thai news today

Thanpuying denies plotting to kill Sondhi [-Someone close to the palace implicated in Sondhi's assassination attempt?]

Thanpuying Viriya Chavakul

3/05/2009
Bangkok Post

Thanpuying Viriya Chavakul has denied being the mastermind behind the attempted assassination of People's Alliance for Democracy leader Sondhi Limthongkul.

Speaking to INN news yesterday, Thanpuying Viriya insisted she had no knowledge of the plot to kill Mr Sondhi. Following the assassination attempt, Mr Sondhi said a certain lady close to the palace was one party among many who had "chipped in" to have him killed. "I'm not worried. Whoever wants to implicate me, let them. The truth is the truth. I'm just a woman without a husband who is incapable of doing anything like that to Mr Sondhi," she said. "The thought [of having Mr Sondhi killed] never crossed my mind."

Thanpuying Viriya admitted she was acquainted with military top brass because of her charity work, which included visiting frontline soldiers, and she now heads a foundation under royal patronage to care for border patrol security officers.

The Sondhi murder bid has opened up speculation that the gunmen were connected to, or part of, the security forces. Bullet casings engraved with the initials of the Royal Thai Army were collected from the shooting scene on April 17.

Thanpuying Viriya said the top brass she is close to are now retired and they are not in any active positions.

"Besides, these people don't love me enough to volunteer any kind of risky service for me," she added.

Thanpuying Viriya said she was being discredited because she had "endorsed" former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's loyalty to the monarchy.

"But this is what I believe to be true [Thaksin being loyal to the monarchy]. Everyone is entitled to their opinion," she said. Thanpuying Viriya also denied Mr Sondhi's suggestion that she skimmed money from the sale of blue shirts, a fund-raising project to honour Her Majesty's birthday.

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BBC 12/4/09

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Return of Cambodian artefacts delayed

April 20, 2009
The Nation

Due to recent domestic difficulties, Thailand has postponed the repatriation of seven smuggled artefacts to Cambodia.

"The Thai Cabinet will reschedule the return on a later date," Kriengkrai Sampatchalit, director-general of the Fine Arts Department, said yesterday.
Six of the artefacts were due to be sent back with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's one-day visit to Cambodia scheduled for last Saturday.

However, after the Asean Summit with dialogue partners in Pattaya collapsed on April 11 and rioting erupted in Bangkok on the following two days, foreign trips were cancelled.

The Foreign Ministry has already informed Cambodia of the decision, Kriengkrai said.

The seven ancient relics, including the one presented to the Cambodian prime minister in a formal hand-over ceremony in Pattaya on April 10, were still under the department's supervision, he said.

"We have given them proper care," he said.

Six of the pieces are asura (demon) heads while the other one is in the form of deva (angel) head.

Although the treasures have not yet been delivered, their planned homecoming has already warmed frosty ties between the two neighbours.

"The relations between Thailand and Cambodia have been improving since April 10," he said. "Officials and agencies from the two countries are expected to agree on many forms of cooperation soon."

Cambodia intends to submit more documentation to claim 36 other historic objects seized in Thailand.

"As soon as the evidence arrives, we'll work on it," he said.

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Thailand's bloody Muslim insurgency deeply rooted

Saturday, April 18, 2009
By DENIS D. GRAY

PATTANI, Thailand (AP) — While Thai authorities are preoccupied with riots in the capital, a five-year-old Muslim uprising in the south of the country is intensifying, and Thailand's troubled government and army are at odds about how to deal with it.
The bombings, shootings and beheadings show no signs of quieting. Machine-gun mounted Humvees scour for roadside bombs, soldiers sweep through villages suspected of harboring the insurgents and helicopters clatter above an idyllic, tropical landscape over which authorities have cast a security net more dense in terms of area and population than in Iraq.

The toll has risen to more than 3,400 dead and some 5,600 injured as the shadowy rebels pursue an ill-defined agenda that sometimes seems to call for an Islamic state separate from Buddhist-dominated Thailand, but is mostly a reaction to a history of discrimination.

Last month, in a surge-style operation, 4,000 more soldiers were added to a security force of 60,000 already in the three southern provinces.

But stalked by years of failed military efforts, the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is considering less military-focused options including lifting martial law and emergency decrees in the restive provinces, and reviving councils that once allowed Muslims more say in local matters.

But Abhisit is hamstrung. His energies have been absorbed by the mass demonstrations in Bangkok that are unrelated to the insurgency, and his political future is far from assured. And to an extent, he owes his premiership to a military that doesn't want to cede such powers as holding of suspects for up to 30 days without trial.

"Even if Abhisit knows exactly what he ought to do in the south he hasn't got a lot of power over these (military) guys. To move to a political situation you need to reduce the military's dominance and demilitarize the problem to some degree. But he isn't strong enough to launch a civilian-political offensive," says Duncan McCargo, author of the recent book on the insurgency, "Tearing Apart the Land."

Critics of government policy say causes of the southern crisis are too deeply rooted to be destroyed militarily, stemming from a history of governments that distrust the Muslims and don't regard them as "real Thais."

"The way they deal with us, press down on our youth, just makes young men more anti-government. They become more violent and go into the jungle to fight," says Nomee Yapa, whose father, a village imam, died in military custody. A court ruled last December that he had been tortured to death.

The complaints, even from moderate Muslim leaders, range from search patrols barging into homes to officials sneering at them for speaking their dialect of Malay, rather than Thai.

"We can't be ourselves anymore. Anything we do is suspect — a meeting among four or five friends, or just games. They even come into Quran classes for children to take photographs," says Nomee. The schoolteacher says that virtually every young man in Ko To village has been taken into temporary custody for questioning.

The military has been under intense pressure to take whatever measures necessary to suppress the violence, which includes terror tactics like beheadings and attacks on temples widely seen as intended to drive Buddhists from the area. Queen Sirikit, wife of the constitutional monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej — who usually keeps clear of public remarks about matters of state — spoke out several times of the need for protection.

Now, the military says it is adopting less aggressive tactics.

"We are doing much more to reach the people, to get closer to them. We are trying to forge more bonds with the villagers. We use martial law power only when necessary to deal with the insurgents." said Maj. Gen. Saksin Klansnoh, the Pattani task force commander.

He estimated the insurgents numbered only 3,000-6,000 out of a population of 1.8 million, more than 70 percent of them Muslim, in the provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat. These border Malaysia and are about half the size of Israel or New Jersey.

Saksin said violent incidents in Pattani dropped by 40 percent from October 2008 to March 2009, and independent analysts agree that attacks subsided overall last year as the military rounded up suspects and arrested some bomb makers.

But Srisompob Jitpiromsri, who tracks the numbers at Pattani's Prince of Songkhla University, said violent incidents began to rise again this year with some 100 in March — the highest monthly figure since 2007.

Remotely detonated road side explosives, drive-by shootings and, more recently, car bombs target both Buddhist authorities and Muslims suspected of siding with the state, along with innocents of both sides. There were nine beheadings in February.

"This indicates that the military approach failed to win hearts and minds," the political scientist said. "The military can disrupt the insurgents, block their movements, but it cannot fully control the situation. The insurgents can pick and choose their targets at any time, any place."

Even a superb military — and Thailand's southern forces have been widely criticized for incompetence — would find the insurgency a formidable challenge.

Into its fifth year, the insurgency has yet to reveal either its leaders or concrete aims. It appears to operate in small, fluid cells which have little direct contact with leaders of several shadowy organizations, principally the BRN-C, or National Revolutionary Front-Coordinate. Out of either sympathy or fear, the local population rarely points out the rebels to authorities.

"Sometimes we know who the leaders are but we don't have the evidence to bring them in. We have the same problems as the Americans in Iraq — to identify the insurgents from among the majority of people who are good," said Saksin.

Although some of their leaflets are couched in the rhetoric of holy war, the insurgents don't launch suicide bombers, stage attacks outside the south or target foreigners. Their goals appear local and limited.

McCargo cautions against linking the insurgency to al-Qaida and global jihad. That could happen, he says, "but it hasn't happened until now."

Attempts at negotiations have been halfhearted at best. Some Muslims suggest foreign mediation. Others suggest a form of autonomy, noting the region was an independent sultanate until it became part of Thailand in 1902.

Srisompob sees a hope that young, upwardly mobile southerners will moderate the crisis, provided they are allowed to maintain their Islamic traditions.

Worawit Baru, a prominent Muslim senator from Pattani, says the government simply doesn't understand the region's problems.

"This part of Thailand is so very different from all the others," he says. "You cannot deny history, culture. You cannot ignore 100 years, but this they don't understand."

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[O]peratives had for the past two years funneled arms through Cambodia to Thaksin-aligned supporters...": Report

[O]peratives had for the past two years funneled arms through Cambodia to Thaksin-aligned supporters...": Report

A Thai soldier inspects the damaged vehicle of Sondhi Limthongkul, founder of the People's Alliance of Democracy (PAD), in Bangkok. The Thai activist, who led a blockade of the kingdom's main airports last year, was shot and wounded in the head Friday morning in an assassination attempt the government said was aimed at inciting fresh unrest. (Pairoj / AFP/Getty Images)

Thailand extends state of emergency

After Bangkok street violence that claimed two lives and injured up to 100, the Thai prime minister also calls for a probe of the attempted assassination of a protest leader.

April 18, 2009
By Charles McDermid and Jakkapun Kaewsangthong
Los Angeles Times (California, USA)

Reporting from Bangkok -- The prime minister of Thailand extended a state of emergency Friday and pledged to launch an investigation into the assassination attempt on a prominent protest leader that occurred here earlier in the day.

The early-morning ambush of media mogul Sondhi Limthongkul, founder of the movement that toppled the previous government, could dash hopes that Thailand will return to normal soon in the wake of violent street battles Monday that left at least two dead and as many as 100 wounded.

"We will continue applying the state of emergency, but for as short a period as possible, in order to restore peace and normalcy in Bangkok and its vicinities," Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said in a televised address.

Gunmen in a pickup truck without a license plate opened fire on Sondhi's vehicle with automatic weapons about 5 a.m. as he was heading to work to host a television program. Jinttana Damrong, 56, a food vendor, was setting up her stall when the brazen attack took place.

"I went out to prepare food as usual. Suddenly, I heard the sound of a car speed up and then they started shooting. It was like an action movie -- they kept shooting nonstop. I told my son to hide, then I ran to hide."

Maj. Gen. King Kwangvisetchaichai said the assailants first aimed to shoot out the car's tires before riddling it with as many as 100 bullets. Sondhi, who founded the protest movement known as the People's Alliance for Democracy, or PAD, was shot in the shoulder and had a bullet surgically removed from his skull, according to reports.

Sondhi's secretary and driver were also injured. Sondhi has been moved from Vajira Hospital to an undisclosed facility under police protection.

Police say they recovered 84 bullet casings from AK-47 and M-16 assault rifles. A dud M-79 shell was also found, according to local media.

"I have already ordered authorities to check how it is that war weapons emerged and were used in the capital," Abhisit said in his address.

Battlefield weapons were seen across downtown Bangkok on Monday as government troops dislodged red-shirted anti-government forces from sites they occupied around the capital, including their last redoubt at Government House, the office of the prime minister.

The street battles capped a week of violent protests in which the "red shirts" -- supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra -- stormed a key regional summit, forcing its cancellation and the airlift evacuation of several Southeast Asian leaders. About 3,000 remaining protesters surrendered to the government Tuesday morning even as some of the movement's chiefs vowed to intensify their struggle from underground.

Thaksin-aligned lawmaker Worawut Ua-apinyakul was quoted in the local press Thursday as saying that the protesters would unleash a "covert struggle."

Sondhi's PAD movement has been instrumental in toppling two Thaksin-aligned governments, most recently in late 2008 when his "yellow shirts" overran Bangkok's two international airports. One of the demands of the red shirts, in addition to the resignation of Abhisit, has been the prosecution of the ringleaders of the airport seizures. Sondhi and Thaksin are former business partners and, according to reports, onetime friends.

Thaksin, a billionaire telecom tycoon who is in hiding after being sentenced to jail on corruption charges, has given a spate of interviews in international media in recent days. He has called for a "people's revolution" to overthrow the Abhisit government and has also promised to return to Thailand.

According to a report Tuesday by analyst Shawn Crispin, "operatives had for the past two years funneled arms through Cambodia to Thaksin-aligned supporters in the country's northeastern provinces, where his grass-roots support runs strongest."

PAD has thus far remained silent in the escalating political crisis.

"As far as I know, at this time we won't move yet. The leaders have said we will move when it is the right time," said Pattama Deemee, a 48-year-old Bangkok business owner and PAD supporter. "In my opinion this is the beginning of underground activity meant to make us feel unsafe. This is a hard game for Abhisit and the Thai people. We will never know what will happen next."

McDermid and Kaewsangthong are special correspondents

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Thaksin warns of return to violence

Thaksin warns of return to violence

Wednesday April 15 2009
By Richard Spencer in Bangkok
Daily Telegraph (UK)

Thailand's former prime minister warned yesterday that violence would return to the streets of Bangkok if the authorities took a hard line against his supporters.

Thaksin Shinawatra called for the release of the protest leaders after they gave themselves up when the army moved in to surround them.

Arrest warrants have been issued for 14 more opposition leaders, including Thaksin, who went into self-imposed exile last year before a court convicted him of violating conflict of interest laws.

Speaking from Dubai, Thaksin said the Thai government should seek "reconciliation" with its opponents, who wear red shirts in contrast to the yellow tops worn by government loyalists.

"They have to talk to the leaders not just arrest them and put them into jail," he said. "Violence begets violence. If they imprison the leaders there will be more violence.

"If you think you can use power to crush people you can't expect that they will just be silent."

The last of the protesters, who had been besieging Government House for three weeks, gave up and left yesterday. They had been surrounded overnight by thousands of soldiers. Four of the leaders turned themselves in to police.

Thaksin said he had not ordered the surrender but he had told the leaders to be careful and to "worry about life" after a day of violence on Monday when protesters clashed with soldiers across Bangkok.

More than 120 people were reported injured and two were confirmed dead.

Thaksin denied that the end to the demonstrations marked a personal defeat.

"I never fought," he said, insisting that he had been offering "moral support" to the demonstrators, not directing their activities.

The claim is at odds with his explosive video addresses over the past three weeks to crowds in Bangkok, culminating in a call for a "revolution" at the weekend.

Thaksin, whose main support is among the poor, incited the crowds by alleging that a conspiracy of elite interests overthrew his government in a military coup in 2006.

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New year in thailand

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Thailand issues Thaksin warrant

Activists abandoned their positions after protests were called off to avoid further unrest [AFP]

Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Al Jazeera

A Bangkok court has issued arrest warrants for Thaksin Shinawatra, the exiled former prime minister, and 13 of his supporters after violent demonstrations that left two people dead and scores injured.

The anti-government "Red Shirts" called off their protests earlier on Tuesday as the military tightened its grip on the city.


"Thaksin and his allies were charged by the court for illegal assembly of more than 10 people, threatening acts of violence and breach of the peace, punishable with five years in jail," the warrant said.

Thaksin has addressed the crowd of protesters via video nearly every evening since the latest round of protests began on March 26, but denied in an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera that he encouraged violence.

"I'm not instigating it I keep telling them we should do it peacefully, each day I tell them peaceful, peaceful peaceful," he said.

Thaksin was ousted as prime minister during a bloodless coup in 2006 and was convicted in absentia of violating a conflict of interest law.

He is also accused of inciting people to break the law and cause unrest, a charge punishable by seven years in prison.

Thaksin said he would only return to Thailand to face trial if a "neutral body' had carried out the investigation and he could be guaranteed a fair trial.

Positions abandoned

Early on Tuesday around 2,000 protesters who have camped out around Government House for more than two weeks had been encircled by soldiers, raising fears of a repeat of Monday's bloody clashes.

But after a meeting of representatives of both sides, protest leaders called on the demonstrators to abandon their positions and they began to move away with their arms raised.

As the protesters began to file away, a protest organiser told Al Jazeera they were not giving up their fight to force the Abhisit Vehjjajiva, the Thai prime minister, from power.

"There is no loss we're taking a step back in order to go forward," Suporn Atthawong said.

"We’ll be back at a later date.

"We have decided to call off the rally today because many brothers and sisters have been hurt and killed. We don't want everybody to suffer the same. And we will not allow more deaths."

At least two people were reported killed overnight, apparently in clashes with pro-government supporters.

More than 120 people are reported to have been injured.

Abhisit said the military had used "soft means" in handling the protests and welcomed the decision to halt the demonstrations.

"I don't consider this a victory or defeat but it's a victory for peace in society," he said in a televised speech.

"The operation under the state of emergency is not over. There are still things to do. I insist the government will not be negligent because we have to remain vigilant."

Corruption

Political tensions have simmered since 2006 when Thaksin was ousted by a military coup amid accusations of corruption and abuse of power, a year after he won re-election in a landslide.

He remains popular among Thailand's rural poor for the populist policies he introduced.

Despite being in self-imposed exile, Thaksin remains an influential force and has sent almost daily video and audio messages to Red Shirt rallies, supporting their call for the current prime minister to resign and hold fresh elections.

However, Thaksin told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that he did not aiming to become prime minister again.

"I'm not really wanting to be prime minister but if the country need me if the people need me I will. Because I’m 60 in July I want to spend my life peacefully," he said.

The Red Shirts took their cue from protests last year by rival "Yellow Shirts" who took to the streets in huge demonstrations against successive pro-Thaksin governments.

Those protests culminated in the shutdown of Bangkok's two airports and court rulings ordering the dissolution of the government, paving the way for Abhisit to take power in December.

The Red Shirts took to the streets last month, accusing Abhisit of taking power illegally.

They say the Thai elite – the military, judiciary and other unelected officials – are interfering in politics, and are seeking Thaksin's rehabilitation.

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Thailand has 'deep problems'

'This is disappointing for all heads of government,' Mr Rudd told reporters after returning to Australia. -- PHOTO: AFP

April 12, 2009
AFP
Chaos in Pattaya

MELBOURNE - AUSTRALIAN Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said on Sunday he was disappointed protesters in Thailand had forced the cancellation of a major Asian summit, saying there were 'deep problems' in the host nation.
Mr Rudd was en route to the summit in the beach resort of Pattaya Saturday when his plane was forced to divert mid-flight after anti-government protesters smashed their way into the event venue.

The meeting, at which Mr Rudd would have held important talks on the global financial crisis, was cancelled amid extraordinary scenes of foreign leaders being plucked by helicopter from the roof of their luxury hotel.

'This is disappointing for all heads of government,' Mr Rudd told reporters after returning to Australia.

'There's important business to discuss on the future of the regional economy given the impact of the global economic recession. And we'll have to, of course, reconvene this meeting at a later time.' Mr Rudd said he hoped Thailand would return to political normality soon.

'Obviously there are deep problems in Thai domestic politics at present,' he said.

'I think all friends of Thailand want to see a return to political normality in the kingdom of Thailand.

'It's going to be important for the future for that to occur and we all urge all parties to adhere to peaceful, democratic means to return Thai politics to normal.' Rudd also urged Australians in Thailand to heed warnings in a government travel advisory issued after the latest unrest.

The advisory warns visitors to stay away from political demonstrations and rallies.

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It's all smile between Hor 5 Hong and Kasit Piromya, the insulter of Hor 5 Hong's boss

Thailand's Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya (L) talks with Cambodia's Foreign Minister Hor Namhong (R) during the 3rd ASEAN Coordinating Council as part of the 14th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Pattaya resort April 10, 2009. Leaders from 15 other Asian countries began arriving in Thailand on Friday for a summit focusing on the global financial crisis, as anti-government protesters marched towards the venue. REUTERS/Pornchai Kittiwongsakul/Pool

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Protesters break through security at Asian summit

Supporters of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra break through a cordon of anti-riot policemen near the venue of the 14th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Pattaya April 10, 2009. Anti-government protesters converged on the Thai beach town of Pattaya on Friday with plans to disrupt an Asian summit as part of efforts to try to force Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to step down. REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang

Friday, April 10, 2009

PATTAYA, Thailand (AFP) — Thai protesters pushed through security at a summit of Asian leaders, forcing their campaign to topple Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva into the international spotlight.

Thai police vowed to use "all means necessary" to clear the hundreds of protesters away from the beach resort hotel where the leaders of China, Japan, India and 13 other nations were to gather for the three-day summit.

Around 400 protesters faced off outside against at least 200 security forces -- including riot police in full gear and army soldiers -- who stood in formation outside the hotel.

The security breach came after months of assurances from the government that it would not let the kingdom's internal political turmoil, which has been boiling for months, disrupt the meeting.

Protesters launched new mass rallies in Bangkok on Wednesday to push Abhisit to resign, insisting that he came to power undemocratically through a court ruling that toppled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra's allies in December.

"Today we are not coming to stop the summit. We have come to join the summit to represent the Thai people because Abhisit cannot be responsible for our rights," protest leader Arismun Pongreungrong told AFP.

"Abhisit is not the legitimate prime minister. We have to pressure him to resign."

Thai authorities have gone out of their way to avoid clashes with protesters since mass violence broke out at a rally by anti-Thaksin demonstrators in Bangkok last October, leaving two people dead and 500 injured.

The protesters on Friday passed through the last line of unarmed riot police with little resistance, chanting slogans, cheering and clapping their hands.

Some protesters arrived on pick-up trucks and on scooters, moving to within 50 metres (yards) of the front doors of the luxury hotel and waving red posters reading "Abhisit get out" and "Thailand needs change".

British-born Abhisit has repeatedly resisted their calls to go and his government hardened its stance earlier Friday, saying it intended to arrest the leaders of the protests against the government.

Abhisit said late Thursday that he had boosted security in Pattaya for the summit, which groups the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.

China earlier this week expressed concerns about security at the summit but said it was confident the Thai government could keep protesters away. Chinese premier Wen Jiabao was due to arrive later Friday.

The protests have marked the biggest challenge to Abhisit since he came to power four months ago. On Thursday around 100 taxi drivers blocked a major intersection in Bangkok, snarling traffic across the capital.

"Certain people must take responsibility for all these incidents," said the Oxford-educated premier.

Thaksin, a billionaire populist who still has a loyal following among the country's poor but is loathed by the Bangkok elite, was ousted in a military coup in 2006.

Living in exile to avoid a two-year prison sentence for corruption, Thaksin has been egging on the protesters with nightly messages to them via videolink.

Abhisit announced a public holiday across Thailand on Friday in a bid to ease tension across the country.

The government has repeatedly said it would ensure the security of the summit -- which was postponed twice and moved to different cities twice in a bid to keep away from the protests.

"We are using international standards of security protection for the 16 leaders," Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, in charge of national security, said on Friday. "They will be safe."

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Thai Premier Stands Firm as Protests Spread, Threaten Summit

By Daniel Ten Kate and Suttinee Yuvejwattana

April 10 (Bloomberg) -- Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva rejected the demands of protesters who used taxis to block Bangkok’s streets in a bid to force his ouster before he hosts a summit of Asian leaders that starts today.

Tens of thousands of people remained camped out at the premier’s office and other locations in the capital after bringing traffic in key intersections to a standstill. Abhisit, declaring today a public holiday, said the protesters “broke the law” and vowed not to quit or call an election.
“Dissolving the parliament is not an appropriate option at the moment,” Abhisit, 44, said in a nationally televised address late yesterday. “The right time to consider that is when we have political stability and the expression of people’s rights without a climate of violence.”

The expanding rallies threaten to undermine Abhisit’s four- month-old administration as he welcomes 15 leaders attending the three-day Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting. Demonstrators, who have surrounded his office since March 26, say his government is illegitimate because he took power after a court disbanded the former ruling party.

“The situation is volatile and could turn violent,” said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a professor at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University. “They have pent-up rage from being insulted, underestimated and dismissed by the establishment.”

Protesters planned to travel to Pattaya, a resort town 150 kilometers (90 miles) south of the capital, where the Asean summit will take place, said protest leader Jatuporn Prompan. Leaders from China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand also plan to attend the meeting.

Disable Government

“Our aim is to make the government unable to function,” protest leader Jatuporn Prompan said by telephone. “Our demand hasn’t been met.”

Abhisit said the government has stepped up security in Pattaya to prevent demonstrators from disrupting the summit. His car was attacked by a group of protesters on April 7 in the resort town as he returned to Bangkok from a cabinet meeting.

The protests escalated on April 8 when crowds besieged the house of Privy Council President Prem Tinsulanonda, 88. They say Prem, King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s top adviser, and two fellow advisers should step down for allegedly plotting the coup that ousted former Prime MinisterThaksin Shinawatra. Prem has denied any involvement in the 2006 coup.

In targeting Prem, a former army chief and prime minister, the demonstrators face accusations they are criticizing the monarchy, a crime in Thailand that can see offenders jailed for as many as 15 years. Under Thailand’s constitutional monarchy, the king is head of state while the prime minister and parliament govern. The king must still approve all legislation.

Red Shirts

The protesters wear red shirts to distinguish themselves from rivals who sported yellow to show loyalty to King Bhumibol during a 193-day campaign to remove a pro-Thaksin government last year. They came from 35 provinces, mostly in Thaksin’s electoral base in northeast Thailand, to join the April 8 march.

“We love peace, but we need to fight,” Thaksin told a rally late yesterday via videophone. “We have to tell the world this government is no longer legitimate.”

Thaksin, who fled Thailand last year to escape corruption charges, has spoken to his supporters through a video link-up in rallies throughout the country since Abhisit took power. He was sentenced to two years in prison in October for helping his wife buy land from the government while he served as prime minister.

Since the coup, the courts disbanded two pro-Thaksin parties and banned about 140 politicians loyal to him, including former Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat in December. Parties linked to Thaksin have won the past four national elections on heavy support from the northeast, Thailand’s poorest region.

Airport Protest

Abhisit took power in December after protesters who support him shut down the country’s airports for eight days and a court dissolved the ruling party for vote buying. He wooed a faction of lawmakers that previously backed Thaksin to join his coalition, and consolidated his parliamentary majority in a March 21 confidence vote.

Thailand’s consumer confidence fell to the lowest level in more than seven years in March, buffeted by the protests and an economy heading for its first annual contraction in more than a decade. The index dropped to 66 from 67.2 in February, the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce said yesterday.

Thailand’s Stock Exchange of Thailand will remain open today along with banks, Patareeya Benjapolchai, its president, said by phone. The benchmark SET Index has risen 1.6 percent since protests began March 26, compared with a 3.7 percent rise in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index.

To contact the reporters on this story: Daniel Ten Kate in Bangkok at dtenkate@bloomberg.net; Suttinee Yuvejwattana in Bangkok at suttinee1@bloomberg.net

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Thailand protesters demand Prime Minister Abhisit resign

Supporters of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra also seek the ouster of a top advisor to the king.

April 9, 2009
By Charles McDermid and Jakkapun Kaewsangthong
Los Angeles Time (California, USA)

Reporting from Bangkok, Thailand -- A sea of red-clad anti-government protesters flooded into central Bangkok on Wednesday to demand the resignations of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and a key advisor to King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
City officials estimated that 100,000 supporters of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra filled the capital's government district. The protesters from the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship are demanding the resignation of Vejjajiva and his 4-month-old administration because they say he gained power undemocratically.

In the afternoon, hundreds of demonstrators broke through police barricades and surrounded the home of Privy Council President Gen. Prem Tinsulanonda, who they say was behind the 2006 military coup that ousted Thaksin. Prem, a close advisor to the highly respected king, has denied any involvement in the coup.

Wednesday's rally came after a two-week sit-in outside Abhisit's office by thousands of protesters.

On Tuesday, the so-called red shirts attacked Abhisit's motorcade in the resort town of Pattaya, pelting his vehicle with bottles, smashing the rear window and punching his driver and guards. The brazen attack raised security concerns about a summit of the Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, scheduled to commence in Pattaya on Friday.

Government officials said Wednesday that the summit would proceed as planned. Abhisit has refused to step down or employ violence to quell the protests.

"If it becomes a riot, the government will have to do something," Abhisit told reporters in Bangkok. "I can assure you there will be no violence starting from the government's side."

Last year, Thaksin fled Thailand before a court convicted him of abuse of power and he was sentenced to a two-year prison term. Using a video linkup Wednesday, he called on more supporters to join the protesters in pursuit of "a true democracy."

Thaksin's supporters point to the former telecommunications magnate's alleged economic prowess as the way out of the global financial crisis.

"He is smart guy. When he was in his power, poor people could make a lot of money. Today when they look at their wallet, it is empty. We want him and his policies back," 45-year-old restaurant owner Nattapon Karaked said.

According to government officials, 10,000 police officers and military troops have been deployed in central Bangkok. Pattaya is also on high alert.

Bus routes were diverted from Bangkok protest areas and visitors have been warned to avoid those sites.

Chanisa Rangtes, a 27-year-old receptionist, said the gathering of protesters in central Bangkok caused worse problems than the usual traffic jams and noise pollution.

"This isn't going to do any good for our society. People will get hurt and it will ruin our reputation, which is already getting bad. In the end we don't get anything," she said. "I'm not sure if it's even really about democracy."

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Making sense of Thailand’s turmoil

(Photo: Athit Perawongmetha/Getty Images)

Thu, 04/09/2009
By Roberto Herrera-Lim
Foreign Policy

Bangkok's streets are again filled with protesters this week in what will likely prove a boisterous but futile attempt to force the government's resignation. But behind all the noise, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who has been directing these demonstrations from outside the country, may well have a more subtle, longer-term agenda.

Thaksin and his supporters have been attacking the country's "aristocracy"--and top adviser to King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Prem Tinsulanonda, in particular. This suggests that Thaksin's maneuvers are related less to any effort to immediately oust the current government but instead to undermining the power structures centered around the monarchy, particularly the King's privy council, and the succession process that Thailand will face once ailing King Bhumibol passes from the scene.

The protests are generating more noise than usual thanks to warnings from Thaksin that "the time for talks has passed" and the sense that protesters (known as "red shirts") are pushing for a confrontation. The former prime minister, ousted in a 2006 coup, is still able to create tension in the capital by rallying his supporters from Thailand's northeast and among Bangkok's poor. But without support from the military, the monarchy, and Bangkok's middle class, these protests are highly unlikely to divide the country's political elite and threaten the current regime. Even Thaksin's allies know that even if they could force new elections, the elite-controlled institutions could undermine their administration. Thaksin is believed to be in either Dubai or Cambodia, and evidence suggests that the military is trying to block his satellite telephone calls to followers inside Thailand.

The real motive behind Thaksin's use of these protests is probably to weaken Prem, which would then allow him to position himself to eventually take advantage of a government weakened by the economic crisis, to negotiate his return to the country, and to settle his many outstanding legal and financial problems. The big unknown is whether Thaksin's moves reveal that he has inside information on how and when the succession process (and resulting power struggle) will begin to unfold, and whether his rhetoric is an attempt to position himself in the conflict for power that could follow.

To up the ante, Thaksin has warned that he expects to see a "revolution by the people" that is more intense than the civilian unrest that rocked the country in 1973 and 1992. He has also explicitly accused Prem and retired General Surayud Chulanont of having organized the 2006 coup that ousted him from office.

These are bold (and unprecedented) criticisms, because Prem has been considered for the past decade a direct representative of King Bhumibol and therefore beyond this kind of accusation. Protesters have organized demonstrations near Prem's home. By proving that he still commands considerable public support and boldly attacking Prem (and members of the military complicit in the 2006 coup), Thaksin may well be trying to establish himself as a political force to be reckoned with following the King's death-particularly if the succession process fails to produce a strong monarch.

In short, Thailand is in the midst of a power struggle that could reach deeply into its institutions and power structures. It started with a fight between the elites and Thaksin in 2006, and has begun to spill over into the public sphere. The stakes have been magnified by the uncertainty around the royal succession in a country in which the monarchy remains the most powerful political institution. Thailand's history shows that this type of conflict will take time to resolve, with results ranging from the absurd to the tragic.

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Cambodia PM says Thai border conflict "not a war"

By Ek Madra

PHNOM PENH, April 4 (Reuters) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Saturday a border clash with Thailand around a 900-year-old Hindu temple would not escalate into a more serious conflict.

"I regard the fighting yesterday as an incident, not a war," Hun Sen said a day after Thai and Cambodian troops exchanged rifle and rocket fire near the Preah Vihear temple that has been a source of tension for decades.
Cambodia suffered no casualties, while Thai authorities said two of their soldiers were killed and nine wounded in the worst fighting since a military stand-off near the temple last year.

"I don't want to see these incidents repeated or fighting expand to other areas," Hun Sen told a group of disabled soldiers during a visit to the coastal province of Kampot. Both sides accused each other of firing first in two separate clashes on Friday, which Thailand called a "misunderstanding".

Preah Vihear, or Khao Phra Viharn as it is known in Thailand, sits on an escarpment that forms the natural border between the two countries and has been a source of tension for generations.

The International Court of Justice awarded it to Cambodia in 1962, but the ruling did not determine the ownership of 1.8 square miles (4.6 sq km) of scrub next to the ruins, leaving considerable scope for disagreement.

A joint border committee set up to demarcate the jungle-clad border area after last year's clashes, which killed one Thai and three Cambodian soldiers, will meet again on Sunday for three days of talks.

Both sides have talked about developing the site into a tourist destination. The site is some 600 km (370 miles) east of Bangkok and only a decade ago was controlled by remnants of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge guerrilla army.

(Additional reporting by Vithoon Amorn in Bangkok)
(Writing by Darren Schuettler; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)

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Thepthai: Thaksin sighted in Cambodia [... near Hun Sen's residence]

4/04/2009
Bangkokpost.com

Fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has allegedly been sighted in Cambodia, says Abhisit Vejjajiva’s personal spokesman Thepthai Senpong. Thaksin was allegedly spotted near the residence of Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen.
Mr Thepthai said if this was true, the Cambodian government should clarify the matter with Thailand, similar to Lao PDR’s manner when it made clear Thaksin was banned from entering its territory. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was inspecting this issue.

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Thai PM rejects calls for his resignation

A supporter of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra shouts slogans while enjoying coffee and donuts at a protest rally outside Government House Friday, March 27, 2009, in Bangkok, Thailand. The new burst of political turmoil, which has plagued Thailand throughout most of last year, came as the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva grappled with the country's worst economic crisis in a decade. (AP Photo/David Longstreath)

March 27, 2009
By Ambika Ahuja
Associated Press Writer

BANGKOK—The Thai prime minister rejected calls for his resignation by thousands of anti-government protesters who ringed his office for a second day Friday in a boisterous rally.
Supporters of deposed former leader Thaksin Shinawatra have surrounded the government's main office since Thursday. The demonstrators say Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjavija's government came to power three months ago through illegal means and are demanding a dissolution of Parliament and fresh elections.

Police estimated about 30,000 people gathered outside Government House on Thursday evening.

About 3,000 demonstrators remained on the streets around the seat of government Friday as leaders took to the stage to denounce the government in the midday heat.

More were expected to join the throng in the evening to hear Thaksin, currently in self-imposed exile, make a televised broadcast to the rally from a secret location abroad.

The protest is the latest episode in Thailand's protracted political turmoil which last year saw months of protests by Thaksin's opponents.

Abhisit said he does not expect the protests to turn violent. Other demonstrations against the current government have been generally peaceful.

"Whether to resign or not resign is a political matter within the system," Abhisit told reporters Friday at his Democrat Party's headquarters. "Right now, the situation remains normal."

Abhisit went later to Parliament. It was not clear if he would try to enter Government House later in the day.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thuaksuban said security officials will assess the situation before Abhisit and his Cabinet members enter the compound.

Thaksin's supporters are using the same people-power method as their rivals, who last year besieged the Government House for three months and occupied Bangkok's two main airports for one week.

The "red-shirts," as the pro-Thaksin supporters are commonly known because of their favored color, have vowed to remain outside Government House at least through the weekend. But they said they would not break into the compound as their rivals did.

"We will protest until the illegitimate government is gone. We have to stop them from causing more damage to Thai democracy," said a protest leader, Nattawut Sai-kua. "We will stay for as long as we need to get the job done."

Abhisit was voted in by Parliament in December after a court dissolved the party leading the previous government, which was packed with Thaksin's allies.

Protesters say the court decisions were political and biased against the former leader's allies.

Thaksin, who remains popular in the countryside, fled into exile last year and has been convicted in absentia of violating a conflict of interest law.

He made a brief phone call that was broadcast to the rally Thursday night. He said he was calling from Africa.

"I want to thank you, brothers and sisters, who are here to defend democracy," he said to loud cheers from protesters. "Without democracy, there will never be progress."

He was ousted in a 2006 military coup for alleged corruption and abuse of power.

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