No plans for martial law, says Thai PM
Thailand’s prime minister said today that he had no plans to declare martial law despite growing demands for the government to take firmer measures to end protests that have paralysed parts of Bangkok for seven weeks.
Many Thais have grown increasingly frustrated with the stalemate, which has claimed the lives of at least 27 people, cost the country tens of millions of dollars, and sparked concerns of a flare-up of civil unrest.
Speaking before an emergency cabinet meeting expected to address the crisis, Abhisit Vejjajiva said the government had a plan for ending the crisis, but declined to say what it was.
“I insist that the government has a clear approach,” he said in his weekly television address. “All responsibilities rest with me. Every decision has been made. At the moment it’s at the stage of execution for the most successful outcome.”
Mr Abhisit did not elaborate on what those decisions were, though he expressed willingness to make some compromises.
“Those violating the law must cease, whereas the government should not ignore the political demands,” he said.
The Red Shirts, who view the government as an illegitimate puppet of Bangkok’s urban elite and the military, are demanding Mr Abhisit resign, dissolve parliament and call new elections.
Mr Abhisit has publicly suspended talks with the protesters but says he still hopes a political solution will persuade the Red Shirts to abandon the barricaded encampment they have set up in the streets of the capital.
He has not ruled out a crackdown, which would almost certainly add to the bloodshed.
But Mr Abhisit said today he was reluctant to give in to demands from pro-establishment protesters who had called for a declaration of martial law.
“So far, from what we have discussed, we (the government and the army) think that the situation doesn’t warrant martial law,” he said.
The Red Shirts said they would ignore any declaration of martial law anyway.
“Even if they announce that, we are not going to go home, we are going to stay put,” said one of the leaders, Nattawut Saikua.
With negotiations between the protesters and the government on hold and hopes for a peaceful end to the stand-off dwindling, calls have grown for international involvement.
The International Crisis Group think-tank said yesterday that Thailand’s political system had broken down and expressed fears the stand-off could “deteriorate into an undeclared civil war”.
The group appealed for foreign mediation, possibly led by East Timor president Jose Ramos Horta, to encourage both sides to stand down and help prepare for new elections and a government of national unity.
But the government has repeatedly rejected efforts to bring in foreign mediators.
New York-based Human Rights Watch also called on the protesters and security forces to end the violence.
The Red Shirts drew intense criticism in recent days for breaking into a hospital on the edge of the protest zone, prompting medical chiefs to evacuate patients.
The raid exposed a possible rift among the protest leaders, some of whom tried to make amends by removing barricades blocking the hospital, only to be overruled by others who had them restored. Yesterday they were again removed.
