By DPA,
Bangkok : Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva Thursday cancelled a trip to Vietnam to attend a South-East Asian summit to deal with an escalating political crisis in Bangkok.
The premier was initially scheduled to attend the 16th summit of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Hanoi Thursday and Friday.
Abhisit Wednesday night placed Bangkok and some surrounding provinces under emergency law, allowing authorities to ban gatherings of more than five people and shut down media outlets spreading “misinformation” and granting immunity to officers enforcing the law.
Since March 12, Bangkok has been besieged by daily protests led by the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), whose supporters are called the red shirts for their favoured colour of clothing. They are demanding that Abhisit dissolve parliament and call new elections.
On Saturday, the UDD stepped up pressure on the government by occupying Ratchaprasong Road, one of Bangkok’s poshest shopping and hotel districts.
It has vowed to stay put until parliament is dissolved, putting pressure on the government to either crack down on the demonstration or give in to the UDD demands as the economic cost of the protest mounts.
“Up to today, the damage to the country has reached 10 (billion) to 14 billion baht,” or about 312 million to $437 million, said Kiat Sittheeamorn, the government’s trade representative.
No deadline has been set to end the protest, but the government’s goal is to clear the red shirts out of the Ratchaprasong area.
“Our objective in the next few days is to make sure we can reopen Ratchaprasong intersection,” government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said.
The emergency law will be enforced step by step, according to Panitan, starting with a crackdown on media publishing “false reports” on the government. Early Thursday, the government closed down People Channel, the main satellite television channel supporting the protestors, and several pro red-shirt websites.
UDD leaders called on their followers in the provinces to seize city halls to protest the closure of their media links.
“These blank screens will be the end of this government,” UDD co-leader Jatuporn Prompan said.
The UDD plans to hold a protest Friday in Bangkok against the enactment of the emergency law.
Under the emergency decree, soldiers are permitted to carry weapons and are granted immunity for their actions.
“Now the officers can destroy the cars that block the intersection, and they will not have to pay for it,” Panitan said. They may also defend themselves if ordered to arrest the UDD leaders.
But given the size of the red-shirt rallies, which have attracted 20,000 to 100,000 people, many question whether the army would carry out the arrests of UDD leaders under the emergency law.
The army’s commander-in-chief, General Anupong Paochinda, is due to retire Sep 30 and has expressed concerns about shedding the blood of the people.
“We came here with only our bare hands; why should the government crack down on us?” asked UDD follower Sangwan Ampha, 48, a farmer from Khamphengphet province who came to Bangkok to join the protests March 12.
The red shirts have carefully pursued only non-violent tactics so far, making it difficult for the government or army to justify a crackdown. However, if the authorities do nothing, the government might risk appearing to lose control of the situation.
“Something will have to give shortly,” said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a Thai political scientist who is currently a visiting scholar at Stanford University in California.
“Abhisit and Anupong will be forced to act,” he said. “Either or both could be given the boot if they cannot hold ground, but neither wants to end up with bloods on his hands.”
One of the main reasons Abhisit has refused to dissolve parliament is to stay in power until the annual reshuffle of the military is completed Sep 30, political analysts said.
Anupong played a key role in the military coup that ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, ringleader of the red shirts and the de-facto leader of Thailand’s opposition Puea Thai party.
A new election could bring Puea Thai to power, so Anupong might be angling to get his favoured successor, General Prayuth Chanpocha, in place before any shift in political power.
The military and Abhisit’s government are deemed close allies.
“There is no disagreement between the government and the military,” Panitan said.