Thai court bans use of force against peaceful protests

FE Team | Published: February 20, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

BANGKOK, Feb 19 (AFP): A Thai court ordered the government Wednesday not to use force against peaceful protests, as demonstrators vowed to intensify efforts to unseat the premier a day after street clashes left five dead and dozens wounded.
The opposition movement has staged more than three months of mass street rallies demanding Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's resignation, besieging major state buildings.
The backdrop to the unrest is a nearly decade-long political rift between opponents and supporters of Yingluck's brother, fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, that has unleashed a series of rival street protests.
This week's spike in violence has punctured hopes of an easing of a months-long political standoff in which 16 people have been killed on both sides and hundreds injured in gunfire and grenade blasts.
Several thousand protesters Wednesday surrounded Yingluck's crisis headquarters in a Bangkok suburb where she has held meetings in recent weeks.
But the premier was not believed to be inside at the time and the demonstrators later retreated after officials at the defence ministry complex agreed to hold talks with protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban.
The firebrand senior opposition figure leading the rallies called for a renewed push targeting Yingluck, even suggesting she might be driven out of the country.
"We will hound her all day long until she cannot live here," Suthep told a cheering crowd. "Retaliation against Yingluck must intensify."
The ruling by the Civil Court restricting the use of force could complicate Yingluck's handling of the rallies, although her government had already pledged to avoid using violence against the demonstrators.
On Tuesday serious clashes broke out after riot police tried to clear rally sites in the capital's historic district.
Chaotic scenes ensued as explosions and gunfire shook an area of the city near the Golden Mount temple and other tourist attractions.
A policeman was shot dead and four civilians were killed, while more than 60 were injured. Police said 24 officers were among those hurt.
The protesters have accused the security forces of responsibility for the deaths but the authorities insist they only used rubber bullets. They blamed the killings on armed instigators.
Dramatic television footage showed one policeman desperately trying to kick away a grenade thrown towards a group of police hiding behind shields, just moments before it exploded and badly injured his foot.