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 Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban, a former deputy prime minister,
has dismissed the charges and vowed to press on with the protests
after a pause out of respect for the 86th birthday of King Bhumibol
Adulyadej on Thursday.
The protests are the latest eruption of a conflict that pits the
Bangkok-based royalist establishment against mostly poorer Thais
loyal to Yingluck and her brother, former premier Thaksin
Shinawatra, who was toppled by the military in 2006 and lives in
self-imposed exile.
Suthep, 64, a silver-haired politician from Thailand's south who
resigned as a lawmaker for the pro-establishment Democrat Party to
lead the protests, wants a vaguely defined "people's council" to
replace the government.
Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul, who is also head of a
special internal security panel, said Suthep should give himself up.
"We will not hold further talks with Suthep until he surrenders
himself to police," Surapong told reporters. "It's time for him to
surrender because he broke the law and anyone who gives him refuge
or shelter would be deemed guilty, too."
The military, which has staged or attempted 18 coups in the past 80
years, has tried to mediate in the crisis and brought Yingluck and
Suthep together for inconclusive talks on Sunday.
But after days of violence in which five people were killed, concern
has grown that the military might step in to replace the government,
on the pretext of restoring order.
Addressing those fears, navy chief Admiral Narong Pipathanasai said
he and the heads of the army and air force had met on Wednesday and
had no plans to intervene.
"Everyone agreed that the military forces will not take a leading
role in this situation and there will be no coup as we believe the
tension is easing and everything will be back to normal soon," he
told reporters.
"FIGHT EVERY DAY"
The government took the heat out of the confrontation on Tuesday,
telling police to step aside and let protesters into state agencies
they had besieged. That restored calm in time for the king's
birthday but Suthep said it was just a pause.
"We will start our fight again on December 6. We will start as dawn
is breaking and we will fight every day until we get victory," he
told supporters in a speech late on Tuesday.
A crowd of protesters marched to the national police headquarters on
Wednesday and got into its grounds but failed to get past interior
barriers and later dispersed peacefully.
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Recalling the fraternization at state agencies on Tuesday, after
exchanges of teargas and petrol bombs the day before, hundreds of
female officers replaced riot police at the barricades and waved
goodbye to the protesters as both sides chanted "Long live the
king!".
Protesters still occupy the Finance Ministry and a big
administrative centre but the government is carrying on, with
Yingluck meeting ministers at Government House, which had to be
defended with teargas and water cannon this week.
Government spokesman Teerat Ratanasevi told reporters Yingluck had
asked for measures to be drawn up to boost investment, create jobs
and restore confidence.
Consumer confidence fell in November to its lowest level in almost
two years as the demonstrators took to the streets to force the
government to abandon a political amnesty bill that would have
allowed Thaksin to come home, avoiding a prison sentence for abuse
of power.
That, plus cancellations by tourists, could add to the problems of
an economy struggling with weak exports.
However, Sampan Silapanad, president of the Electronic and Computer
Employers' Association, said disruption was minimal.
"There's no immediate impact to business. Only a few workers face
problems in terms of travel, which may be unsafe, so some firms have
advised them to stay home," he told Reuters.
If the protests were drawn out, some international firms might
temporarily shift production to other countries and that could
damage investor confidence over the long term, he said.
But for now, problems for association members such as Western
Digital Corp and Seagate Technology Plc were nothing like those
encountered during flooding in 2011, which cut supply lines and
closed some factories for months.
The stock market dipped 0.5 percent on Wednesday after rallying on
Tuesday as tension subsided. Traders said the baht was helped a
little by the navy chief's comments.
[By Pairat Temphairojana and Jutarat Skulpichetrat]
(Additional reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat and Apornrath
Phoonphongphiphat; writing by Alan Raybould; editing by Robert Birsel and Nick Macfie)
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