jfchandler

Senators says govt. overly charged PAD

A group of senators says the government has overly charged leaders of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD).

More than 20 senators have called a meeting to discuss PAD’s rally and the government’s exercise of power to tackle the protestors. Senator Warin Thiamcharat said that the government’s issuance of arrest warrants against nine PAD leaders on grounds of rebellion is too aggressive as those charged with rebellion must act to demolish main institutions and destroy sovereignty of the country. He said further that if the alleged people can prove that their actions are not in accordance to the rebellion charge, they can sue the government back.

At the same time, Bangkok Senator Rasana Tositrakul requested the Royal Thai Police to withdraw the rebellion charge filed against the nine leaders of PAD.

-- Govt. Public Relations Dept. 2008-08-28

Interesting....

PM: Police will not disperse protesters

(BangkokPost.com) - Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej insisted Thursday that the government will not ask police to use force in dispersing the anti-government protesters, who continue to gather at the Government House on the third day.

Mr Samak also said that police would not break the crowd of supporters of People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) in order to arrest key group members who are also inside the compound of the Government House.

The premier said he would give the key PAD members, who faced arrest warrants, a chance to surrender.

"I've considered this and believed that it is dangerous (to break the crowd and arrest the key members)," he said. "So I ordered police not to disperse the crowd."

He added that the government decided to shift the official function "116 Days: From Mothers' Day to Fathers' Day," which was planned to be held at the Government House this Saturday, to Suan Amporn.

-- Bangkok Post 2008-08-28

PAD sets up tents, shower room in front of Thai Kufah Building

BANGKOK: - Ignoring Civil Court's injunction, the People's Alliance for Democracy set up five tents and shower room on the lawn in front of Thai Kufah Building Thursday morning.

The five tents are for members of the Santi Asoke Buddhist sect to rest and the shower room for them to clean themselves.

The area is often used as forming lines of guard of honours to welcome guests of the government.

-- The Nation 2008-08-28

The Nation just posted this...even though it (rightly or wrongly) has a Wednesday date reference... Note the final pgh....

PM pledges not to use force to disperse PAD crowds

BANGKOK: - Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said on Wednesday that police would not use force to evict protesters led by the People's Alliance for Democracy at Government House.

Samak thanked the Civil Court to have issued the injunction ordering protesters to vacate the compound on Wednesday, saying the court has given the government "a sword" and that authorities would enforce the court order with care.

He said he had already given the green light for police to evict the crowds but changed his mind because he did not want violence to erupt.

-- The Nation 2008-08-28

Govt changes venue of ceremony from Government House to Suan Amporn

BANGKOK: - Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said on Thursday that a ceremony for national unity to be presided over by HRH Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn will be moved from Government House to Suan Amporn Auditorium.

The ceremony scheduled to be on Saturday.

The change of venue came after protesters led by People's Alliance for Democracy occupied the Government House since Tuesday.

-- The Nation 2008-08-28

Chamlong tells guards to close gates of Government House

BANGKOK: - Chamlong Srimuang told guards of the People's Alliance for Democracy at 11:23 am Thursday to close all gates to Government House to try to prevent police's raid.

He said the doors had to be closed and the guards had to be on full alert to locked up the gates with chains once police arrive.

--The Nation 2008-08-28

Another deadline....

Chamlong cliams police will break up rally at noon

BANGKOK: - Chamlong Srimuang, a leader of the People's Alliance for Democracy, said Thursday he had learnt from his police sources that police would break up the protest at noon.

Speaking to the crowd inside Government House at 11 am, Chamlong urged people outside to move in and said all gates would be closed soon to prevent police raid.

He said it there are many people inside, it would be difficult for police to forcefully disperse the protesters.

-- The Nation 2008-08-28

Actually... ASTV is back broadcasting now..as of 4 am...what appears to be live footage.... Folks on stage all are wearing rain jackets now...and we just had a thunderstorm....so it appears to be live footage... And all the crowd is still there... But I see nothing on regular Thai TV at present.

Thai protest refuses order to leave gov't compound

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — Thai authorities stepped up pressure Wednesday on demonstrators occupying the grounds of the prime minister's office, getting court orders demanding the crowd disperse and issuing arrest warrants for nine protest leaders on insurrection charges.

The actions raised tensions at the protest site, where at least 2,000 police faced a crowd of rightist demonstrators that appeared to number as many as the 30,000 estimated to have protested the previous day when the compound was seized.

About 5,000 members of the People's Alliance for Democracy camped on the grounds of Government House to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, while thousands more filled adjoining streets.

A protest leader read the court orders to the crowd late Wednesday, but said protesters would ignore them pending appeals.

Dozens of demonstrators built makeshift barricades to hinder any police raid, despite their leaders saying they would not resist arrest. But while police were out in large numbers, they did not appear to be preparing to quickly enforce the court order.

Samak said Tuesday that authorities would avoid using force against the demonstrators and would take a "soft and gentle" approach. He accused the protesters of trying to incite violence that could provoke a coup, but said he would not resign.

Gen. Anupong Paochinda, the army chief, reassured the public Tuesday that the military was not planning a coup and would stay out of politics.

The protest alliance wants Samak's government to quit, saying it is a proxy for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by the military in 2006 and recently fled to London in the face of several corruption cases.

After Samak led Thaksin political allies to a victory in national elections last December with the support of Thailand's rural majority, the alliance launched a new protest campaign in May and it escalated this week with the capture of Government House.

The capital's deputy police chief, Lt. Gen. Jongrak Chutanont, said the Bangkok Civil Court issued a ruling late Wednesday ordering all protesters to immediately leave the government compound and to stop blocking public streets.

Earlier in the day, the Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for nine leaders of the right-wing protest group, which is loosely aligned with conservative factions in Thailand's royal family and the military.

A police spokesman, Maj. Gen. Suraphol Tuanthong, said the warrants charge insurrection, conspiracy, illegal assembly and refusing orders to disperse. Insurrection carries a maximum penalty of death or life imprisonment, but no one is known to have been executed for at least 30 years on the rarely prosecuted charge.

Police urged the alliance's leaders, including Chamlong Srimuang, an influential former politician and army officer, and Sondhi Limthongkul, a media mogul, to turn themselves in.

Another protest organizer, Samran Rodpetch, announced the court orders from the protest rally stage and indicated the group would not comply while they appeal on Thursday.

Chamlong previously said the leaders would be willing to be arrested. But their supporters at Government House reacted angrily to news of the warrants.

"We will not allow police to arrest our leaders," Samran told the cheering crowd. "If the police want to arrest them, come here and do so. Or if they want our leaders to give themselves up, that is fine, but the government has to resign first."

Interior Minister Kowit Watana appealed for the protesters to leave so a ceremony honoring the royal family could be held at Government House as planned Saturday.

The event, which is supposed to be attended by Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, comes at an awkward time for the alliance, which proclaims itself the most loyal supporter of the monarchy. Nearly all Thais revere the royal family, especially King Bhumibol Adulyadej, and to be seen as failing to pay full respect to the royals would be a political liability.

-- Associated Press 2008-08-28

ASTV showed scenes of wounded people being treated just before 3:30 am....and then both Thailand Outlook Channel and ASTV ended their broadcast from the scene... Wonder if the time came???

2 am...and the beat goes on...

Kudos to NBT...at least...for staying on the air....at least until now...

I'd love to be a fly on the wall in the government right now....because for the life of me...I can't figure out any sense to how they're operating...

I've covered a lot of civil disturbances in my career.... And one thing most authorities don't do is make a lot of empty public threats that they don't then follow through on.

Don't get me wrong... I'm not advocating any rash action here... or that the authorities rush in... But politically...it's hard to understand why they keep talking one thing and then doing something else....

Then again...this is Thailand...

What happened to Samak's pledge that "no one will be allowed in" that he made to the foreign media yesterday? Or for that matter his pledge to wait patiently and "starve them out"?

What happened to 24 hours yesterday? Dusk or 6 pm tonight? 11 pm??? midnight??? etc etc etc...

Maybe he figured...being Thai people...they can't go very long without eating.... But then again... no seeming difficulty so far in either people or food/supplies getting brought in...

Maybe...and this would be my bet... it was just more talk talk talk.... connected or not with reality...

Some observations - the crowd inside Government House does not look nor sound enthusiastic - maybe they're hot, maybe they're tired, who knows - but despite the fiery speeches of some of the presenters, the audience seems halfway disinterested.

Not quite the type of support I would've expected to see.

I had the same feeling in watching the proceedings tonight... Not nearly as enthusiastic as this time last night... But then again, I wouldn't be either...if I'd been there for 24+ hours straight in the heat, rain, dark, etc....

NBT just interviewed a police official about 30 minutes ago - and the police official said that it would be impossible for police to round up the protesters, they simply do not have the resources to arrest and hold them - so instead it was suggested that they focus on arresting the 9 leaders instead.

This information quickly appeared on Poochatkarn (Manager)'s website - so I expect it will be on Thailand Outlook pretty quickly as well.

That's interesting news... thanks for passing that along....

But even apart from the arrests question...the govt. is still saying they need to clear/reclaim the site for the upcoming royal event...

Whether they arrest or not... trying to clear a site of 20,000 or 30,000 people who may not want to go.... is pretty messy business...

12:15 am Thursday BKK time...

Demos still demoing... and being shown on Internet TV....

Police are out there still....but not clear what they're doing..or how soon...

Anyone want to begin taking bets...this will be another 3 am shift change special...at this point???

Same here.. ASTV on the computer...along with the PRD and The Nation...

and flipping between NBT and TNN on the TV...

WOW..that's really misleading on their (NBT's) part....

I'll take your word on that...since the demo seems to be continuing...

But it's strange..I watched the news all day today...and never saw that particular footage until just now...

sorry... NBT briefly showed riot police outside the grounds moving in on some people and then a confrontation, with the people running away.... before cutting away....

But Thailand Outlook is continuing to show the demo occurring inside continuing...with no apparent disruption yet...

NBT shows it starting now...

It's hard to tell...sometimes NBT is cutting away to taped footage they filmed earlier and have been repeating...of ambulances and such... Sometimes...it's footage I haven't seen before... but hard to tell when it's live and taped...

PS... anyone know about those large, black colored police trucks they keep showing... Are those carriers for more police....or trucks to hold those who would be arrested????

NBT showing police in helmets and shields massing...

Echoing the Thailand Outlook report....

Protesters refuse to adhere to Court order

BANGKOK: - Protesters refused to follow Civil Court's order for them to get out of the Government House.

Their leaders said they will appeal the order on Thursday.

-- The Nation 2008-08-27

As of 11 pm....

Interior minister asks protesters to leave Government House immediately

BANGKOK: - Interior Minister Kowit Wattana asked protesters to follow the court's order to get out of the Government House immediately.

Speaking in a Channel 11 programme on Wednesday night, Kowit said he and police have duties to protect the country.

"Now that the court has issued orders for the protesters to get out of the Government House and arrest warrants for People's Alliance for Democracy's leaders, the protesters should follow the court's order immediately," Kowit said.

He asked people who heard what he was saying to leave the area immediately.

--The Nation 2008-08-27