ID :
115671
Thu, 04/08/2010 - 17:28
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http://m.oananews.org//node/115671
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Red Shirts defy state of emergency; PM cancels Vietnam trip for ASEAN summit
BANGKOK, April 8 (TNA) – Thailand’s anti-government United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) on Thursday reasserted their intention to hold their protest sites at Phan Fa Bridge and Ratchaprasong intersection preparing for the group’s Friday mass protest in defiance of the State of Emergency, while Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva canceled his trip to attend the key regional summit in Vietnam.
The Prime Minister's Office announced that the premier dropped his scheduled trip to the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi for a 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit April 8-9, opting instead to deal with the ongoing anti-government protests in Bangkok after he declared a state of emergency Wednesday in the capital and some adjacent provinces.
Declaring a State of Emergency came as the Red Shirt activists on Wednesday briefly stormed the Thai Parliament where a weekly Cabinet meeting was being held, forcing both the Cabinet and Parliament to shut down, with the House Speaker abruptly ending the ongoing House session.
Prime Minister Abhisit, however, had left Parliament before the protesters arrived, but Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban and other ministers left by climbing Parliament's back fence and were taken by helicopter to the 11th Infantry.
UDD leader Nattawut Saikua announced that the Red Shirts opposed the government’s announcement of a State of Emergency for no matter how long it will last, threatening that the Red Shirts will also declare a counter State of Emergency against the government.
Saying the Red Shirts will not move today, Mr Nattawut reiterated the Reds would launch a mass protest Friday at 9am and challenged the government to use force against them.
The protest leader also condemned the government for using its power to control the Thaicom Satellite Station in Pathumthani province, disrupting the broadcast signal of the Red Shirt's People’s Channel (PTV).
Minister to the Prime Minister's Office Satit Wonghnongtaey clarified that the Red Shirt's PTV has been taken off the air for inciting unrest.
Mr Nattawut also warned that if the government used force to crack down on the protesters, the conflict would never end, and will develop into an unlimited form of fight against them.
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan said the State of Emergency is aimed at preventing any intrusion of the protesters into important places.
Gen Prawit reiterated that the government's security personnel are unarmed and will try to avoid violence as no one want to see any losses.
The red-shirted protesters have staged a nearly-month long protest demanding that Mr Abhisit dissolve Parliament and call a fresh election, with their main rally site at Phan Fa Bridge on Ratchadamnoen Avenue.
Despite the enforcement of Internal Security Act (ISA), the UDD leaders led protesters to block the capital’s prime commercial area, Ratchaprasong, rallying there since Saturday, forcing the closures of luxury department stores in the area.
On Thursday, shopping malls at Ratchaprasong intersection remained closed, while some offices of private companies at Central World reopened.
One traffic lane on Rama I Road is open from Pathumwan intersection to Chalermpao intersection, to allow office workers to enter the parking lot of Central World shopping mall.
Most shopping malls and hotels in nearby Chidlom and Ratchadamri have reopened. (TNA)
The Prime Minister's Office announced that the premier dropped his scheduled trip to the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi for a 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit April 8-9, opting instead to deal with the ongoing anti-government protests in Bangkok after he declared a state of emergency Wednesday in the capital and some adjacent provinces.
Declaring a State of Emergency came as the Red Shirt activists on Wednesday briefly stormed the Thai Parliament where a weekly Cabinet meeting was being held, forcing both the Cabinet and Parliament to shut down, with the House Speaker abruptly ending the ongoing House session.
Prime Minister Abhisit, however, had left Parliament before the protesters arrived, but Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban and other ministers left by climbing Parliament's back fence and were taken by helicopter to the 11th Infantry.
UDD leader Nattawut Saikua announced that the Red Shirts opposed the government’s announcement of a State of Emergency for no matter how long it will last, threatening that the Red Shirts will also declare a counter State of Emergency against the government.
Saying the Red Shirts will not move today, Mr Nattawut reiterated the Reds would launch a mass protest Friday at 9am and challenged the government to use force against them.
The protest leader also condemned the government for using its power to control the Thaicom Satellite Station in Pathumthani province, disrupting the broadcast signal of the Red Shirt's People’s Channel (PTV).
Minister to the Prime Minister's Office Satit Wonghnongtaey clarified that the Red Shirt's PTV has been taken off the air for inciting unrest.
Mr Nattawut also warned that if the government used force to crack down on the protesters, the conflict would never end, and will develop into an unlimited form of fight against them.
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan said the State of Emergency is aimed at preventing any intrusion of the protesters into important places.
Gen Prawit reiterated that the government's security personnel are unarmed and will try to avoid violence as no one want to see any losses.
The red-shirted protesters have staged a nearly-month long protest demanding that Mr Abhisit dissolve Parliament and call a fresh election, with their main rally site at Phan Fa Bridge on Ratchadamnoen Avenue.
Despite the enforcement of Internal Security Act (ISA), the UDD leaders led protesters to block the capital’s prime commercial area, Ratchaprasong, rallying there since Saturday, forcing the closures of luxury department stores in the area.
On Thursday, shopping malls at Ratchaprasong intersection remained closed, while some offices of private companies at Central World reopened.
One traffic lane on Rama I Road is open from Pathumwan intersection to Chalermpao intersection, to allow office workers to enter the parking lot of Central World shopping mall.
Most shopping malls and hotels in nearby Chidlom and Ratchadamri have reopened. (TNA)
