Thai Parliament besieged

Source StraitsTimes

BANGKOK: Thousands of anti-government protesters marched to Thailand's Parliament yesterday evening, in what one of the rally leaders claimed would be their 'final battle'.

Thai television channels last night showed protesters unfurling barbed wire and using trucks to try and seal off the building ahead of an address by the new Cabinet today.

An official from Bangkok police told Agence France-Presse that about 4,000 people had gathered at Parliament, while 6,000 were at Government House, where anti-government protesters from the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) have been camping out since late August.

Thailand's new ministers are due to deliver their first policy address to the House, but the PAD is demanding that the elected government step down.

'Our fight has only 100 metres left, so we ask for PAD supporters to gather at the Parliament for our final battle,' protest leader Sondhi Limthongkul told the crowds still at Government House.

'Don't let the arrests of Chamlong and Chaiwat be wasted,' he said, referring to the detention over the weekend of key PAD leader Chamlong Srimuang and protest organiser Chaiwat Sinsuwong.

Unruffled, new Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat insisted that the House session would go ahead.

'The House Speaker has already made the appointment - there will be no change. It is the duty of police to maintain law and order and clear the way for lawmakers to enter Parliament,' he told reporters.

'It is not right for the PAD to obstruct the representatives of the people.'

PAD leaders are demanding that the elected government step down because of its links to ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The PAD is also opposing a move by lawmakers to amend the Constitution. Mr Somchai had previously made clear his intention to amend the Constitution, and yesterday his People Power Party, its five coalition partners and the opposition Democrat Party agreed to support a process to change the charter.

The current Constitution was drafted and brought in during military rule following the September 2006 coup.

These developments are the latest setback to the negotiation process between the government and the PAD. Just earlier yesterday, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh had expressed optimism about the talks, saying the arrest of Mr Chamlong would not derail negotiations.

'I can still negotiate with other PAD leaders...Our negotiations have not ended yet,' he said. 'These negotiations will soon be successful.'

The arrests had spawned intense speculation over the government's intentions and fears of an escalation in the political crisis - which now look like they are coming true.

Mr Chamlong was involved in preliminary talks with Mr Chavalit through an unnamed intermediary, but soon after his arrest, he made a phone call instructing the PAD to suspend negotiations with the government.

Mr Chamlong's arrest, however, has deprived the PAD of one of its key strategists. He is seen to be the brains behind the movement's military-like seizure in late August of a government television station, three airports and Government House, which plunged Thailand's ongoing political crisis into a new dimension.

Galvanised by news of these arrests, more PAD supporters had already turned up at Government House earlier yesterday. Older supporters seemed angry, but several younger supporters told The Straits Times that Mr Chamlong must have known he was going to be arrested, and the incident may be part of a political strategy.

In another development yesterday, British media reported the Home Office as confirming that Thaksin and his wife Khunying Pojaman had applied for political asylum in Britain.

Mr Somchai yesterday said he had not been informed of the asylum request, adding that he would not obstruct attempts to extradite Thaksin which, however, would have to follow due judicial process.