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Central Bangkok explosion wounds 4 people-officials

July 26, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

July 25 (Reuters) – An explosion wounded four people in central Bangkok on Sunday, emergency officials said, but it was unclear what caused the blast and if it was related to a closely watched special election in the Thai capital.

The explosion occurred near a busy intersection at the heart of Bangkok’s commercial district, the same area occupied by thousands of “red shirt” anti-government protesters for several weeks until an army crackdown on May 19.

“We were told by the police that there are four wounded from the incident,” said a spokesman for the Erawan Emergency Centre, adding the blast took place opposition Central World, a shopping area that was set on fire by protesters in May.

It coincided with a Bangkok by-election that is being seen as a referendum on Thailand’s recent political unrest. (Reporting by Ploy Ten Kate; Writing by Jason Szep; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: army, central bangkok, crackdown, emergency centre, emergency officials, explosion, intersection, Jason Szep, Mark Heinrich, opposition, ploy, political unrest, protesters, referendum, reuters, Shopping Area, spokesman, thai capital, Thailand, wounds

Thai consumer confidence up in May after unrest ends

June 11, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

BANGKOK, June 10 (Reuters) – Consumer confidence in Thailand rose in May as tension eased after the end of disruptive political protests in the capital, with strong GDP data released during the month also providing a boost.

The consumer confidence index from the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce rose to 67.6 in May after plunging a record 2.6 points to 67.2 in April because of political violence. April’s reading was the lowest since July 2009.

“Confidence rose for the first time in four months as the political situation eased. It is really because of the story of hope,” university economist Thanavath Phonvichai told a news conference on Thursday.

The government has announced a reconciliation plan and Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is due to unveil details later on Thursday.

The protesters were mainly poorer Thais, supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra who was ousted in a military coup in 2006.

The survey was conducted after the May 19 crackdown by the military that ended nine weeks of unrest. In contrast, the April poll was conducted after deadly clashes between troops and protesters on April 10, after which tension escalated.

Confidence in May was also boosted by strong economic growth in the first quarter of 2010. Data on May 24 showed GDP grew 3.8 percent from the previous quarter and 12 percent from a year before, when Thailand was going through a brief recession.

However, the unrest has hit tourism and consumption, and some economists said the economy could contract in April-June from the first quarter. [ID:nSGE657032]

DEAD AND INJURED

Confidence hit a 21-month high of 71.9 in January as the economy recovered but then slipped as political tension built up. More than 89 people were killed during the anti-government protests from mid-March and nearly 2,000 injured.

Sentiment should improve as long as the political situation remains calm, the university said, adding an index that projects confidence over the next six months also rose for the first time in four months in May, reaching 74.1 after 73.0 in April.

“The higher index shows that consumers are feeling better now the protest is over,” said Thammarat Kittisiripat, an economist at Tisco Securities.

“That should help boost spending. Although the outlook for the political problem is not clear yet, I still believe that our economic fundamentals remain strong,” he added.

Life in the capital is back to normal three weeks after the crackdown, and the government has announced relief measures to help firms and small operators hit by the violence.

Several countries, including Britain and Australia, have eased their travel warnings for Thailand, which should help bring back tourists over time. Tourism accounts for 6 percent of GDP and employs at least 15 percent of the workforce.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva remains optimistic that economic growth could be close to 6 percent this year. [ID:nSGE65501I]. The state planning agency, the NESDB, which compiles GDP data, forecasts 3.5 to 4.5 percent. ($32.62 Baht) (Additional reporting by Arada Kultawanich; Editing by Alan Raybould)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Abhisit Vejjajiva, Consumer Confidence Index, crackdown, Deadly Clashes, former prime minister, gdp data, hope university, mid march, Military Coup, nine weeks, Political Protests, political situation, Political Tension, political violence, prime minister thaksin shinawatra, reuters, Thai Chamber, thais, Thaksin Shinawatra, unrest

Centre to crack down on Karnataka mining mafia: Handique

June 6, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

With the Karnataka government rejecting suggestions for a CBI probe, the Union Mines Ministry is pursuing other moves to crack down on the mining mafia in the state.

In the face of the Karnataka government’s resistance to a CBI probe, the matter was referred to the Cabinet and the issue was discussed in the Prime Minister’s office, Mines Minister B K Handique said. One of his concerns was whether any money from illegal mining was going to terrorists and the issue was discussed at the PMO.

Asserting that the “crackdown” on illegal mining was on the top of his agenda, Handique said that at present there were not enough legal provisions for central intervention and he would make attempts to incorporate provisions for this in the proposed Mining Act.

“There were discussions at the PMO level (on illegal mining). It would be tracked down. If money goes to terrorists, then licenses will be cancelled. It is a big thing. With NIA (National Investigation Agency) now, things are moving,” he said.

“We thought that CBI will be the right approach. But we can’t enforce it. We have given it to Cabinet now. We have asked them (their help) for investigation,” he said.

Asked to elaborate, he said that there was a provision in the law governing NIA and the Home Ministry may be on the path of tracking where the money was going. “They have been consulting us also on this,” he added.

Handique said the problem of not having adequate provisions in the law now was also discussed with Law Minister Veerappa Moily. “With Moily, we have discussed. We have discussed this with Chidambaram also. He had organised a meeting.”

Handique’s insistence on a probe and action in Karnataka comes against the backdrop of allegations of illegal mining by the Reddy brothers, who are ministers in the Karnataka government.

The current moves come at a time when Karnataka Governor and former Union Law Minister H S Bharadwaj has decided to refer to the Election Commission a complaint seeking disqualification of three ministers, including G Janardhana Reddy and his brother and Revenue Minister G Karunakara Reddy, from the state assembly.

Hitting out at the state government, Handique said, “Illegal mining is a dent on the industry… They (Karnataka government) don’t give (permission for CBI probe). They say without CBI enquiry we can control. We (Centre) cannot take any action. It is a criminal act.”

Admitting that he faced severe political pressure in his crusade against illegal mining, Handique said, “Many MPs have come to me…. (it is a) sensitive area, no doubt about it.”

He said the proposed legislation would ensure that anybody can file a case against illegal mining, contrary to the provisions in the existing MMDR Act, under which only state government officials have the powers.

Karnataka is one of the mineral rich states in India with about 11 percent f the country’s hematite iron ore reserves. It has over 9,000 million tonnes of iron ore resources concentrated in the Bellary-Hospet area, while the rest is found in the Chitradurga, Bagalkot and Tumkur districts.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Adequate Provisions, allegations, backdrop, Bharadwaj, cbi probe, Central Intervention, crackdown, election commission, home ministry, insistence, investigation agency, karnataka government, legal provisions, mafia, national investigation, PMO, Prime Minister, provision, terrorists, union law minister

China ex-premier’s memoirs defend 1989 bloodshed

June 5, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – China’s revered reformist leader Deng Xiaoping said the government had to “spill some blood” to quell student-led protests in 1989, according to newly published memoirs of the watershed events by former premier Li Peng.

World | Lifestyle | China

Deng’s commanding role in the armed crackdown that remains taboo in Chinese politics 21 years later is described in new memoirs by Li, the hardline head of China’s government, which faced the student-led movement that erupted across China in 1989.

The standoff culminated in a June 4 sweep against protesters centered on Tiananmen Square, who were galvanized by calls for democracy and a purge of corrupt officials. Troops mobilized under a martial law proclamation killed hundreds of protesters and bystanders, according to witnesses and rights groups.

“The measures for martial law must be steady-handed, and we must minimize harm, but we must prepare to spill some blood,” Deng told officials on May 19, according to the memoirs.

Li’s account, suppressed from publication by current leaders, removes the veil imposed on decisions preceding the crackdown. It will be issued by a Hong Kong publisher, which sent an advance copy to Reuters on Friday, the anniversary of the crackdown.

Chinese dissidents and families of victims continue to mourn and denounce the use of tanks and guns against the protesters.

Beijing has never issued an official count of those killed and current leaders reject any discussion of the “disturbance.”

Around the anniversary dissidents and families of victims are held in their homes by police.

The memoirs show Deng and his Communist Party successors were unyielding, saying that quelling the protests was unavoidable and provided years of stable economic growth.

As China faces strikes and public disquiet over corruption and inequality, the memoirs are a reminder that the party sees threats to its control as a threat to the country’s very future.

“If that political disturbance was not handled decisively and correctly, the stability and prosperity of today would be impossible,” China’s now President Hu Jintao said during a meeting in 2001, according to Li’s memoirs.

Li hoped the book would help China’s leaders stop threats to their rule from reappearing, he wrote in a 2004 afterword.

“If there are any sprouts that may lead to turmoil, we must adopt decisive measures based on the law to crush them in the bud,” he wrote.

BLOODSHED UNAVOIDABLE

The memoirs suggest Deng, seen in China and abroad as a pioneer of market reforms, believed bloodshed was unavoidable.

“If imposing martial law is a mistake, I assume primary responsibility,” Deng told senior officials.

The publisher of the memoirs, Bao Pu, last year released memoirs of the 1989 events by Zhao Ziyang, the then Communist Party general secretary, who Premier Li helped push from office for being too soft on the protesters.

China’s State Council Information Office did not respond to faxed questions about the memoirs’ reliability. The publisher Bao told Reuters that he had no doubt they were authentic.

Some accounts have suggested Deng, old and befuddled, was misled into supporting a hardline against the protesters. But Li’s memoirs belie that view, said Bao.

“Deng was the undisputed leader, the ultimate decision maker in China,” said Bao, son of the most senior official jailed for sympathizing with protesters, Bao Tong, who was ousted by Deng and remains under tight surveillance in Beijing.

The memoirs show “he (Deng) actually engineered the whole thing from the beginning to the end. There was no misinformation,” said Bao.

Deng was paramount among Party elders who dominated behind the scenes of China’s formal political leadership. He coaxed officials to break up the rural communes and bans on private business that Chairman Mao Zedong made his legacy.

Deng died in 1997 at age 92, after reviving his market reforms with a dramatic tour of southern China in 1992.

Li, now 81, was premier from 1987 to 1998. He wrote the memoirs in an apparent effort to rebut claims that he maneuvered Deng into backing an armed crackdown.

Bao said he was given a copy of the memoirs by an intermediary. The Chinese book will be published this month.

(Editing by Ken Wills and Ron Popeski)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: bloodshed, bystanders, Chinese dissidents, Chinese Politics, Communist Party, corrupt officials, crackdown, deng xiaoping, disquiet, Li Peng, martial law, Political Disturbance, reformist, reuters, Rights Groups, Stable Economic Growth, standoff, Tiananmen Square, Watershed Events, World Lifestyle

Thai cabinet extends night curfew until May 29

May 26, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Thailand’s cabinet has agreed to extend a night curfew in Bangkok and 23 provinces until May 29, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said on Tuesday.

Suthep said the curfew, which will be in force between midnight and 4 a.m., was necessary to prevent more unrest, but would not be in place for seven days, as was announced on Monday.

“We have cut the timeframe from seven to four days because we want to limit the impact on the public,” Suthep told reporters.

The curfew was put in place on May 19 after riots and arson attacks across Bangkok and in at least six provinces in the wake of an army crackdown to remove anti-government protesters in the capital.

(Reporting by Pracha Hariraksapitak; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: army, arson attacks, Bangkok, crackdown, curfew, deputy prime minister, gopalakrishnan, protesters, riots, seven days, thai cabinet, Thailand, Timeframe, unrest

Thai govt extends overnight curfew for seven days

May 24, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

The Thai authorities have extended a curfew in Bangkok and 24 provinces for seven days because of concern about possible unrest, an army spokesman said on Monday.

“We have information that there are groups and individuals who still want to create chaos in some areas,” Sansern Kaewkamnerd told a news conference.

The curfew, from midnight to 4 a.m., must be formally approved by the cabinet at its weekly meeting on Tuesday, he added.

The curfew came into effect on May 19 after riots and arson broke out across Bangkok following an army crackdown to disperse anti-government protesters occupying a commercial district in the capital. (Reporting by Ambika Ahuja; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Alan Raybould)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Army spokesman, arson, Bangkok, chaos, crackdown, news conference, protesters, raybould, riots, seven days, thai authorities, unrest

One body found at charred Thai mall – agency

May 21, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

The body of a 24-year-old man was found on Friday at a shopping mall set on fire during riots in Bangkok, medical rescue workers said, denying earlier reports that nine bodies were retrieved.

An official at the Ruamkatanyu Foundation told Reuters only one body had been retrieved so far at Central World mall and it had stopped the search for the day.

A worker at another volunteer agency, the Poh Teck Tung foundation, also said only one body was found.

Bangkok’s state emergency centre had said it was looking into a report that nine bodies were found at Central World after the military dispersed protesters from their camp in the area in a crackdown on Wednesday that killed 15 and wounded nearly 100.

The Erawan Emergency Medical Centre said a total of 53 people had died and 413 were wounded in the latest wave of violence that began on May 14.

(Reporting by Nopporn Wong-Anan and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by Bill Tarrant)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Anan, Bangkok, Bill Tarrant, crackdown, emergency centre, Emergency Medical, Erawan, medical centre, Medical Rescue, old man, Poh, protesters, reuters, riots, shopping mall, state emergency, Tung, Violence, Volunteer Agency, World Mall

Three journalists shot, as Thai Army moves in with force to smash Red Shirts’ siege

May 19, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Melbourne, May 19 (ANI): Gun battles broke out between the Thailand military and protesters inside the Red Shirts rally base in central Bangkok this morning.

An Associated Press photographer has seen three foreign journalists shot during the army operation in central Bangkok and says one appears dead.

The assault marked the first significant push into the protest zone in the crackdown that began early today. Troops shot at least five people, including a Thai journalist, during the gunfight near the red-shirt protesters’ camp, The Age reports.

Four armoured personnel carriers have entered the red-shirt protesters’ encampment – where at least five people were shot today in central Bangkok, punching a hole in the tyre-and-bamboo barricades and driving in with troops behind them.

About 100 troops took up positions along the wall of central Lumpini Park and trained their guns inside and the armoured personnel carriers provided cover for the troops, The Age reports.

Soldiers opened fire on medical staff who went to the aid of the shooting victims, witnesses said.

Witnesses saw several wounded protesters being carried away from the protest encampment in central Bangkok after the military moved in with weapons and armoured vehicles to secure the area, the paper said.

Huge plumes of smoke are billowing into the air after protesters, armed with handguns and assault rifles, set fire to the encampment.

The red-shirt protesters have soaked many of their barricades built from tyres and bamboo staves with petrol, and are ready to set them alight if they are attacked, the paper added. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: armoured vehicles, army operation, Assault Rifles, barricades, central bangkok, crackdown, Encampment, gun battles, gunfight, Handguns, Lumpini Park, medical staff, personnel carriers, Plumes, Press Photographer, Protest Zone, protesters, Staves, thai army, Thai Journalist

Chinese police warns of crackdown on potential school attackers

May 15, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

New Delhi, May 15 (ANI): Police in China have warned that they will impose the law of the land �firmly� and �without hesitation� when dealing with anti-social elements like the men who brutally slashed elementary school children in two separate incidents.

Wu Heping, a spokesman for the Ministry of Public Security, told a press conference in Beijing that the killing of innocent children must be condemned by the whole society.

“If offenders dare to attempt such crimes again, the police will enforce the law firmly without hesitation, in line with the Criminal Law and police code of using guns and other weapons,” the Xinhua news agency quoted Wu as saying.

Schools have emerged as soft targets for such misanthropes and with a view to tighten security arrangements and fill in the gaps the police will be conducting a thorough inspection of schools nationwide. Especially in private schools and those in remote or rural areas.

In Beijing, police will patrol all schools ten minutes prior to the students� arrival and ten minutes before the final bell rings.

Addressing the social causes that might have generated the fury of the stabbers Wu said, “We will also work to help solve disputes, and provide psychological counselling for people suffering mental problems.� (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: attackers, Beijing Police, Bell Rings, chinese police, counselling, crackdown, criminal law, Final Bell, gaps, hesitation, innocent children, Misanthropes, Police Code, private schools, public security, rural areas, security arrangements, Social Elements, soft targets, Xinhua news agency

Thai premier scraps early election proposal

May 13, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Bangkok, May 13 (DPA) Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has scrapped an offer to hold an early election this year after anti-government demonstrators refused to end their two-month-old protest, officials confirmed Thursday.

Abhisit last week proposed to hold an election Nov 14, in a bid to appease the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), whose supporters are commonly known as red shirts, which has been staging protests in Bangkok since March 12 to try to force a dissolution of parliament.

A precondition for the early polls was that the UDD must end its protest at Ratchaprasong Road in the heart of Bangkok’s commercial district, which the red shirts have occupied since April 3.

‘It is fitting that the premier has rescinded the offer to hold an early poll as the red shirts have refused to disperse,’ Korbsak Sabhavasu, the prime minister’s secretary-general, told reporters Wednesday evening.

The UDD leadership initially welcomed Abhisit’s proposal, but they have refused to disperse at Ratchaprasong Road until Suthep Thaugsuban, deputy prime minster in charge of security, faces criminal charges for ordering a crackdown on their followers April 10 that left 25 dead, including 19 protestors, five soldiers and one foreign journalist.

The condition was partly met when Suthep Tuesday acknowledged charges against him at the Department of Special Investigation, which is looking into the crackdown, but the UDD has insisted Suthep must be interrogated, charged and granted bail.

If Suthep is granted bail, the UDD leadership argues it would set a precedent for them to be granted bail as well once they end their protests and turn themselves in to the authorities.

The 24 top UDD leaders are afraid to quit their protest site because they face arrest once they step outside the barricades on various charges, including breaking the emergency law, terrorism and criticising the monarchy.

The UDD leadership is also split, with some of them willing to quit but others opposed to ending the protest until they have met their original goal of forcing an immediate dissolution of parliament, sources said.

Abhisit and other members of his Democrat Party have blamed former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, one of the de-facto leaders of the UDD although he is living in self-exile, for being behind the demonstrators’ reluctance to end their protest.

‘Everyone knows that Thaksin does not want to stop but wants to ruin all aspects of legitimacy,’ deputy leader of the Democrat party, Kraisak Choonhavan, told the Bangkok Post newspaper.

The government has postponed a plan to cut electricity and water to the Ratchaprasong neighbourhood out of deference to people, other than protestors, living in the upscale area.

‘Authorities are now working on technical ways to reduce the grid to the area with a minimal impact on non-protestors,’ government spokesman Panitan Wattanyakorn said.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Abhisit Vejjajiva, barricades, crackdown, criminal charges, demonstrators, dictatorship, dissolution of parliament, DPA, Emergency Law, followers, monarchy, precondition, prime minster, Protest Site, protestors, secretary-general, Thai Prime Minister, UDD, united front, Wednesday Evening

No intention of playing for Pakistan: Yousuf

May 12, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Islamabad, May 12 (ANI): Angry over his ban by the Pakistan Cricket Board, former captain Mohammad Yousuf has turned his back on international cricket, saying he has no intention of playing for the country again.

Yousuf has represented Pakistan on 371 occasions and amassed 17,075 runs during a career spanning 12 years.

“Yousuf is still very disappointed about his treatment by the PCB and has not changed his mind about coming out of retirement,” Pakpassion.net quoted sources close to Yousuf, as saying.

The former skipper was one of seven players banned or fined by the board following the whitewash in Australia.

The PCB took the severe action on the advice of a report submitted by a six-member inquiry committee set up to investigate the reasons behind the Australia debacle.

The Pakistan Cricket Board barred former captains Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf from the national team for life as part of a major crackdown on player indiscipline.

The experienced duo was effectively banned from representing their country at international level as a result of alleged infighting.

While Shoaib Malik, Rana Naved ul Hasan, Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal, Younus Khan and Shahid Afridi have appealed against their respective punishments, Yousuf decided not to appeal against his ban.

The source added: “Yousuf feels that there is too much dirt in the team. There has been so much going on behind the scenes. He (Yousuf) has had to take so much and he realised he could only take so much. The sad thing is that the whole truth is nowhere near being revealed.”

Yousuf is practising hard as he is keen to play county cricket in England. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Akmal, Australia cricket, county cricket, crackdown, debacle, infighting, Inquiry Committee, International cricket, Islamabad, malik, Member Inquiry, mohammad yousuf, pakistan cricket board, pcb, punishments, sad thing, shahid, whitewash, whole truth, younus

Dhaka moves against errant ruling party cadres

May 8, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Dhaka, May 8 (IANS) Authorities in Bangladesh have launched a crackdown against errant cadres of the ruling Awami League who use political patronage and muscle power to get things done.

The home ministry has asked police to act strictly to curb crimes by activists or face disciplinary measures. On the radar in particular is the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the ruling party’s student wing.

The instruction follows directions from the Prime Minister’s Office to contain unruly BCL activists, The Daily Star reported Saturday.

A judicial magistrate’s court in Barisal town Thursday rejected the bail prayers of 18 BCL leaders and activists arrested in connection with factional clashes in a polytechnic in which 11 people were injured, New Age reported.

There have been numerous media reports of ruling party cadres snatching tender forms for business deals, threatening officials, molesting girl students and engaging in pitched battles in university campuses.

The home ministry has asked police officials to act professionally and warned them of disciplinary actions if they fail.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: activists, Barisal, Business Deals, clashes, crackdown, crimes, Daily Star, disciplinary actions, Disciplinary Measures, Girl Students, home ministry, judicial magistrate, muscle power, Pitched Battles, police officials, political patronage, Polytechnic, prayers, ruling party, University Campuses

China cracks down on ‘anonymous’ Internet and Cell-phone users

May 5, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Beijing, May 5 (ANI): China is vigourously promoting the use of real-name registration for users of Internet and cell phone services.

Continuing its earlier efforts to adopt a real-name registration system for website moderators at major news portals and big commercial sites, as well as a ban on “anonymous” comments following news stories, the Chinese claim these measures have yielded “substantial” results.

“We”re exploring an identity authentication system for users of online bulletin board systems,” China Daily quoted Chinese Minister of the State Council Information Office as saying.

Wang said China has established an initial system to ensure the safety of online information, but the rapid development of the Internet in China has also brought new problems and challenges.

He said China would also strengthen monitoring on “harmful information” on the Internet, in a bid to block harmful overseas information from spreading in the country via the Internet and prevent “hostile overseas forces from infiltrating through the Internet.”

He said authorities would start drafting an Internet management law as soon as possible, and discuss the possibility of a law on information security.

In addition, Wang said the country would intensify a crackdown on online crimes and anyone using the Internet to spread pornography, gamble or commit fraud would be severely punished. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Anonymous Comments, Anonymous Internet, Authentication System, BEIJING, cell phone users, China Cracks, chinese minister, crackdown, Development Of The Internet, information office, Information Security, Initial System, Internet In China, Internet Management, major news, Management Law, News Portals, rapid development, registration system, Substantial Results

Dissolve Parliament in 30 days: Red Shirts

April 24, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Red Shirt protesters offered a compromise to the Thai government on Friday a day after a series of grenade attacks in Bangkok, saying they would accept dissolution of Parliament in 30 days rather than immediately.

They also called on Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to begin an independent probe into a deadly clash between protesters and the Army on April 10 that killed 25 people, and said troops must be withdrawn from areas around their protest site.

“The government must stop all threats against our movement,” Weng Tojirakarn, a Red Shirt leader, said from a stage at their protest site in the heart of Bangkok’s commercial district.

The new demands came shortly after Army Chief Anupong Paochinda told a meeting of his commanders there would be no crackdown on the protesters camped out in the capital because it would do more harm than good.

Thousands of supporters of ousted Premier Thaksin Shinawatra remain in a fortified encampment at a ritzy shopping area of central Bangkok, vowing to stay until Vejjajiva dissolves Parliament.

The government is far from controlling the situation, Thailand’s largest broker, Kim Eng Securities, said in a note to clients. Reds have denied their involvement. But if they are indeed behind the attacks, these powerful explosions right in the Army-barricaded area demonstrate they are well-prepared to wage a full-scale war.

The Central Bank said on Wednesday the crisis was hitting confidence, tourism, private consumption and investment, although exports, which are crucial to economic growth, have not been affected so far by the unrest.

Britain, Australia and the United States have warned their citizens to reconsider travel plans to Thailand, where tourism accounts for 6 per cent of the economy.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said on Friday he had called his Thai counterpart, Kasit Piromya, to offer any assistance for a dialogue between the conflicting parties. He said Indonesia was alert to the possibility that the Thai troubles could have an impact in the region.

The 1997 Asian financial crisis began in Thailand with a run on the local baht currency and spread to the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and South Korea.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: army chief, central bangkok, crackdown, dissolution of parliament, Encampment, explosions, Foreign Minister, Grenade Attacks, Independent Probe, Kim Eng Securities, Marty Natalegawa, private consumption, Protest Site, protesters, scale war, Shopping Area, thai government, Thaksin Shinawatra, Travel Plans, weng

Tension in Bangkok, ‘red shirts’ reject compromise

April 23, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Thai protesters are sticking to their demand for parliament to be dissolved immediately, according to a report on Thursday, after a tense night as fears grew of a crackdown to end their six-week rally in Bangkok.

Some leaders of the “red shirts” had suggested on Wednesday they might consider a three-month time frame for Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to dissolve parliament and call elections.

But the Nation daily said the red shirts, mostly supporters of ousted ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, were insisting on an immediate dissolution and had rejected an appeal by a national economic council to wait until a budget bill was passed in July.

The red shirts have occupied an upmarket shopping district for three weeks, forcing posh malls and some luxury hotels to close their doors.

They have a second camp near the Silom business district, and there were rowdy scenes in the area late into the night on Wednesday when several hundred pro-government supporters massed opposite their barricade. Riot police got between them as troops looked on, but there was no violence.

The Bangkok Post reported this loose pro-government group planned a demonstration of up to 100,000 people on Friday.

On the security situation in the capital, it said: “About 60,000 troops are being deployed and all have permission to use live ammunition if necessary for self-defence.”

The protests have frightened away tourists following a deadly clash on April 10 between the army and demonstrators that killed 25 people and wounded more than 800.

The central bank left interest rates at a record low on Wednesday, noting political risks were “affecting confidence, tourism, private consumption and investment”.

Talks between Abhisit and the protesters collapsed last month when the red shirts rejected his offer to dissolve parliament within nine months — a year early.

TRAIN SEIZED

Fearing a crackdown, the “red shirts” have bolstered security at their shopping district camp and built a barricade of tyres and sharpened bamboo poles near the business district.

Any move by troops to disperse them risks heavy casualties and the prospect of clashes spilling into nearby high-end residential areas.

A crackdown in the capital might also lead the red shirts to step up action elsewhere in the country, particularly in their strongholds in the north and northeast where there has been little unrest so far in the six-week campaign.

However, on Wednesday protesters stopped an 18-car train carrying soldiers 450 km (280 miles) away in northeastern Khon Kaen province.

The train was meant to take troops and military vehicles to the south to help contain a Muslim insurgency. The protesters mistakenly thought they were to be deployed in Bangkok, a railway police officer told Reuters by telephone from Khon Kaen.

Despite negotiations between a Khon Kaen deputy governor and red shirt leaders, the train was still blocked by around 200 protesters on Thursday, police said.

Analysts say the protests are radically different from other periods of unrest in Thailand’s five-year political crisis — and arguably in modern Thai history, pushing the country close to an undeclared civil war.

The demonstrations have evolved into a dangerous standoff between the army and a rogue military faction that supports the protesters and includes retired generals allied with twice-elected and now fugitive former premier Thaksin.

The protesters have demanded immediate elections, but both sides want to be in power during a September military reshuffle.

If Thaksin’s camp prevails and is governing at the time of the reshuffle, analysts expect big changes including the ousting of generals allied with Thailand’s royalist elite, a prospect royalists fear could diminish the power of the monarchy.

Despite the turmoil, some big foreign manufacturers — most of them with plants well away from the capital — said they are maintaining their investment policies.

“GM Thailand does not currently have any plans to review its investments in Thailand,” said Sasinan Allmand, public relations director for Thailand at the Thai unit of General Motors.

The world’s largest maker of disk drives, Seagate Technology, echoed that. “Business goes on as normal,” said a senior Seagate communication official.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Bangkok Post, barricade, Budget Bill, Business District, crackdown, demonstrators, dissolution, Early Train, Government Group, government supporters, Investment Talks, live ammunition, luxury hotels, National Economic Council, private consumption, riot police, security situation, self-defence, Shopping District, Thaksin Shinawatra

Thai police confront “red shirts” after blasts

April 23, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Hundreds of Thai riot police moved on Friday in front of a barricade erected by anti-government protesters in Bangkok’s Silom business district, a day after grenade attacks in the area killed three people.

Thai television said police asked the “red shirts” to dismantle the barrier. They made no move to do so, and TV pictures showed protesters pouring what a reporter said was fuel onto the barricade, which is made up largely of tyres.

The government said the grenades on Thursday, which also wounded 75 people, were fired from the red shirt protest area. Leaders of the red shirts, who have been demonstrating in Bangkok for six weeks seeking new elections, denied they were to blame.

The grenade blasts came 12 days after clashes between troops and protesters killed 25 people and wounded more than 800 in the country’s worst street violence in 18 years.

The protesters, supporters of ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, have also been occupying an upmarket shopping area for three weeks.

Any attempt to disperse them risks heavy casualties and the prospect of clashes spilling into high-end residential areas.

However, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said there would be no crackdown Thursday night because women and children were in the area.

Adding to the volatile mix, a new “multi-coloured” group is planning a demonstration of 50,000 people in Bangkok’s old quarter on Friday to demand the “red shirts” end their rally.

Demonstrations by this group have increased the tension in the Silom business district this week.

“There are now two conflicting groups and this kind of confrontation could create havoc and turmoil,” said Somjai Phagaphasvivat, politics and economics professor at Thammasat University.

Under growing pressure to restore order, the army warned the red shirts on Thursday their “days are numbered”.

Leaders of the red shirted supporters of twice-elected and now fugitive Thaksin say they will only leave when the military-backed government announces an early election.

They say the British-born, Oxford-educated Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva came to power illegitimately, heading a coalition the military cobbled together after courts dissolved a pro-Thaksin party that led the previous coalition government.

(Writing by Alan Raybould; Editing by Alex Richardson)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: barricade, blasts, Business District, clashes, crackdown, deputy prime minister, economics professor, former prime minister, Grenade Attacks, grenades, havoc, Protest Area, protesters, Residential Areas, riot police, Shopping Area, street violence, Thai Police, Thaksin Shinawatra, Volatile Mix

Tension in Bangkok, “red shirts” reject compromise

April 23, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Some leaders of the “red shirts” had suggested on Wednesday they might consider a three-month timeframe for Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to dissolve parliament and call elections.

For a graphic: http://link.reuters.com/rap67j