|
 Yingluck Shinawatra's comments, broadcast in a televised news
conference, highlighted the unusual political deadlock Thailand
finds itself in with no clear solution in sight even as violence on
the streets continues to rise.
As Yingluck spoke from the heavily guarded national police
headquarters, street battles between protesters and police that
started over the weekend intensified. Protesters commandeered
garbage trucks and bulldozers and tried to ram concrete barriers at
Government House and other key offices. Police struggled to repel
them by firing tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets, as
protesters shot back explosives from homemade rocket launchers
The protests aimed at toppling Yingluck's government have renewed
fears of prolonged instability in one of Southeast Asia's biggest
economies and comes just ahead of the peak holiday tourist season.
At least three people were killed and more than 200 injured in the
past three days of violence, which capped a week of massive street
rallies that drew crowds of more than 100,000 at their peak.
"If there's anything I can do to bring peace back to the Thai people
I am happy to do it," Yingluck said, striking a conciliatory but
firm tone. "The government is more than willing to have talks, but I
myself cannot see a way out of this problem that is within the law
and in the constitution."
Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban, who met with Yingluck on Sunday
night, has said he will not be satisfied with Yingluck's resignation
or new elections. Instead, he wants an unelected "people's council"
to pick a new prime minister who would replace Yingluck, even though
she was elected with an overwhelming majority. His demand has been
criticized by many as undemocratic.
"I don't know how we can proceed" with Suthep's demand, she said.
"We don't know how to make it happen. Right now we don't see any way
to resolve the problem under the constitution," she said in the
brief 12-minute news conference.
She cited Suthep's repeated statements that he won't be satisfied
even if she steps down to end the deadlock, and implied that she was
willing to hold fresh elections if that helps.
"I am not against either resignation or dissolution of parliament if
this solution will stop the protests," she said. "The government is
not trying to cling to power."
The protesters, who are mostly middle-class Bangkok supporters of
the opposition Democrat Party, accuse Yingluck of being a proxy for
her brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. He was
deposed in a 2006 military coup but remains central to Thailand's
political crisis, and is a focal point for the protester's hatred.
The protesters, who call themselves the People's Democratic Reform
Committee, say their goal is to uproot the political machine of
Thaksin, who is accused of widespread corruption and abuse of power.
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Monday's violence took place around key institutions -- the
Government House, the Parliament and Metropolitan Police
Headquarters in the historic quarter of the capital. The area has
some of Bangkok's main tourist attractions such as the Grand Palace,
Wat Pho temple, the Bangkok zoo, and the backpacker area of Khao San
Road. Most of Bangkok, a city of 10 million, has been unaffected.
The protesters' numbers have dwindled from a peak of 100,000-plus a
week ago but hardcore groups have remained at the frontline,
fighting running battles with the police.
Many schools and offices, including the United Nations' regional
headquarters located near the Government House, were closed.
The French Embassy issued one of the strongest warnings of dozens of
foreign governments, urging citizens to "stay inside" to avoid the
conflict on Bangkok's streets.
The French School was one of at least 60 schools closed in Bangkok
on Monday. It is located in a northeastern Bangkok neighborhood
where gunshots rang out over the weekend during clashes between
Yingluck's supporters and opponents.
Suthep's meeting with Yingluck on Sunday took place in the presence
of top military leaders, even though he had an arrest warrant
against him. A second arrest warrant was issued Monday on charges of
insurrection. His sustained campaign has raised suggestions that he
may have the backing of the military, which has long had a powerful
influence over Thai politics. The army has often stepped in during
times of crisis, carrying out 18 successful or attempted coups since
the 1930s.
Political instability has plagued Thailand since the military ousted
Thaksin, who remains hugely popular among rural voters, in 2006. Two
years later, anti-Thaksin protesters occupied Bangkok's two airports
for a week after taking over the prime minister's office for three
months, and in 2010 pro-Thaksin protesters occupied downtown Bangkok
for weeks in a standoff that ended with parts of the city in flames
and more than 90 dead.
"I believe that no one wants to see a repeat of history, where we
saw the people suffer and lose their lives," Yingluck said.
[Associated
Press; JOCELYN GECKER and THANYARAT DOKSONE]
Associated Press writers
Vijay Joshi, Papitchaya Boonngok and Raul Gallego Abellan
contributed to this report.
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