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Thai protesters call for revenge for violence
Associated Press - October 9, 2008
Ambika Ahuja, Bangkok – Anti-government protesters vowed Wednesday to avenge those killed and injured in clashes with the police.
Soldiers maintained an uneasy calm in Bangkok a day after two people died and more than 400 were injured as police attempted to break up protests that degenerated into Thailand's worst political violence in more than a decade. Hundreds of workers swept the streets Wednesday around Parliament that were littered with burned-out cars and debris from the rioting.
While each side accused the other of using excess force, many pointed to the grievous wounds suffered by several demonstrators, including four who lost parts of their legs, as evidence that the police used heavy weapons. Police said they only used tear gas, and said they believed some demonstrators were hurt be explosives they themselves were carrying.
Protesters rallied in their stronghold at the compound of the prime minister's office, which they have occupied since Aug. 26.
"We will not negotiate with a man who has blood on his hands," said key protest leader Sondhi Limthongkul to loud applause. "I ask our brothers and sisters to be strong and turn your sorrow into anger so we can have our revenge!"
The protesters from the People's Alliance for Democracy say Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat is a pawn of ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in 2006 by military leaders who accused him of corruption. He who now lives in exile. Somchai is his brother-in-law.
Tuesday's fighting began when hundreds of police set out to clear away demonstrators who were blockading parliament to keep Somchai from delivering a key policy speech.
Running battles between police and protesters that lasted into the night left 423 protesters and 20 police injured, medical authorities said. About five dozen people were hospitalized overnight.
Though police insisted they used only tear gas, Associated Press reporters said stun grenades were also employed. Somchai called the use of tear gas the "international standard" for restoring civil order.
Protesters claimed their gathering was peaceful, but many brandished iron rods, slingshots, firecrackers and bottles to attack police. An AP Television News reporter saw at least three carrying guns, and witnessed two of them firing at police. Three police officers were shot and one was stabbed with a flagpole.
Almost a dozen doctors at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn Hospital said they would refuse to treat policemen because of their actions Tuesday, and urged colleagues to join them. But the hospital's director said all patients would be treated.
A pilot on a domestic flight of Thai Airways International, the national carrier, refused to allow lawmakers from Somchai's ruling People's Power party onto his flight. The airline later suspended the pilot from duty, The Nation newspaper reported on its Web site.
Meanwhile, Somchai met with foreign diplomats to reassure them that he was still in command.
"My government is committed to ensuring confidence in our political system," Somchai said, according to a text of his remarks released by the Foreign Ministry. "We will resolve domestic problems through the democratic process."
He said to reporters afterward that he told them "my government is still able to run the country."
But the protesters' heated rhetoric seemed to promise a prolonged crisis. "There is no end game in sight," said Ji Ungpakorn, a lecturer in political science at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University. "The alliance is unlikely to stop here because they would lose momentum."
The People's Alliance for Democracy claims Thailand's rural majority – who gave strong election victories to Thaksin and his allies – is susceptible to vote buying and too poorly educated to responsibly choose their representatives.
The group wants the country to abandon one-man, one-vote democracy and instead adopt a mixed system in which some representatives are chosen by certain professions and social groups. They have not explained how exactly such a system would work or what would make it less susceptible to manipulation.
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