government - protests - Thailand

Three-day stand-off continues in Bangkok

Thursday 28 August 2008

A three-day protest outside the office of Thailand's PM, by thousands of opponents asking for Premier Sundrajev's resignation, has not secured popular backing. The government has issued arrest warrants against nine of the movement's leaders.

After three days of protests outside the Bangkok office of Thailand's prime minister, thousands of opponents are defying a court order to leave the compound and keep asking for Premier Samak Sundrajev's resignation. Their demonstration, however, seems to have failed to secure popular backing.

"They have remained defiant and they have vowed to stay put until the government falls", said FRANCE 24's Bangkok correspondent Nelson Rand. On Wednesday, a court ordered the protesters to leave government buildings and issued arrest warrants against nine of their leaders. Since then, the demonstrators, clad in yellow t-shirts, have formed "human chains" around their leaders to prevent arrests, reported Cyril Payen, another FRANCE 24 correspondent there.

Although riot police have been deployed in the area, the Thai authorities have decided not to storm the occupied government offices. Speaking from the army's headquarters, "the prime minister reiterated this morning that he would not use force to disperse the protest", Rand said. "He wants the protest leaders to surrender, but they have yet to do so."

Lack of popular support

According to Payen, the government's strategy plays on the lack of popular support for the protests. "The government will largely use the protesters’ drop in popularity against them, that is why there has been no direct confrontation", he said.

Indeed, FRANCE 24 correspondents report that the majority of Thais do not support the demonstrations. According to opinion polls published in the local media, 74% of the people in Bangkok were not supportive of the protest and 47% wanted the government to issue an emergency decree to end the standoff.

The protesters, who present themselves as the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), consider Samak's elected government as a mere proxy for former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup. They also accuse the current government of preparing the abolition of the Thai monarchy, an accusation Samak's camp has repeatedly denied.