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Red Shirts ready for war
[Straits Times] BANGKOK was under a state of emergency on Thursday after anti-government protesters stormed the Thai parliament, but the demonstrators remained defiant and said they were ready for 'war'.Lawmakers fled and several senior government figures were rescued by military helicopter after the red-shirted supporters of Thaksin Shinawatra forced their way into the parliamentary compound briefly on Wednesday. The protesters idolise ousted former premier Thaksin and tens of thousands of them have been rallying in the Thai capital for weeks, at one point splashing their own blood at key locations in a grisly show of defiance. To contain the growing crisis, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva invoked emergency rule on Wednesday, banning public gatherings of over five people and giving broad powers to police and military in Bangkok and surrounding areas. 'The state of emergency aims to resolve the situation and bring a return to normal,' Mr Abhisit told a nationally televised news conference. The premier, who has cancelled a trip to the US for a nuclear security summit next week due to the unrest, said the mass rallies were unconstitutional and had tarnished the country's image, eroding investor confidence. It is the fourth time since 2008 that emergency law has been declared in the capital because of political turmoil. Posted by: Fred 2010-04-09 |
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