Thai PM rejects protesters calls to dissolve govt
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Thailand's prime minister says his government will not give in to the demands of tens of thousands of anti-government protesters who want parliament dissolved, reports Internet.
Speaking on national television Monday, Abhisit Vejjajiva said members of his coalition government agreed they could not bow to protesters demands.
Some 100,000 people have been demonstrating in the capital since Sunday. On Monday, thousands joined in makeshift convoys to take the protest to the military barracks where government leaders have been meeting. Many headed back to the city center after Prime Minister Abhisit made his announcement.
Mr. Abhisit headed out of the compound Monday morning by helicopter, and the military reinforced the forces around the base.
Later, four grenades were fired at a separate military base in Bangkok, injuring two soldiers. Army spokesman Colonel Sunsern Kaewkumnerd said he it is not clear who was responsible for the attack, or whether is was connected to the protest.
Many of the demonstrators, wearing red shirts, are backers of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup.
Late Sunday in a video link from outside of Thailand, Mr. Thaksin urged the protesters to continue their demonstrations peacefully.
Fifty thousand security forces have mobilized in Bangkok to maintain order.
Mr. Thaksin currently lives in exile in Dubai, avoiding a two-year prison sentence for corruption charges. He is still popular among Thailand's poor and rural population. He calls current government, backed by Thailand's upper classes, 'the elite'.
Speaking on national television Monday, Abhisit Vejjajiva said members of his coalition government agreed they could not bow to protesters demands.
Some 100,000 people have been demonstrating in the capital since Sunday. On Monday, thousands joined in makeshift convoys to take the protest to the military barracks where government leaders have been meeting. Many headed back to the city center after Prime Minister Abhisit made his announcement.
Mr. Abhisit headed out of the compound Monday morning by helicopter, and the military reinforced the forces around the base.
Later, four grenades were fired at a separate military base in Bangkok, injuring two soldiers. Army spokesman Colonel Sunsern Kaewkumnerd said he it is not clear who was responsible for the attack, or whether is was connected to the protest.
Many of the demonstrators, wearing red shirts, are backers of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup.
Late Sunday in a video link from outside of Thailand, Mr. Thaksin urged the protesters to continue their demonstrations peacefully.
Fifty thousand security forces have mobilized in Bangkok to maintain order.
Mr. Thaksin currently lives in exile in Dubai, avoiding a two-year prison sentence for corruption charges. He is still popular among Thailand's poor and rural population. He calls current government, backed by Thailand's upper classes, 'the elite'.