BANGKOK, Thailand - Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej on Saturday refused to bow to the demands of anti-government protesters who vowed to besiege his office until he resigned. More than 20,000 demonstrators broke through a police cordon to occupy the area around Thailand's seat of government Friday and remained there through the night. But deputy government spokesman Natawut Saikau told The Associated Press that Samak would not resign. "The demand is unreasonable," he said.
The protesters, led by the People's Alliance for Democracy movement, claim Samak's government is a proxy for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup. "Our stance is clear, we will continue to protest and camp out here until this puppet government of Thaksin's is out of office," said alliance spokesman Suriyasai Katasila. Samak would explain the ongoing political tensions in Thailand to the public later Sunday, Natawut said. The prime minister met with the armed forces chief Friday but did not disclose what was discussed, the spokesman said. "He only said that the police are continuing to be in charge of handling the protest, and that it is not yet time for the soldiers to come out." Rumors have swept Bangkok since the protests began three weeks ago that the country's powerful military would stage another coup, something which the top brass has repeatedly denied. Claiming victory, the demonstrators set up a stage and other facilities on surrounding streets after managing to push through police lines Friday afternoon to surge forward to a fence on two sides of the Government House compound. After some initial scuffling, police gave little resistance. "No one got hurt," police spokesman Maj. Gen. Surapol Tuanthong told Thai television station TPBS. "There was no image of the police hurting Thai people and that's the most important thing and should satisfy our superiors on every level. The politicians will have to find their own political solution." He was responding to a question about why police let the demonstrators occupy the streets outside Government House despite earlier vowing to block them. Alliance leaders say they don't want to occupy the compound itself but plan to peacefully maintain a siege around it. During the afternoon, police estimated about 22,000 people were taking part in the protest, but the number continued to grow in the evening. Alliance leaders gave far higher figures that appeared to be greatly inflated.
The alliance led mass demonstrations before the 2006 coup demanding Thaksin step down for alleged corruption and abuse of power. They now accuse Samak's government of interfering with corruption charges against the former prime minister and trying to change the constitution for its own self-interest. Samak's People's Power Party won general elections last December. His Cabinet is packed with Thaksin's allies and critics say rehabilitating the former leader is among the government's top priorities.
No comments:
Post a Comment