist receipts, capital flows, the stock market and the baht," JPMorgan Chase said in a research note.
Foreign investors offloaded Thai shares worth a net 804 million baht on Tuesday, bringing total net selling to 129.7 billion (US$3.8 billion) this year. By comparison, daily stock market turnover in October has averaged just 11.4 billion baht.
The main stock index was down nearly 7%, but no worse than other regional bourses buffeted by the global credit crisis.
"Foreign investors have given up. They won't come back until there is a new election and a new government," one stock analyst told Reuters.
Tuesday's violence appalled many Thais, including one Thai Airways pilot who refused to let a government member of parliament board his plane for a domestic flight, radio reported.
Doctors at Bangkok's main state hospitals said they would not treat police or politicians involved in Tuesday's clashes. They planned to march on national police headquarters on Thursday.
"No treatment for police and wicked politicians in this room," said a sign posted outside an exam room at Chulalongkorn Hospital, although hospital officials said they did not endorse the boycott.
Thailand's revered Queen Sirikit donated another 200,000 baht to help treat the injured, a gesture the PAD leaders have embraced as an expression of support for their cause.
The chief government spokesman said it was saddened by the deaths and injured, saying it was time society healed its divisions.
The Bangkok Post carried a picture supplement, blurring out bits of photos showing demonstrators who had parts of their legs or feet blown off by exploding gas canisters.
The Nation's headline was 'Bloodbath in Bangkok'. In an editorial it berated Somchai's government for abandoning "its reconciliatory posture" and appealed for dialogue.
"Using force as the government did will only worsen the current standoff. If Somchai is not true to his own promises, then he should resign," the Nation newspaper said.
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