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Thai soldiers stand guard at a military base in Bangkok. More than 100,000 protesters converged in Bangkok on Sunday and gave Thailand's military-backed government an ultimatum to call elections within 24 hours or face crippling demonstrations across the capital - Source: Reuters -
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Three grenades exploded in a Thai military base in central
Bangkok on Monday, wounding two soldiers, the military said, as
anti-government protesters massed at another barracks on the
outskirts of the city.
It was unclear if the explosions were related to protests by tens
of thousands red-shirted supporters of former premier Thaksin
Shinawatra that began on Friday. The protesters gave Prime Minister
Abhisit Vejjajiva an ultimatum to dissolve parliament by midday
Monday, which he rebuffed.
"One received injuries in the abdomen and the other was wounded in
the arm," Colonel Nattawat Attanibutt told Reuters, adding the
grenades appear to have been fired into the compound by a M-79
grenade launcher from outside the base on Vihavadi-Rangsit Rd.
Cheering, blaring horns and waving flags, thousands of
protesters started to move on Monday towards a military base in
Bangkok where the premier has his crisis headquarters, putting
pressure on him to call elections.
The red-shirted supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra gave the government an ultimatum to dissolve parliament
and call elections by midday on Monday or face mass street
demonstrations.
Backed by the powerful military and establishment elite, Prime
Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva flatly refused, reinforcing speculation
he will prevail in the showdown.
"Everyone agrees that we cannot do it," Abhisit said in a live
national broadcast Monday morning.
"It's not that we will not listen to the people, including the
protesters. We want to see the country moving forward within the
rule of law not just for today but also for the future."
The protests, which began on Friday, reached more than 150,000
people on Sunday but have been peaceful and orderly. But Monday's
march could stoke anger by worsening traffic congestion in Bangkok,
whose residents are mostly allied with Abhisit.
Despite the increase in political tension, foreign funds have been
flowing into Thailand's stock market - to the tune of $812 million
over the past three weeks - as investors seek to benefit from a
swift rebound in Southeast Asia's emerging economies.
As a sign of this, Thai stocks were slightly firmer on Monday after
racing ahead 63% last year.
Foreign buying
Recent foreign buying was based on three factors: Thai assets are
already trading at a substantial risk discount, the economy has
rebounded well from the the global downturn despite bouts of
unrest; and, Abhisit is widely expected to survive the
protests.
The protesters caused immediate congestion as they started moving
from their rally site in the centre before 9am (3pm NZT), mostly on
motorbikes and pickup trucks. Tens of thousands had regrouped at
the military base.
Protest leaders hope a powerful display of non-violent support will
pressure Abhisit into call an election that Thaksin's allies would
be well placed to win. They also want to convince wavering partners
in his coalition to break away.
Weng Tojirakarn, a protest leader, said they will rally peacefully
outside the base.
"We will not besiege anything," he said aboard a
truck-turned-makeshift stage as the crowd moved toward the
infantry. "We want to bring the people to Abhisit to show him how
much support we have and how little he has."
About 3,000 soldiers were deployed at the base and helicopters were
ready for evacuation, said army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd.
Soldiers lined up behind barricaded and barb-wired fences and
gates.
The protest deepens a seemingly intractable political crisis
pitting the military, urban elite and royalists - who wear yellow
at protests and back Abhisit - against mainly rural Thaksin
supporters who wear red and say they are disenfranchised.
Most of the protesters travelled from Thailand's poor, rural
provinces, piling into pick-up trucks, cars and even river boats,
illustrating Thaksin's influence despite his removal in a 2006
coup, a graft conviction and self-imposed exile.
Risks loom
Although foreign investors expect Abhisit to prevail in the "red
shirt" showdown, some risks loom ahead.
Thaksin's allies are likely to win the next election which must be
called by the end of next year, just as they have won every poll
held since 2001. The military and urban elite could seek to
overturn that result, possibly with a coup, as in 2006, or a
judicial intervention, as in 2008, triggering unrest.
The "red shirt" protesters say the British-born, Oxford-educated
Abhisit came to power illegitimately, heading a coalition the
military cobbled together after courts dissolved a pro-Thaksin
party that led the previous coalition government.
Adding to their anger, Thailand's top court seized $1.99 billion
($US1.4 billion) of Thaksin's assets last month, saying it was
accrued through abuse of power.
Abhisit insists his government came to power legitimately. While
his party came in second in the last election in 2007, he won the
support of the majority in parliament.
Thailand was plagued by political upheaval in 2008, when
yellow-shirted protesters who opposed Thaksin's allies in the
previous government occupied the prime minister's office for three
months and then blockaded Bangkok's international airport until a
court ousted the government.
Last April, protests by Thaksin supporters triggered Thailand's
worst street violence in 17 years. In recent months, they have
emphasised non-violence - and Thaksin's rhetoric is less incendiary
than last year when he spoke of a "revolution".
