| Home > South-East Asia >> Thailand | |
Bangkok ministers airlifted to safety
Agence France Presse - April 8, 2010
Bangkok – Military helicopters airlifted government ministers from Thailand's parliament yesterday after protesters stormed the building in a dramatic escalation of their bid to topple the administration.
Two Black Hawk helicopters landed under the guard of armed soldiers to rescue the Deputy Prime Minister and other senior government figures after other politicians fled.
Red-shirted protesters, many of whom support fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, had forced their way into Thailand's parliamentary compound, smashing through the gates with a truck.
"Our mission is completed," Red Shirt leader Korkaew Pikulthong told the crowd after the politicians fled and the parliament session was cancelled.
When he learnt that the Reds were approaching, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva left a cabinet meeting for a military barracks in the city's northern outskirts, where he has been based for most of the weeks-long protest.
The cabinet extended tough security laws as the protesters refused to leave Bangkok's business district, where they have been since Saturday, and vowed to march on the premier's house.
The protesters are mostly from Thailand's poor and working class, and they say the military-backed Abhisit government is elitist and undemocratic.
Police said a grenade exploded next to a supermarket in Bangkok after midnight, injuring one volunteer guard, in the latest attack since the rallies began last month.
Government spokesman Supachai Jaisamut said the authorities were ready to use emergency laws if needed to crack down on the protesters."If the situation deteriorates, it's necessary for the government to invoke emergency rule," he said.
Mr Abhisit cancelled a trip to the US for next week's summit on nuclear security due to the unrest.
The red-shirted protesters were emboldened after the police and army backed down on Tuesday following a standoff in the capital's tourist heartland.
The authorities have threatened all protesters with a year in jail, but no arrests have been made. The security forces have refrained from using force to disperse the hundreds of thousands of demonstrators, who have disrupted traffic and caused major shopping centres to shut.
The government said it would use force to end the protests if needed, but wanted a peaceful resolution to the standoff.
The special security laws, extended for two weeks, allow security forces to set up checkpoints, impose curfews and limit movement.
The Reds say the government is illegitimate because it came to power with military backing in 2008 after a court ousted Thaksin's elected allies from power.
Thaksin sought to rally his supporters yesterday, praising their "courage, patience and unity" in a Twitter message.
See also:
 |