Sun, 12 Apr 2009 11:42:29
By Kittipong Soonprasert
BANGKOK, April 12 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva declared a state of emergency on Sunday to quell political unrest and vowed to take tough action against protesters after they forced cancellation of an Asia summit.
Troops fired into the air when anti-government protesters stormed Thailand's interior ministry on Sunday after Abhisit declared the emergency. They mobbed the prime minister's car as he drove away from the ministry, beating it with clubs.
Supporters of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra stormed the venue of an Asian summit in resort of Pattaya, forcing some leaders to flee by helicopter.
After declaring victory there, they have been gathering all day in central Bangkok and by 1200 GMT their numbers were estimated at around 40,000.
The cancelled summit has undermined confidence in the government and dealt another blow to the economy, analysts said. Thaksin now lives in self-imposed exile but his absence has not healed the divisions between the royalist, military and business elite, who say he was corrupt, and the poor who benefited from his populist policies.
Abhisit appeared on television to warn the Thaksin supporters to stop or face tough measures allowed under the emergency.
"We want to ask you to stop such action. It is necessary for the government to adopt the measures allowed in the emergency decree, in order to get the nation back to peace," he said in a televised statement, hours after his car was attacked.
Some armoured vehicles have appeared on the streets but no action has been reported by security officers.
Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, who oversees security matters, implored the security forces to do their job.
"Police and military officers must fully and forcefully carry out their jobs lest more damage is done. Actions must be taken promptly and order be restored as soon as possible. Your superiors and I will take responsibility for all your actions," he said in a statement on television.
"NOT A COUP"
A Reuters journalist at the Interior Ministry said soldiers initially made no effort to stop the protesters from entering the premises but later fired into the air to stop others getting in.
Some protesters had disabled the tracks of two armoured cars near police headquarters. Others danced on top of the vehicles.
Witnesses also saw armoured vehicles at the foreign ministry.
An army spokesman said on television the public should not be alarmed at the movement of such vehicles. This was not a coup, but part of the security measures Abhisit has ordered, he said.
A demonstration at Abhisit's office, Government House -- the focus of the protests since late March -- had earlier appeared to be winding down as people left the capital ahead of the three-day Thai New Year holiday from Monday.
Up to 300 police with riot shields were about 200 metres (yards) from the site.
Leaders of the red-shirted, pro-Thaksin United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) said they had "arrested" one of the prime minister's security guards, claiming he had shot dead a protester at the ministry.
Independent witnesses saw no one shot and Abhisit's spokesman, Thepthai Senpong, dismissed it as "propaganda".
A Reuters reporter saw the man's badge, confirming he was part of Abhisit's detail. He said the guard was badly beaten up when he was brought to the Government House site where demonstrators later treated his wounds.
Speaking from a makeshift stage, UDD leader Jakrapob Penkair said the Thaksin supporters were ready to defend themselves.
"They are trying to force us into a people's war. We will bring more people to Government House because the best way to defend ourselves is with numbers," he said.
PETROL BOMBS
A Reuters reporter saw more than 100 petrol bombs, wooden stakes and metal poles. Surgical masks were being handed out.
Police said they had arrested Arismun Pongreungrong, a popular singer prominent in the UDD's disruption of the summit, and were holding him at a police station north of Bangkok.
Abhisit suffered a political humiliation when the summit he had presented as a sign of the country's return to normality had to be cancelled after the "red shirts" broke into the venue.
Thaksin's supporters say Abhisit only became premier last December because of parliamentary defections the army engineered. They want new elections, which they would be well placed to win.
Thai financial markets are closed until Thursday for a holiday. Patareeya Benjapolchai, president of the Stock Exchange of Thailand, said she was concerned.
"It's really up to the government now how it manages the situation within this five-day break. What happened was a loss for the country. The ASEAN summit was supposed to be a step-up for our economy," Patareeya told Reuters.
