Nepal PM quits in hope to end crisis with Maoists

July 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment

KATHMANDU, June 30 (Reuters) – Nepali Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal resigned on Wednesday in a move aimed at resolving a political crisis and saving the peace process more than three years after the end of a decade-long Maoist civil war.

“I have decided to resign with effect from today to clear the way for a political consensus,” Nepal said in a televised address.

The country’s Maoists insisted on returning to power at the head of a unity government to oversee the preparation of Nepal’s first constitution after it turned into a republic two years ago.

The moderate communist Nepal succeeded Maoist leader Prachanda as prime minister in May last year after the former warlord quit in a conflict over the control of the national army.

Since then, the Maoists, who won the 2008 election for a special constituent assembly tasked to prepare a new constitution, had been pressing for Nepal’s resignation to pave the way for a national unity government headed by them.

The former rebels called the resignation a “positive” step to end the deadlock.

“We will make efforts for a national unity government with the consensus of all political parties,” Maoist spokesman Dinanath Sharma said.

But other political parties say the Maoists, who are the biggest political group in the assembly but lack the working majority, must dismantle their army camps before they are allowed to form a new coalition.

Maoists have so far refused to do so and the standoff forced the extension of the assembly deadline delaying the preparation of the charter until May next year. They had threatened to disrupt the budget session of parliament beginning next week if the leader did not resign.

Analysts said if the new government also kept the Maoists out it was unlikely to end the turmoil, sparking fresh bouts of street protests and general shutdowns.

The crisis has hit the aid-and-tourism dependent economy already facing long hours of power outages and a double digit inflation, raising popular frustration with the government. (Editing by Krittivas Mukherjee and Miral Fahmy)

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FACTBOX-Guinea’s major mining operations

June 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Guinea, the world’s biggest exporter of aluminium ore bauxite and a potentially huge source of iron ore, is holding a presidential election on Sunday intended to end a political crisis that has persisted since a 2008 military coup.

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Resources firms have committed billions of dollars of fresh investment in the West African country this year. Several presidential candidates have indicated they could put existing contracts under review if elected.

Here are details of some of the country’s major mining operations and planned developments.

*********************BAUXITE***************************

BACKGROUND:

Guinea boasts about a third of all known reserves of bauxite, the ore used to make aluminium. CBG, or Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinee, owned by Alcoa (AA.N), Rio Tinto (RIO.L) (RIO.AX) and the Guinean government, is the world’s biggest bauxite exporter. It shipped a 13.7 million tonnes in 2008.

PRODUCTION:

Guinea’s total bauxite production in 2009 was 14.77 million tonnes, down from 19.78 million in 2008, partly because of the effects of political turmoil. Output recovered in the first quarter of 2010 to nearly 4 million tonnes from 3.35 million in the same period a year ago, the government said. [ID:nLDE64K1VP]

Bauxite production capacity is estimated as follows:

- Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinee/Boke Mine 15 mln

- Alumina Company of Guinea/Fria-Kimbo Mine (RUSAL) 2.8 mln

- Compagnie des Bauxites de Kindia 3.8 mln

ALUMINA REFINERIES:

RUSAL’s (0486.HK) Friguia plant, Guinea’s largest single employer, refines bauxite to alumina, with a total production of about 530,000 tonnes.

Alcoa and Rio Tinto are considering adding an alumina refinery to their Guinea bauxite joint venture.

Toronto-listed Global Alumina (GLAu.TO) is building a new 3.3 million tonnes per year alumina refinery but has delayed start-up by two years to 2011 and raised its cost forecast by 35 percent to $4.3 billion.

Total Guinean production of alumina was down 15.8 percent in 2009 to 500,400 tonnes and continued to lag during the first quarter of 2010.

**********************IRON ORE**************************

BACKGROUND:

Guinea is believed to have some of the world’s richest undeveloped iron ore deposits. A flurry of deals have been announced in recent months despite ongoing political uncertainty.

DEALS:

In March, Rio Tinto and Chinese metals group Chinalco signed a $2.9 billion agreement to jointly develop the Simandou iron ore project. Under the terms of the deal, Rio puts its 95 percent stake in Simandou into the joint venture, and Chinalco pays $1.35 billion for 47 percent in that venture.

Rio says Simandou is the largest undeveloped iron ore mine in the world, containing 2.25 billion tonnes of the mineral. The project is forecast to cost $6 billion.

On June 23, Rio issued a statement insisting it has “firm rights” to all of its Simandou deposit after the government said it wanted to exercise an option to acquire 20 percent of the part under Rio’s control. The government last week gave Rio 60 days to produce a feasibility schedule for the project or face a possible further review of the deposits’ future.

In April, Vale (VALE.N)(VALE5.SA) spent $2.5 billion on a majority stake in a division of BSG Resources in Guinea in order to develop the Simandou-Zogota project. Output will begin in 2012 with 10 million tonnes of iron ore and reach 50 million tonnes by 2015, Vale said.

London-listed explorer Bellzone BMZ.L announced a joint-venture deal with Guinea in June, paving the way for a feasibility study into the construction of the 280-km railway line from the Kalia iron ore concession to the port of Matakan. The study should be completed within 30 months, according to the terms of the deal. China International Fund will help fund the project, Guinea’s government said.

************************GOLD****************************

BACKGROUND:

Guinea’s gold production surged during the first quarter of 2010 to 229,991 ounces from 73,210 ounces in the same quarter a year ago. It remains a relatively small producer compared with regional leaders Ghana and Mali, which produce closer to 2 million ounces each per year.

PRODUCTION:

Anglogold Ashanti (ANGJ.J) operates Guinea’s biggest gold mine at Siguiri in the northeast, where it produced 332,000 ounces of gold in 2008. Guinea holds a 15 percent stake.

Crew Gold (CRU.TO) operates the LEFA Corridor Gold Project, which produced 189,520 ounces in 2008.

West Africa-focused gold miner Semafo, which is listed in Toronto, operates the Kiniero mine in eastern Guinea. It produced 51,700 ounces in 2008.

Artisanal gold mining is also common in Guinea.

**********************DIAMONDS***************************

Guinea’s diamond reserves are estimated at more than 25 million carats, not including as yet unmapped kimberlite fields. Production during the first quarter of 2010 was 72,870 carats, up slightly from 70,920 carats in the same period in 2009.

**********************NICKEL****************************

Australian-listed company Lindian Resources (LIN.AX) is exploring for nickel at the Dinguiraye project, about 400 km northeast of Conakry. ******************************************************** Sources: Reuters news, company websites & Reuters Metal Production Database, available to 3000Xtra users here (Reporting by Daniel Magnowski, Richard Valdmanis, Saliou Samb and David Cutler; editing by Matthew Jones) (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: africa.reuters.com/)

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TIMELINE-Guinea’s bumpy road from coup to election

June 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Guinea, one of the world’s biggest sources of the aluminium ore bauxite, will hold a presidential election on Sunday aimed at ending a political crisis that has persisted since a 2008 military coup.

Here is a timeline of recent Guinean political events:

Dec. 1998 – Lansana Conte is re-elected president in a vote held after the arrest of his main challenger, Alpha Conde, for sedition. Conte is again re-elected for a seven-year term in 2003, in a vote boycotted by the main opposition parties and whose results were disputed.

Jan. 2005 – Dissident soldiers try to assassinate Conte as he drives through the capital Conakry.

Feb. 2007 – Conte appoints Lansana Kouyate as prime minister after a general strike and protests which kill more than 180.

May 2008 – Several people are killed in an army pay revolt.

Dec. 23 – Government announces Conte’s death.

Dec. 24 – Junta chief Captain Moussa Dadis Camara is chosen as de facto head of state after bloodless coup and says he will not stand for president in elections promised in 2010.

Sept 28, 2009 – Security forces kill more than 150 people after firing live rounds to disperse thousands of anti-junta protesters.

Oct. 12 – A two-day general strike called by unions to protest the September killings begins, bringing Conakry to a halt and disrupting bauxite exports.

Oct. 27 – Human Rights Watch report accuses junta of planning the September killings.

Oct. 29 – The United States restricts the travel of junta members and the African Union imposes sanctions that include travel restrictions and the freezing of bank accounts.

Oct. 30 – France halts cooperation with Guinean institutions and suspends funding of a highway project.

Dec. 3 – Camara wounded in gun attack by his own soldiers.

Dec. 4 – Camara evacuated to Morocco hospital for treatment of head wound. Defence Minister and deputy leader Sekouba Konate returns from trip abroad to take temporary control.

Dec. 21 – U.N. report on Sept. 28 protest crackdown lays responsibility on Camara.

Jan. 12, 2010 – Camara arrives in Burkina Faso to convalesce following the assassination attempt.

Jan. 15 – In the Burkinabe capital, Camara, Konate and junta officials sign the Ouagadougou Declaration to allow a national unity Government led by a civilian prime minister designated by the opposition, and elections within six months.

Jan. 19 – Guinea appoints veteran opposition politician Jean-Marie Dore as prime minister, who forms a caretaker government made up of a mix of civilian and military leaders.

April 28 – Dore says Camara supporters are secretly plotting his return to the country, and any actions to disrupt a planned election will be quashed.

May 20 – Guinea’s army says it will support whomever wins next month’s presidential election and anyone trying to derail the vote will be crushed.

June 15 – Security forces free former head of the army and two other soldiers believed to be Camara allies, after arresting them days earlier as part of a corruption investigation.

June 27 – Presidential election.

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Nepal’s leaders battle to avert political crisis

May 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Kathmandu, May 29 — Nepal continued to wait with baited breath as ruling parties and opposition Maoists remained deadlocked on extending the Constituent Assembly’s tenure to enable drafting of the new constitution. The CA tenure ends on Friday midnight.

And if it doesn’t get extended within that deadline the country will plunge into constitutional and political crisis. Hectic parleys and last minute lobbying continued since morning to find a way out of the impending crisis but both the ruling parties and the opposition Maoists refused to budge from their stands.

Maoists refused to support the motion to extend the CA tenure till Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal was removed and the ruling parties refused to accede to such pre-conditions. Maoist leadership issued a whip to its members asking them to vote against the motion if their demand was not met.

“We will prefer to stay outside than bow down,” said Maoist spokesperson Dinanath Sharma. Support of Maoists who have 40 percent representation in CA is crucial as a two-third majority vote is needed to amend the interim constitution and extend its tenure to speed up constitution drafting.

“If it doesn’t happen CA ceases to exist from Friday midnight and the government becomes non-functional. An interim government is likely to take over till the next election,” said CA Chairman Subhash Nemwang.

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Nepal PM offers to resign to avert political crisis

May 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Kathmandu, May 29(ANI): In a bid to end the political crisis over the formation of a constituent assembly, Nepal Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal has offered to resign.

Madhav Kumar said that he would step down in a last-minute bid to secure the support of Maoist lawmakers for a bill to extend parliament”s term, which was due to end Friday and leave the country without a functioning legislature.

Nepal”s Parliament has passed the eight Amendment Bill of the Interim Constitution of Nepal, which will extend the Constituent Assembly”s (CA) term by a year.

Out of the 585 lawmakers who attended the meeting, 580 voted for the Amendment Bill, while five voted against.

The opposition Maoist party won elections in 2008 and took power for nine months, abolishing Nepal”s 240-year-old Hindu monarchy and turning the country into a secular republic. (ANI)

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Bangkok cautiously re-opens for business

May 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Thailand on Monday maintained economic growth projections for the year despite the most violent riots in modern history, as a stellar performance in the first quarter cancelled out the slowdown from the violence.

The stock market dropped sharply despite the state planning agency’s forecast as Bangkok cautiously reopened for business after the mayhem. Analysts blamed increased political risk and the delayed effect of the euro zone crisis.

“Investors may be temporarily relieved that a semblance of normalcy has returned but the political risk remains high and investors will likely be cautious,” said Warut Siwasariyanon, head of research at Finansia Syrus Securities in Bangkok.

“The big underlying conflict is still there and the wound is deeper than ever even as the roads have been wiped clean.”

At least 54 people were killed in Bangkok and over 400 injured in the latest bout of violence which began on May 14. Almost 40 buildings were set on fire last week as the army dispersed thousands of anti-government protesters who had taken over the commercial heart of the city for months.

The planning agency said the 2010 growth forecast was being maintained at 3.5-4.5 percent, but had been dragged down 1.5 percentage points by the political crisis.

The economy grew a strong 3.8 percent on the quarter in the January-March period, against market expectations of 1.8 percent.

The stock market fell as much as 1.6 percent as trading resumed after five days.

However, Thai bond yields jumped as the market priced in a likely hike in interest rates in mid-year following the strong growth figures. In early deals, benchmark five-year bond yields surged 8 basis points to 3.20 percent.

“With the violence behind us, the central bank may start looking at raising rates now and that is being priced into the market,” said one Bangkok-based trader.

Both metropolitan train services, the Skytrain and the underground, operated as normal after starting skeletal service over the weekend following disruptions during the protests.

Trains were crowded, but there was enough space to stand comfortably, even in morning rush hour.

“You look around and it feels like nothing has happened,” said Dao Pipirom, a 35-year-old market researcher whose apartment is in the business district. “Life goes on as normal now.”

“But I still get very agitated when I hear loud noise. I keep thinking it’s another grenade blast or gunshot.”

Government offices and some schools are also scheduled to reopen on Monday, but a night curfew in the city and 23 provinces was still being imposed.

CLEAN-UP

On Sunday, thousands of municipal workers and volunteers, including high school students, cleaned up the Rachaprasong district the anti-government red shirt protesters had occupied for months.

Armed with straw brooms, plastic gloves, garbage bags and face masks, some used kitchen scourers and razor knives to remove anti-government posters and graffiti. Others carted away rubbish left by the protesters.

The red shirts, mainly rural and urban poor, demand new elections, saying Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva lacks a popular mandate and is propped up by the military and a Bangkok elite that has disenfranchised them.

Abhisit said in a regular Sunday broadcast that he did not wish to stay for his full term, which lasts until 2012, but did not confirm whether an earlier offer to the red shirts of a November election was still on the table.

The protesters had rejected that offer.

“It is now up to me to decide whether that election is appropriate… I don’t know what is going to happen next as some people have vowed to continue their struggle, calling for the resumption of the protest in June,” Abhisit said.

Red shirt leaders have said they will resume protests outside Bangkok next month, but the main anti-government Puea Thai party said it would bring a no-confidence motion against the government at a special session of parliament on Monday.

The government is likely to easily defeat the motion.

(Writing by Raju Gopalakrishnan; Editing by Sugita Katyal)

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JMM-led Jharkhand Govt to complete its five-year term: Soren

May 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Bokaro (Jharkhand), May 21 (ANI): Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren on Friday said the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led Government would complete its full five-year term in the state.

“I have formed the government for five years, and shall complete the tenure. Who will remove me?” said Soren exactly three days after he had agreed to form the government in Jharkhand on a rotational basis with the help of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“The question of a change of government comes if there is no development. But now development is going on,” said Soren giving indications that there was no deadline for his resignation.

Earlier on Thursday, Soren did not rule out the contesting by poll to enter the house, which he must do constitutionally by June 30, as he is a Member of Parliament (MP).

Meanwhile, Soren’s son Hemant said: “The party has to abide by whatever decision the president (Soren) has taken or will take.”

The JMM-BJP coalition government plunged into a political crisis after the BJP withdrew support to government in the wake of Shibu Soren voting in favour of the UPA during the cut motion in parliament on April 27.

The BJP first announced it would immediately withdraw support from the JMM-led government, which would have brought it down and effectively led to the imposition of President”s Rule or attempts by the Congress to form an alternative government.

However, by April 29 when the party received a letter from Hemant Soren, offering to support the BJP in leading the coalition, the withdrawal of support was “put on hold” and a dialogue was opened. (ANI)

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Thai protesters agree to talks to end violence

May 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Thai anti-government protesters agreed on Tuesday to talks brokered by a Senate leader to end Thailand’s deadliest political crisis in nearly two decades and halt spiralling violence that has killed 38 people in five days.

Troops have surrounded thousands of anti-government demonstrators in the fortified camp they have occupied since April 3 in central Bangkok. Pockets of violence have erupted in several other parts of the capital in recent days.

“We have agreed to take a new round of talks proposed by the Senate because if we allow things to go on like this, we don’t know how many more lives will be lost,” Nattawut Saikua, one of the “red shirt” leaders, told a news conference.

The talks would be led by a group of 64 senators who offered to mediate with the protesters and want a ceasfire on both sides.

The government’s response to the offer was not immediately known, but Nattawut, speaking inside the protesters’ fortified camp, said it was in the interests of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to seek a negotiated end to the unrest.

“There has never been a prime minister that could secure victory by killing people. That could only be achieved through winning the hearts and minds of the people,” he said.

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An estimated 5,000 of the red-shirted protesters remain in a camp covering 3 sq km (1.2 sq miles) of an upmarket shopping district, set up as part of a movement that began in mid-March with the aim of toppling the government and forcing elections.

The authorities had warned them to leave by 3 p.m. (0800 GMT) on Monday, but the deadline passed without action being taken.

Hundreds of women and children took refuge in a temple inside the protest area, but some protesters fought with soldiers in areas around the camp.

Red shirt leaders have previously proposed a ceasefire and talks moderated by the United Nations, which the government dismissed. On Monday, they said they would accept talks as long as a neutral arbiter took part and troops withdrew.

“The government cannot entertain demands from the protesters,” said Korbsak Sabhavasu, a senior aide to the prime minister earlier on Tuesday.

“The best way forward is to stop talking about negotiation and for the protest leaders to call their people back to the Rachaprasong rally area and stop the violence,” he added.

RANDOM KILLING

Army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said some “terrorists” were trying to foment trouble through random killings.

“There are groups of terrorists trying to create incidents by hurting and killing people. Their targets are innocent people at the rallies, rescue workers, journalists,” Sansern said.

He said one such incident occurred on Monday north of the main protest site in an apartment block under construction.

“A group of snipers dressed as soldiers were hiding on floors 24 to 27 aiming randomly at people, and that is being blamed on soldiers,” he told a televised briefing.

Thai media reported a fire was raging in a row of deserted shops in the same area on Tuesday and firefighters were struggling to get into the area because of barricades.

Erawan Emergency Medical Centre said on Tuesday that 38 people had died in the flare-up of violence since May 13 and 67 have been killed people since trouble started in April.

The protesters, mostly drawn from the rural and urban poor, and supporters of ousted ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, had initially demanded immediate elections.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva unilaterally offered an election in November — just over a year before one was due — but withdrew the offer because the “red shirts” refused to end their rally and kept adding more demands.

“Following the prime minister’s decision to scrap the poll plan, it has become clear that hope for any political solution and reconciliation of the situation even in the short term is extremely slim,” political analyst Maria Patrikainen of IHS Global Insight Analysis wrote in a note on the crisis.

“With no immediate solution in sight, the fighting also threatens to further divide Thailand’s already fractured society, pushing the country towards civil war,” she added.

Among the smaller incidents reported from late on Monday, Channel 3 television reported that hundreds of red shirts had attempted to hold a protest at Ramkamhaneg University in the south of the city on Monday evening.

When students resisted and riot police intervened, the red shirts agreed to hold their rally outside the university. Later a gunman driving past on a motorbike fired into the crowd and the demonstrators dispersed. Some minor injuries were reported.

(Additional reporting by Arada Kultawanich and Ambika Ahuja; Writing by Alan Raybould; Editing by Jason Szep)

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Fighting spreads in Thai capital, 17 dead

May 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Thai troops fired at protesters on Saturday in a third day of fighting on Bangkok’s streets that has killed 17 people as soldiers struggle to isolate a sprawling encampment of demonstrators seeking to topple the government.

Soldiers crouched behind sandbags or atop buildings fired live rounds at protesters armed with petrol bombs, guns and homemade rockets in clashes around the business district. One was shot in the chest while trying to ignite a tyre.

At Din Daeng intersection, north of the protest site, three bodies were evacuated on stretchers, a Reuters witness said. Two suffered head wounds. Troops also swarmed into a parking lot at the popular Dusit Thani hotel outside the protest site.

That followed a long night of grenade explosions and sporadic gunfire as the army battled to set up a perimeter around the 3.5 sq-km (1.2 sq-mile) barricaded encampment where thousands refuse to leave, including women and children.

“We’ll keep on fighting,” said Kwanchai Praipana, a leader of the red-shirted protesters, calling on Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to resign and take responsibility for Thailand’s deadliest political crisis in 18 years.

He said supplies of food, water and fuel were starting to run thin as their usual delivery trucks were blocked but that they had enough to last “days”.

Hardcore protesters, gathering in small numbers, set fire to vehicles, including an army truck, and hurled rocks at troops who set up razor wire at checkpoints and asked residents to show identification cards to stop people from joining the mostly rural and urban poor “red shirts”.

A sign at one intersection warned residents not to enter a “live bullet area”. Another warned of a “rubber bullet area.”

The crisis has paralysed Bangkok, squeezed Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy, scared off tourists and choked investment in one of Asia’s most promising emerging markets.

It has also stunned “Bangkokians” as one of the world’s most bustling cities and tourist hot spots descends into a war zone.

“My ears are ringing with all the shooting last night,” said Ratana Veerasawat, a 48-year-old owner of a hole-in-the-wall grocery store north of the protest encampment where many residents were leaving for safer locations.

“It’s just awful and getting worse. Best to leave now.”

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon expressed concern over “the rapidly mounting tensions and violence”.

“He strongly encourages them to urgently return to dialogue in order to de-escalate the situation and resolve matters peacefully,” his spokesman said in a statement.

The Canadian government urged both sides to return to talks after a Bangkok-based Canadian journalist was shot three times, one of three journalists wounded in fighting that has spiralled into chaotic urban warfare where front lines shift quickly.

“UNLIKELY TO END QUICKLY”

The government said on Friday it would restore order “in the next few days” as the city of 15 million people braced for a final crackdown in the area of high-end department stores, luxury hotels, embassies and expensive residential apartments.

The number of protesters in the main encampment dropped overnight but several thousand remained, many singing and listening to speeches by protest leaders. Some leaders, including the movement’s chairman, haven’t been seen for days. Several leaders wore flak jackets, fearing snipers.

“I am not scared,” said Sanae Promman, a 37-year-old protester frying vegetables in a wok under a tent at the site. “Some of my friends have left because they are scared but many are still here to fight. We will fight until we die if we must.”

They have barricaded themselves behind walls of kerosene-soaked tyres, sharpened bamboo staves, concrete blocks and razor wire.

“It’s unlikely to end quickly,” said a source close to army chief Anupong Paochinda, fearing more protesters would arrive to surround and attack soldiers.

The Erawan Medical Centre in Bangkok said 17 people had been killed and 147 wounded in the latest fighting.

Before fighting began on Thursday with the shooting of a renegade general allied with the protesters, the two-month crisis had already killed 29 people and wounded about 1,400 — most of whom died during an April 10 gun battle in Bangkok’s old quarter.

The fighting is the latest eruption in a polarising five-year crisis between a royalist urban elite establishment, who back the prime minister, and the rural and urban poor who accuse conservative elites and the military’s top brass of colluding to bring down two elected governments.

Those governments were led or backed by exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, a graft-convicted populist billionaire ousted in a 2006 coup who is a figurehead of the protest movement.

The red shirts and their supporters say the politically powerful military influenced a 2008 parliamentary vote, which took place after a pro-Thaksin party was dissolved, to ensure the British-born, Oxford-educated Abhisit rose to power.

“I don’t think many see the end of this protest as the end of the crisis,” said Danny Richards, Asia editor at the Economist Intelligence Unit. “When there’s an election, either side will reject the legitimacy of the other. We’ll be back to square one.”

(Additional reporting by Martin Petty and Damir Sagolj; editing by Bill Tarrant)

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Fighting spreads in Thai capital, 16 dead

May 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Thai troops fired at protesters on Saturday in a third day of fighting on Bangkok’s streets that has killed 16 people as soldiers struggle to isolate a sprawling encampment of demonstrators seeking to topple the government.

Clashes continued across central Bangkok as soldiers behind sand bags or atop buildings fired live rounds at protesters armed with petrol bombs. One was shot in the chest while trying to ignite a tyre in Bangkok’s usually bustling business district.

At Din Daeng intersection, north of the protest site, three bodies were evacuated on stretchers, a Reuters witness said. Two suffered head wounds. Troops also swarmed into a parking lot at the popular Dusit Thani hotel outside the protest site.

That followed a long night of grenade explosions and sporadic gunfire as the army battled to set up a perimeter around the 3.5 sq-km (1.2 sq-mile) barricaded encampment where thousands refuse to leave, including women and children.

“We’ll keep on fighting,” said Kwanchai Praipana, a leader of the red-shirted protesters, calling on Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to resign and take responsibility for Thailand’s deadliest political crisis in 18 years.

He said supplies of food, water and fuel were starting to run thin as their usual delivery trucks were blocked but that they had enough to last “days”.

Hardcore protesters, gathering in small numbers, set fire to vehicles, including an army truck, and hurled rocks at troops who set up razor wire at checkpoints and asked residents to show identification cards to stop people from joining the mostly rural and urban poor “red shirts”.

The crisis has paralysed Bangkok, squeezed Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy, scared off tourists and choked off investment in one of Asia’s most promising emerging markets.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon expressed concern over “the rapidly mounting tensions and violence”.

“He strongly encourages them to urgently return to dialogue in order to de-escalate the situation and resolve matters peacefully,” his spokesman said in a statement.

The Canadian government urged both sides to return to talks after a Bangkok-based Canadian journalist was shot three times, one of three journalists wounded in fighting that has spiralled into chaotic urban warfare where front lines shift quickly.

“UNLIKELY TO END QUICKLY”

The government said on Friday it would restore order “in the next few days” as the city of 15 million people braced for a crackdown to end a six-week protest by thousands of “red shirts” packed into an area of high-end department stores, luxury hotels, embassies and expensive residential apartments.

The Erawan Medical Centre in Bangkok said 16 people had been killed and 141 wounded in the latest fighting.

“It’s unlikely to end quickly,” said a source close to army chief Anupong Paochinda, fearing more protesters would arrive to surround and attack soldiers.

“There will be several skirmishes in the coming days but we are still confident we will get the numbers down and seal the area,” added the source, who declined to be identified by name.

The number of protesters in the main encampment appeared to have dropped overnight but several thousands remained, many singing and listening to speeches by protest leaders. Some leaders, including the movement’s chairman, have disappeared.

Protesters are barricaded behind walls of kerosene-soaked tyres, sharpened bamboo staves, concrete blocks and razor wire.

Before fighting began on Thursday with the shooting of a renegade general allied with the protesters, the two-month crisis had already killed 29 people and wounded about 1,400 — most of whom died during an April 10 gun battle in Bangkok’s old quarter.

The fighting is the latest flare-up in a polarising five-year crisis between a royalist urban elite establishment, who back the prime minister, and the rural and urban poor who accuse conservative elites and the military’s top brass of colluding to bring down two elected governments.

Those governments were led or backed by exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, a graft-convicted populist billionaire ousted in a 2006 coup who is a figurehead of the protest movement.

The red shirts and their supporters say the politically powerful military influenced a 2008 parliamentary vote, which took place after a pro-Thaksin party was dissolved, to ensure the British-born, Oxford-educated Abhisit rose to power.

Five-year Thai credit default swaps, used to hedge against debt default, widened by more than 30 basis points on Friday — the biggest jump in 15 months — to 142 basis points.

“With gun battles and grenades going off, investors will look elsewhere,” said Danny Richards, an analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit.

“I don’t think many see the end of this protest as the end of the crisis. When there’s an election, either side will reject the legitimacy of the other and we’ll be back to square one.”

(Additional reporting by Martin Petty and Adrees Latif; Editing by Bill Tarrant)

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Jharkhand impasse: BJP fails to take final call

May 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, May 15 (ANI): The political crisis in Jharkhand continues with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) core committee failing on Saturday to take a decision on government formation in the state.

On Friday, the BJP leadership reviewed Jharkhand developments and considered the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha”s (JMM) offer of leading the JMM-BJP coalition in the State.

Three rounds of meetings were held over a six-hour period.

The BJP has, so far, maintained that its chief minister would lead the state for the next four-and-a-half years, while the JMM has been insisting on a rotational arrangement, with each chief minister (BJP’s and then JMM’s) getting 28 months each.

BJP vice president Prakash Javdekar said there was no urgency to take a decision.

He said there is a functioning government in Jharkhand and the party would come out with its decision under its own time frame.

Meanwhile, the Congress has hinted that it might demand imposition of President”s Rule if the stalemate continues.

Party spokesman Shakil Ahmed said the Congress has not staked a claim to form a government in the state.

The JMM-BJP coalition government plunged into crisis after the BJP withdrew support to Chief Minister Shibu Soren’s government after he voted in favour of the UPA during a cut motion in Parliament on April 27.

However, by April 29 the party received a letter from Hemant Soren, the son of the chief minister, offering support to the BJP in leading the coalition. (ANI)

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Fighting spreads in Thai capital, 16 dead

May 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Thai troops fired at protesters on Saturday in a third day of fighting on Bangkok’s streets that has killed 16 people as soldiers struggle to isolate a sprawling encampment of demonstrators seeking to topple the government.

Clashes continued across central Bangkok as soldiers fired live rounds at protesters. One was shot in the chest while trying to ignite a rubber tyre in the business district, witnesses said.

At Din Daeng intersection, north of the protest site, three bodies were evacuated on stretchers, a Reuters witness said. Two suffered head wounds. Troops had also swarmed into a parking lot at the popular Dusit Thani hotel outside the protest site

Protesters set fire to vehicles, including an army truck.

That followed a long night of thundering grenade explosions and sporadic gunfire as the army battled to set up a perimeter around a 3.5 sq-km (1.2 sq-mile) protest site of red-shirted demonstrators who refuse to leave.

“We’ll keep on fighting,” said Kwanchai Praipana, a leader of the red-shirted protesters, calling on Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to resign and take responsibility for Thailand’s deadliest political crisis in 18 years.

He said supplies of food, water and fuel were starting to run thin but they had enough to last “days”.

The crisis has paralysed parts of Bangkok, squeezed Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy and scared off tourists.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon expressed concern over “the rapidly mounting tensions and violence”.

“He strongly encourages them to urgently return to dialogue in order to de-escalate the situation and resolve matters peacefully,” his spokesman said in a statement.

The Canadian government urged both sides to return to talks after a Bangkok-based Canadian journalist was shot three times, one of three journalists wounded in fighting that has spiralled into chaotic urban warfare where front lines shift quickly.

By Saturday, troops had taken control of checkpoints on at least three roads surrounding the main protest site, checking identification cards in an attempt to stop people from joining thousands in the area, including women and children.

“UNLIKELY TO END QUICKLY”

The government said on Friday it would restore order “in the next few days” as the city of 15 million people braced for a crackdown to end a six-week protest by thousands of “red shirts” packed into an area of high-end department stores, luxury hotels, embassies and expensive residential apartments.

The Erawan Medical Centre in Bangkok said 16 people had been killed in the latest fighting.

“It’s unlikely to end quickly,” said a source close to army chief Anupong Paochinda, fearing more protesters would arrive to surround and attack soldiers.

“There will be several skirmishes in the coming days but we are still confident we will get the numbers down and seal the area,” added the source, who declined to be identified by name.

The number of protesters in the main encampment appeared to have dropped overnight but several thousands remained, many singing and listening to speeches by protest leaders. Some leaders, including the movement’s chairman, have disappeared.

Protesters are barricaded behind walls of kerosene-soaked tyres, sharpened bamboo staves, concrete blocks and razor wire.

Before fighting began on Thursday with the shooting of a renegade general allied with the protesters, the two-month crisis had already killed 29 people and wounded about 1,400 — most of whom died during an April 10 gun battle in Bangkok’s old quarter.

The fighting is the latest flare-up in a polarising five-year crisis between a royalist urban elite establishment, who back the prime minister, and the rural and urban poor who accuse conservative elites and the military’s top brass of colluding to bring down two elected governments.

Those governments were led or backed by exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, a graft-convicted populist billionaire ousted in a 2006 coup who is a figurehead of the protest movement.

The red shirts and their supporters say the politically powerful military influenced a 2008 parliamentary vote, which took place after a pro-Thaksin party was dissolved, to ensure the British-born, Oxford-educated Abhisit rose to power.

Five-year Thai credit default swaps, used to hedge against debt default, widened by more than 30 basis points on Friday — the biggest jump in 15 months — to 142 basis points.

“With gun battles and grenades going off, investors will look elsewhere,” said Danny Richards, an analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit.

“I don’t think many see the end of this protest as the end of the crisis. When there’s an election, either side will reject the legitimacy of the other and we’ll be back to square one.”

(Additional reporting by Martin Petty and Adrees Latif; Editing by Paul Tait)

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BJP likely to take final call on Jharkhand government today

May 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, May 14 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to arrive at a consensus over who will be Jharkhand’s new chief minister on Friday.

Senior BJP leaders are meeting here to finalise the name.

After the meeting, the party is likely to send observers to Ranchi to convey its decision to party MLAs.

Interacting with media in Chandigarh on Thursday, BJP president Nitin Gadkari said the party would take a final call on Friday.

“I had only a brief meeting with party observers in Delhi yesterday as I was flying to Chandigarh. Tomorrow evening, when I will return to Delhi, I will be meeting them and other senior leaders,” Gadkari said.

Meanwhile, the lack of consensus among BJP leaders has led to a delay in arriving at a solution to the crisis.

The JMM is insisting on a rotational power sharing arrangement.

Under that scheme, the BJP would get to head the state government for 28 months followed by the JMM for another 28 months.

Apparently, the JMM has agreed to let the BJP the first chance at chief ministership although the JMM has already been heading the government for the last five months.

The JMM-BJP coalition government plunged into a political crisis after the BJP withdrew support to government in the wake of Chief Minister Shibu Soren voting in favour of the UPA during the cut motion in parliament on April 27.

The BJP first announced it would immediately withdraw support from the JMM-led government, which would have brought it down and effectively led to the imposition of President”s Rule or attempts by the Congress to form an alternative government.

However, by April 29 when the party received a letter from Hemant Soren, son of the Chief Minister Shibu Soren, offering to support the BJP in leading the coalition, the withdrawal of support was “put on hold” and a dialogue was opened. (ANI)

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Thai authorities signal tougher steps to end protests

May 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Thai authorities will shut roads surrounding thousands of anti-government protesters on Thursday evening, sparking calls by demonstrators for reinforcements as tensions rise in the deadliest political crisis in 18 years.

The army will also bring in armoured vehicles to bolster checkpoints, stopping any protesters from entering the area, and urged businesses on roads leading into the protesters’ 3 sq-km (1.2 sq-mile) fortified encampment to close on Friday.

“In an operation to step up pressure and limit the protest area, we will bring in armoured vehicles to help protect officers from those militants among protesters,” army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd told reporters.

Leaders of the mostly rural and urban poor protesters urged supporters to join their barricaded encampment in Bangkok’s commercial district after authorities delayed plans to cut power and water to the area following outcry from residents.

About 10,000 of the red-shirted protesters ignored a midnight deadline to end their two months of street rallies that have killed 29 people, paralysed parts of Bangkok and slowed growth in Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy.

Consumer confidence in April suffered its biggest drop since the survey began 12 years ago, new data showed on Thursday, suggesting spending in shops and department stores is drying up as the crisis grinds on, a troubling sign for a sector that accounts for half the economy.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva Abhisit is under enormous pressure to end the five-week occupation of the shopping district y protesters who say he lacks a popular mandate after coming to power in a controversial parliamentary vote 17 months ago.

He faced heavy criticism for announcing plans to cut power and water supplies to the area on Wednesday and then reversing the threat hours later in the face of outrage from residents.

“To come out publicly with a threat, causing major worries among some and raising hope among others, and then to retract it, was a very bad move for Abhisit,” said Sombat Thamrongthanyawong, head of the National Institute of Development Administration, a private research institute.

“It’s another blow to his credibility. And that’s going to make it harder to resolve the crisis, let alone govern.”

FISSURES IN PROTEST MOVEMENT

Abhisit’s threats follow the unravelling of a government peace plan proposed last week to end the crisis that has hardened political divisions.

“We urge that our supporters come and help us here because the more people we have, the harder it is for them to hurt us,” Nattawut Saikua, a protest leader, told cheering supporters.

“We are ready for any attempt to forcibly disperse us. Our guards are ready to protect the site.”

Both sides appear to be running out of options, raising the risk of a violent confrontation and flummoxing investors in one of Asia’s most promising emerging markets.

“The markets have no idea what to make of the situation. It seems like we’re heading back to square one,” said Sukit Udomsirikul, a senior analyst at brokerage Siam City Securities.

“It’s obvious it’s more difficult than they thought in terms of how to disperse the protesters,” Sukit added. “A resolution to the crisis looks far off.”

Foreign investors have turned negative since violence flared in April and have sold ($584 million) in Thai shares in the past six sessions, cutting their net buying so far this year to $607.6 million as of Wednesday.

Disparate views among protest leaders — from radical former communists to academics and aspiring lawmakers — make it difficult to reach consensus. Many face criminal charges for defying an emergency decree and some face terrorism charges carrying a maximum penalty of death.

Several harbour political ambitions and need to appease rank-and-file supporters. Others fear ending the protest now would be a one-way ticket to jail. Some hardliners advocate stepping up the protests to win the fight once and for all.

“Most people want this to end but they are sceptical because the government cannot guarantee our safety,” Korbkaew Pikulthong, another protest leader, told Reuters. “The problem is some of us face severe charges and the government shows no inclination to be fair to us. A few want to fight on because we have come so far.”

On Wednesday, Abhisit cancelled a proposal to hold elections on Nov. 14 under his “national reconciliation” plan and called off further talks with the protesters.

The red-shirted protesters, mostly supporters of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra who was ousted in a 2006 coup, have said they would only disperse if a deputy prime minister faces criminal charges over a deadly April clash between troops and protesters.

(Additional reportiing by Ploy Ten Kate and Panarat Thepgumpanat; writing by Jason Szep; editing by Bill Tarrant)

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Thai plan to choke Red Shirts put on hold

May 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The Thai government suspended its plan to cut water and electricity supplies to anti-government demonstrators camped in a posh central Bangkok neighborhood, heeding pleas from residents and foreign diplomats who live and work there.

But it also withdrew its offer to hold elections in November, bringing Thailand’s months-old political crisis back to square one, days after it appeared that a compromise was imminent.

The ‘Red Shirt’ protesters believe Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s coalition government came to power illegitimately through manipulation of the courts and the backing of the powerful military, and have been demanding new elections in street rallies since March 12. Clashes with security forces and other violence have left at least 29 people dead and 1,400 injured.

A government blockade of the Red Shirts’ barricaded protest zone in central Bangkok was supposed to start yesterday at midnight, but water and electricity were available as usual Thursday morning in the upscale Rajprasong area.

Thousands of Red Shirts protesters are camped on the streets and parks in that area, which is home to several embassies, shopping malls, hospitals and upmarket apartments.

Col Sansern Kaewkamnerd, the spokesman of an agency in charge of suppressing the protest, said late yesterday that the plan to choke off essential services to the ‘Red Shirt’ demonstrators was put on hold because of the repercussions it would have on other residents.

He said European diplomats and others expressed concern to the Bangkok governor that the blockade would effect residents more than the protesters.

“We have to assess who is going to face the impact more: the protesters or people living in the area,” said.

Sansern, said security forces would “not use force at this stage,” but left open the possibility of more violence if the protesters refuse to disperse.

With the government’s tougher tone, chances of a negotiated settlement appeared almost doomed, just days after the two sides had agreed in principle to a reconciliation plan.

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No end to political crisis in Jharkhand

May 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Ranchi, May 12 (ANI): The political situation in Jharkhand remains unclear with talks between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and All Jharkhand Student Union (AJSU) reaching a dead end yet again on Wednesday.

“We are discussing the situation with various supporting parties. Talks are on to resolve the matter and there are positive signs. I feel that the present political situation is grave and must be resolved soon, to uphold the trust of people who had elected the government for their welfare,” said Sudesh Mahato, State Minister and AJSU President.

Due to internal differences, the BJP has been unable to appoint a chief ministerial candidate, even as the party”s central observers, Rajnath Singh and Ananth Kumar, seek a consensus with supporting factions.

On the other hand, JMM leaders have not taken a clear stand on which candidate they wish to support as the Chief Minister, further complicating matters.

“All views are being discussed in the ongoing talks, and we are hopeful of arriving at a decision soon,” said Hemant Soren, son of ex-Chief Minister Shibu Soren and a possible candidate for the post of Deputy Chief Minister.

Meanwhile, a few other political parties are closely observing the scenario, and are offering ”formulae” to the JMM to resolve the crisis.

Babulal Marandi, chief of the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) (JVMP) has also joined the fray and has offered support to a coalition of like-minded parties like the JVMP, JMM and the Indian National Congress. Marandi has also asked that the ruling government of the state must be immediately dismissed.

“In my view, no political party will support the JMM in the present scenario. This is because the JMM has not done anything worthwhile for the masses ever since it came to power,” claimed Marandi.

The JMM-led government in Jharkhand was reduced to a minority on April 28 after the BJP withdrew its support, as it was reportedly upset withy Soren for voting with the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government on the cut motion.

After the BJP”s pullout, the ruling coalition has been reduced to 28 Members in a House. (ANI)

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16 injured in clashes in Nepal on sixth day of Maoist strike

May 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Kathmandu, May 7 (ANI): At least 16 persons were injured when a clash broke out between the UCPN (Maoist) activists and locals participating in an anti-shutdown rally at Bhandardik of Lekhnath Municipality in Nepal Kaski District on Friday.

Fourteen of the injured are Maoists and the other two are locals.

The Maoists who have imposed an indefinite strike since Sunday took out a rally after the people started demonstrating against the shutdown and chanted anti-Maoist slogans, subsequently leading to a clash.

Police lobbed a few rounds of tear gas shells to disperse the crowd after the clash turned violent.

In another incident, at least five persons including four policemen were injured in Attarkhel area of Jorpati district.

The policemen and a non-aligned civilian were caught up in the clash between the shutdown-enforcers.

Maoist cadres also clashed with the participants of the peace rally organised by professionals in Kathmandu.

Maoist has claimed that the clash ensued after the peace rally participants led by the UML youth wing Youth Force (YF) cadres pelted stones at them.

Likewise, tension also erupted in Patan after the participants of the peace assembly organised at Krishna Temple pelted stones at the vehicle being used by the Maoists.
Meanwhile, the representatives of professional organisations has warned the major political parties to find an outlet to the ongoing political crisis within two days by forging consensus.

They said the people would run out of their patience if the parties could not find a way out of the political mess that has brought Nepal to complete standstill, Kantipur reported. (ANI)

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Embattled Indonesian MP joins World Bank

May 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Indonesia’s finance minister has resigned amid a political crisis to take up a senior role with the World Bank.

Sri Mulyani Indrawatti was a key reformer taking on vested interests and has been locked in a long and brutal power struggle against some of Indonesia’s richest and most powerful men.

She has been reforming Indonesia’s economy and the notoriously corrupt tax office, but her political enemies have focused on her role in a bank bailout during the global financial crisis.

They claim the bank was not important enough and the money went to wealthy depositors connected to the president and she has just been subjected to two days of questioning by investigators.

World Bank president Robert Zoellick welcomed her decision to become his managing director, saying Sri Mulyani had “earned the respect of her peers across the world”.

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Indian envoy Sood meets Prachanda on Maoist strike

May 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Kathmandu, May 6 (ANI): Indian Ambassador to Nepal Rakesh Sood on Thursday met Unified CPN (Maoist) chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ”Prachanda” and discussed issues related to the ongoing Maoist agitation.

During the meeting, Sood expressed his concern over the agitation, deepening political crisis, attempts being made to solve the crisis, among others.

Prachanda”s meeting with Sood is significant as the Maoists are saying their chief agenda of agitation is against Indian intervention in Nepal.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal has tried to allay concerns of foreign diplomats in Nepal about the complicated political situation of the country.

In a meeting with some 44 diplomats and heads of donor agencies in Nepal, Nepal said that he was ready to take difficult decisions to give a way out to the deepening political crisis.

He, however, said that the unconstitutional steps taken by the Unified CPN (Maoist) to unseat the government is hindering attempts to resolve the problem.

Meanwhile, normal life across Nepal was crippled for the fifth consecutive day on Thursday because of the indefinite general strike.

Maoist agitators continue to stage demonstrations in major thoroughfares of Kathmandu since this morning to enforce the strike.

Transportation, market places, academic institutions and industries have been brought to a virtual standstill.

A huge number of police personnel in riot gear has been deployed to prevent any untoward incident.

Although, the strike was relatively peaceful in the initial days, violence has started picking up in the course of the shutdown. There have been clashes between Youth Force cadres and Young Communist League cadres in various places.

A youth force cadre was killed in Lothar, Makwanpur on Wednesday evening.

Large number of security personnel have been deployed on the streets of Birgunj. The situation continues to be tense with possibility of further violence, Nepalnews reported. (ANI)

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FACTBOX – Thailand’s resilient “red shirts” movement

May 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Anti-government “red shirt” protests have entered their eighth week in Thailand’s capital, deepening an intractable five-year political crisis and raising the spectre of more violence.

Below are some facts about the red-shirted United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), which is demanding Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva calls a new election.

RURAL ROOTS

– The red shirts are made up mainly of members of the rural poor and urban working classes. Many are supporters of the fugitive, twice-elected former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, to whom they remain loyal because of his mould-breaking populist policies while in office from 2001-2006.

– They say they are fighting against intervention in politics and the judicial system by unelected conservative elites, whom they accuse of operating with impunity and conspiring to topple democratically elected governments.

– The UDD believes the 2006 coup against Thaksin, his graft conviction in absentia and the dissolution of his Thai Rak Thai Party and its next incarnation, the People’s Power Party (PPP), were all masterminded by his influential opponents.

ABUNDANT LEADERS

– Thaksin, an ex-telecoms tycoon accused by his opponents of being an autocratic crony capitalist disloyal to the monarchy, is widely assumed to be the de facto boss and main financier of the UDD, but it has at least 10 leaders, several of whom have served in Thaksin’s parties or have a history of pro-democracy activism.

– Among them are Jatuporn Prompan and UDD chairman Veera Musikapong, politicians and former activists who rallied against a military dictatorship in 1992. Jatuporn is a currently a lawmaker in the pro-Thaksin opposition party, Puea Thai.

– Accomplished UDD speaker Nattawut Saikua is a former government spokesman under the PPP. Left-wing activist and rural doctor Weng Tojirakarn has emerged as a prominent leader, as has well-known singer Arisman Pongruangrong.

FORMIDABLE FORCE

– The red shirts have proved to be a well-organised and powerful extra-parliamentary force, holding regular protests in Bangkok and in their northern and northeastern strongholds, which attract tens of thousands of people, lasting days, if not weeks.

– They occupied the headquarters of the government for three weeks in April 2009 and simultaneously shut down a summit of Asian leaders two hours away in the beach resort of Pattaya.

– They have occupied a site covering roughly 3 sq km (1.2 sq mile) of a luxury hotel and shopping district for a month in an eight-week protest that reached its peak on March 14 with 150,000 protesters, most flooding into Bangkok from far-flung provinces.

– The UDD has scores of “politics schools” across the country and organisations at national, provincial, district and village levels, responsible for fund-raising and recruiting.

– The group has its own television channel, magazine, websites, radio stations, merchandise shops and music album. Red shirts also carry their own UDD identification cards. Protest sites have masseuses, infirmaries, showers, canteens and dozens of vendors selling snacks, cigarettes, T-shirts and coffee.

– The movement has hundreds of “red shirt guards” to provide security at rallies. Their current protest at the Rachaprasong has been fortified at six entrances by concrete blocks, wooden spears, razor wire and tyres doused in petrol.

VIOLENT REPUTATION

– Although most of the UDD’s protests have been peaceful, the red shirts have earned a reputation for violence after numerous face-offs with troops and police in the last 13 months that have killed 27 people and wounded more than 1,000.

– In April 2009, they stormed the Interior Ministry and attacked a vehicle they thought was carrying Abhisit. A day later, a few hundred hard-core demonstrators occupying two Bangkok intersections set buses ablaze, hijacked petrol tankers and hurled Molotov cocktails and rocks at troops.

– A rally in Bangkok’s historic heart turned bloody on April 10, when a bungled effort by troops to evict protesters killed 25 people and wounded more than 800, including many soldiers.

– Still-unexplained grenade attacks on April 22 in Bangkok’s Silom business district that killed one and wounded more than 80 have been widely blamed on the red shirts, further denting their reputation, as did their April 28 skirmishes with security forces on a suburban highway in which a soldier was killed.

– The presence of shadowy, black-clad gunmen during the April 10 clashes shows the red shirts have a paramilitary arm, to add to their estimated 1,000 guards. The UDD says it does not know who the mysterious assailants are. The government believes the UDD has hundreds of assault rifles and grenade launchers stashed away, many stolen from fleeing troops during the riot. (Editing by Alex Richardson)

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