Starting Points: State of emergency

Jun 1, 2010

Thai parliament debates government protest response

Hundreds of people were injured during the operation

Thailand's government is facing a no-confidence vote in parliament over the violence which ended lengthy political protests in the capital, Bangkok.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva appears confident of surviving the censure, as his coalition allies have said they will not desert him.

The 19 May crackdown, which followed days of skirmishes, left more than 80 people dead and 1,800 injured.

On Monday, a senior UN official called for an independent inquiry to be held.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay urged the government to "ensure that an independent investigation of recent events be conducted, and all those found responsible for human-rights violations are held to account".

The government will face a vote on its conduct on Wednesday following two days of intense debate which has focused on the conduct of troops during the operation.

Opposition politicians have taken it in turns to denounce the government for its decision to send in the army to break up the two-month long political protest which paralysed parts of Bangkok.

They say that the majority of the victims were unarmed demonstrators, proof that the soldiers were guilty of using disproportionate force.

But Deputy Premier Suthep Thaugsuban said video footage of the violence in the capital showed the government was not to blame for the deaths of protesters.

"In the past two days your aim has been to make people believe that the prime minister and I ordered the military to kill people," he said.

"Your allegations are extremely unfair to those soldiers."

'Can't hide the sky'

The controversial deaths of six people in a temple during the forced ending to the anti-government "red-shirt" rally has dominated the debate.

Thai and foreign journalists, among other observers on the scene, say soldiers fired into the grounds of Wat Pathum Wanaram from the elevated commuter train nearby. The government has issued various denials.

PM Abhisit Vejjajiva in parliament in Bangkok, Thailand (1 June 2010)

Mr Vejjajiva is expected to survive the no-confidence vote

Six people - including one local Red Cross nurse - were found dead inside the grounds of the temple, where red-shirt protesters had taken refuge from the fire-fights going on during the day.

"What happened at Wat Pathum cannot be ignored," said Jatuporn Prompan- a red-shirt leader and MP in the opposition Puea Thai party - who headlined the debate.

"You can't hide the sky with your palm. The truth must come out."

The government says it only turned to the military as a last resort after all attempts to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the crisis failed.

It also points to the presence of gunmen among the protesters as justification for the use of live ammunition.

Mr Abhisit said he had no concerns about rebutting the charges levelled at him during the debate but claimed that distorted views of the opposition lawmakers might hinder national reconciliation.

"There are attempts to pass the blame on violence and this will make it more difficult for reconciliation to materialise," he said.

Polarised society

The government has promised an independent investigation into all incidents of violence but has rejected the idea of international assistance.

Bangkok clashes mapped Protests: Eyewitness account

Mr Abhisit said he would not interfere with any investigation and that "whatever the outcome," he and Mr Suthep were "ready to accept it", the AFP news agency reports.

But the BBC's Rachel Harvey in Bangkok says that opposition politicians, many of whom actively supported the protests, are suspicious that any government-appointed panel will not be impartial.

The governing coalition has a majority in parliament and is thought likely to win the no-confidence vote.

But under the current state of emergency, state media is being strictly controlled and opposition media has been largely shut down. So this debate is, in effect, the first public airing of the bitter arguments polarising Thai society, our correspondent says.

Several opposition figures have made a point of highlighting the government's censorship of the media and its recent closure of a large number of blogs, websites and broadcasts under the continuing state of emergency rule.

They have also complained about a poor signal and frequent interruption of the live broadcast of the censure debate.

The Erawan Emergency Centre in Bangkok says 87 have now died as a result of the violence since 14 May - the majority were civilians. A total of 1,406 civilians and security personel were also injured.

The red-shirts had been protesting in Bangkok since 14 March, occupying the shopping district and forcing hotels and shops to close.

On 19 May, the government moved in to seal off the area and a renegade general who backed the protests was shot dead.

The red-shirts are a loose coalition of left-wing activists, democracy campaigners and mainly rural supporters of Mr Thaksin.

They are demanding fresh polls because they say the government - which came to power through a parliamentary deal rather than an election - is illegitimate.

Apr 7, 2010

Thai Protesters Storm Parliament - NYTimes.com

Image by matt.hintsa via Flickr

By SETH MYDANS and THOMAS FULLER

BANGKOK — Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva of Thailand declared a state of emergency in the Bangkok area on Wednesday after antigovernment demonstrators broke into the Parliament building, forcing government ministers to flee by helicopter.

The televised announcement came after nearly a month of street demonstrations by the red-shirted protesters, who have paralyzed the city’s commercial district and paraded through the city in defiance of government restrictions. They are demanding that Mr. Abhisit dissolve Parliament and call new elections.

The declaration of a state of emergency gives the military the power to suspend certain civil liberties and ban public gatherings of more than five people. It creates a Crisis Solution Center under joint civilian and military control.

“We need to plan and implement everything to the last detail and with thorough care,” Mr. Abhisit said. “The last thing we want is for the situation to spiral out of control.”

He added, “We do this not with the intention of cracking down on innocent people but to sanctify the law.”

The brief invasion of Parliament earlier Wednesday, the failure of security forces to stop it and the hasty retreat by government officials had added to a growing sense in Bangkok that the government is not in control of the situation.

At a rally shortly the invasion a protest leader, Jatuporn Prompan, was defiant. “If you want to kill us, come on in,” he said. “But if you consider us your brothers and sisters, put your weapons down.”

The ministers, in their dark, tailored suits, could be seen on television clambering over a back wall of the Parliament building and then boarding a Black Hawk helicopter under armed guard.

At the front of the building, red-shirted protesters and their black-uniformed enforcers shoved and wrestled with Parliamentary guards, pushing back security officers with riot shields.

“The Red Shirts were very crazy and yelling,” said Sgt. Paisan Chumanee of the police. “We didn’t know whether they would use violence. To avoid provoking more anger, we used the helicopter.”

The move on the Parliament building came shortly after the conclusion of a cabinet meeting at which ministers extended the Internal Security Act, said Panitan Wattanayagorn, the government spokesman, who was one of those evacuated from the Parliament building.

Mr. Panitan defended the ministers’ hasty retreat, saying they would not have been able to leave on their own “without confrontation.”

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thangsuban, who is in charge of security for the government, was one of those evacuated to a military headquarters after the protesters wrestled with his security guard, seized the guard’s weapon and emptied out the ammunition.

“This is the Parliament! Why are you carrying a gun?” an opposition lawmaker shouted at the guard.

Mr. Abhisit, a target of the protesters, had departed a few minutes earlier to the military headquarters, where he has been based during the protests. He later announced that he had canceled a planned trip to the United States for a nuclear security summit meeting next week because of the continuing unrest.

The protesters, known as the Red Shirts, are the latest front in a social and political struggle between the rural and urban poor and the ruling elite that saw its pre-eminence challenged by former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a coup in 2006.

Mr. Thaksin is abroad now, fleeing a corruption conviction, but he is believed to be financing and coordinating much of the protests.

The protesters are demanding the dissolution of the government, which came to power in December 2008 through a parliamentary vote, and new elections. Mr. Thaksin’s supporters form an electoral majority, and it is widely believed that they would win a nationwide vote.

Mr. Abhisit’s term in office runs until the end of 2011. In recent unsuccessful negotiations, protesters demanded that he step down within 15 days, and he offered the possibility of a new election within nine months. The talks broke down in an impasse but could be revived.

In defiance of government orders, thousands kept up a blockade of the main commercial district, where they have forced shopping malls, hotels and banks to stay closed since Saturday. In a show of impunity on Tuesday, convoys of red-shirted protesters roamed the city freely, pushing through military and police blockades with little resistance.

One commentator, Tulsathit Taptim of the daily newspaper Nation, called it “arguably the best day so far for the red shirts and definitely the worst for Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.”

He added: “Bangkokians’ frustration was palpable — and so was the red shirts’ renewed confidence. Also, for the first time, the prime minister must have started questioning the loyalty of some in the military.”

In a telephone interview, Mr. Panitan, the government spokesman, denied reports in the Thai news media that military commanders were refusing orders to use force against the protesters.

“We gave the military clear guidelines,” he said. “They cannot use force or weapons against the people.”

He added: “We are required to solve the situation positively. That’s the job of the prime minister.”