CHAOS REIGNED in Bangkok yesterday as Thailand’s worst political crisis for years claimed its first fatalities during fighting between red-shirted protesters and local residents in the Thai capital.
The streets of Bangkok were quiet late last night as fearful residents stayed indoors. Normally the street stalls and restaurants would be full as people celebrate the country’s biggest annual celebration, Thai New Year, which began yesterday.
The current unrest is an escalation of the seemingly unbridgeable divide between the urban, middle-class monarchists and the army, and the rural majority which supports the exiled populist former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The embattled incumbent, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, appeared on television urging the protesters to leave the area around Government House which they have occupied since March.
There were strong rumours of the army staging a coup to restore order.
Thousands of troops fired warning shots and tear gas to turn back rampaging anti-government protesters last night, forcing retreating demonstrators into an area where residents turned on them. The two victims were both men, one a local resident.
Mr Abhisit, who has been in power for just four months, has seen his reputation take a battering in recent days since he was forced to cancel a meeting of Asian leaders in Pattaya after protesters stormed the venue.
He also had a narrow escape when protesters surrounded his office. Local media ran footage of his secretary general Niphon Phromphan being dragged from his car by red-shirted protesters. He was beaten up and had several ribs broken.
Mr Abhisit declared a state of emergency in Bangkok on Sunday.
Gen Songkitti Chakabakr, Thailand’s top military commander, said in a televised statement the committee charged with restoring order would strive “through every peaceful means” to bring things back to normal as soon as possible, but reserved the right to use force.
There was a heavy troop presence near Government House last night, with some 6,000 troops deployed in the capital, while about 5,000 red-shirted protesters were also still in evidence. The army was reportedly gearing up to end the demonstrations there and secure the prime minister’s office. The area was surrounded by roadblocks, and rumours were rife of an imminent final push against the protesters.
Protesters set fire to several buses in an effort to stop the troops moving in, and another government building was set on fire.
The day began with a face-off between protesters and soldiers at the Din Daeng junction, a major traffic hub, which had been blocked off by the protesters.
TV footage from earlier in the day showed women dressed in red approaching the soldiers with roses and trying to put them in the barrels of their rifles, while others bowed down in front of the ranks.
The crisis is causing further disruption to the Thai tourism industry, which is struggling to deal with the economic slowdown and the lingering effects of a blockade of the airport last year which left thousands stranded. The airport was left crowded with foreign visitors seeking to escape the country.
Tourism Council of Thailand chairman Kongkrit Hiranyakit predicted that the country would lose at least 200 billion baht (€4.2 billion) as foreign tourists avoided the country.
“Some tourists want out quickly for fear that protesters may go on to block the airport like last year.”
Medical officers said 113 people were injured in the fighting yesterday, including soldiers.
The current political crisis began after Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by a coup in 2006 and faces corruption charges if he tries to return to Thailand, set a deadline for Mr Abhisit to resign by April 8th – the day before Thailand was to host the East Asia Summit in Pattaya.
His red-shirted supporters had been in power until a loose alliance of supporters of the current government staged protests in the capital and occupied the airport. Mr Abhisit was appointed prime minister after a number of parliamentary defections.