|
 Police estimated about 160,000 protesters converged on Yingluck's
office at Government House, but there was none of the violence and
bloodshed seen before the demonstrations paused last Thursday out of
respect for the king's birthday.
The protesters want to oust Yingluck and eradicate the influence of
her brother, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was toppled by
the military in 2006 and has chosen to live in exile rather than
serve a jail term for graft.
There was a carnival atmosphere as protesters gathered at Government
House, with unarmed police and troops inside.
After nightfall, protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban made a speech to
his supporters. "From this minute onwards, all Thais have taken
power back for the people," he said.
He gave no clues about his next move and how exactly he planned to
take over the levers of government.
Aware that the allies of Yingluck and Thaksin would almost certainly
win any election, Suthep has called for a "people's council" of
appointed "good people" to replace the government.
As such, he dismissed the early election. "The dissolving of
parliament is not our aim," he told Reuters.
Opposition Democrat Party lawmakers resigned en masse from
parliament on Sunday, declaring they were unable to work with
Yingluck.
Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva sidestepped a question on whether
his party would take part in the election.
"House dissolution is the first step towards solving the problem,"
Abhisit, a former prime minister, told Reuters as he marched with
thousands of flag-waving protesters in Bangkok's central business
district. "Today, we march. I will walk with the people to
Government House."
An election would not end the deadlock if the main opposition party
did not take part, said Pavin Chachavalpongpun of Kyoto University's
Centre for Southeast Asian Studies.
"This is only a short-term solution because there is no guarantee
that the Democrats will come back and play by the rules," Pavin
said. "It seems like Thailand is going nowhere."
In April 2006, amid mass protests, the Democrats refused to contest
a snap election called by Thaksin, who was deposed by the military
five months later.
Yingluck announced the election in a televised statement.
"At this stage, when there are many people opposed to the government
from many groups, the best way is to give back the power to the Thai
people and hold an election. So the Thai people will decide," she
said.
The government said the vote would be held on Feb. 2.
ARMY NEUTRAL
Suthep's campaign opens up the prospect of a minority of people in
Thailand, a country of 66 million and the second-biggest economy in
Southeast Asia, dislodging a democratically elected leader, this
time without help from the military.
[to top of second column] |
The politically powerful army, which has staged or attempted 18
coups in the past 80 years, has said it does not want to get
involved, although it has tried to mediate.
The protests follow nearly a decade of rivalry between forces
aligned with the Bangkok-based establishment and those who support
Thaksin, a former telecommunications tycoon who won huge support in
the countryside with pro-poor policies.
Thaksin fled Thailand in 2008 to avoid the graft conviction but is
seen as the power behind his sister's government. The protests were
sparked last month by a government bid to introduce an amnesty that
would have expunged his conviction.
The pro-establishment Democrat Party has not won an election since
1992. Yingluck's Puea Thai Party won the last election in 2011 by a
landslide, enjoying widespread support in the north and northeast,
Thailand's poorest regions.
Thailand's first female prime minister will stand again, said
Jarupong Ruangsuwan, head of her party. "We want the Democrat Party
to take part in elections and not to play street games," he added.
Protester Somchai Kasemporn, 51, a traditional medicine doctor from
Bangkok who marched to Government House, dismissed Yingluck as a
lame duck.
"The question is: does she even have the legitimacy to dissolve
parliament? This is all about a crooked man, Thaksin, who rules for
profit and thinks that because he has votes, he is the winner," he
said.
Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political analyst at Chulalongkorn
University in Bangkok, was concerned that the Democrats had thrown
in their lot with the extra-parliamentary movement and predicted
pandemonium if Suthep won the battle.
He also worried about the reaction of the pro-Thaksin "red shirts",
whose lengthy 2010 protests against the Abhisit government were put
down by the military at the cost of more than 90 lives on both
sides.
"When they (the government) unleash the wrath of the red shirts,
that could signal dark days ahead for Thailand," Thitinan said.
(Additional reporting by Andrew R.C. Marshall, Apornrath
Phoonphongphiphat and Panarat Thepgumpanat; writing by Jason Szep
and Alan Raybould; editing by Robert Birsel and Nick Macfie)
[© 2013 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2013 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
