Thai government to ask army to secure election

BANGKOK, December 27, 2013 (AFP) - The Thai government appealed to the military Friday to provide security for February elections after violent clashes between police and opposition protesters left two people dead and more than 150 wounded.

With tensions running high in the capital, the army chief refused to rule out a coup, saying "anything can happen".

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's government has pledged to go ahead with the polls in the hope of calming weeks of mass street demonstrations seeking to curb her family's political dominance.

The protesters have vowed to block the vote, saying it will only return the Shinawatra clan to power.

A policeman and a civilian died of gunshots fired by unknown assailants while 153 people were injured after violence erupted Thursday when demonstrators tried to force their way into an election registration venue.

The security forces denied using live ammunition.

Deputy Prime Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul said he would ask the armed forces supreme commander for help with security for a second round of registration for constituency candidates due to begin around the country on Saturday.

"I will also ask the military to provide security protection for members of the public on the February 2 election date," he said in a nationally televised address.

The army chief insisted Friday that the military would remain neutral and said it was up to the election authorities whether the vote could go ahead.

"Don't bring us into the middle of the conflict," General Prayut Chan-O-Cha said when asked if the army would send soldiers to guard polling stations.

But he did not rule out another coup.

"The door is neither closed nor open. In every situation, anything can happen," he said when asked about the possibility of a coup, without elaborating.

Yingluck's government -- which still enjoys strong support in the northern half of the country -- has faced weeks of mass street rallies in the capital.

Thailand has been periodically convulsed by political bloodshed since Yingluck's older brother Thaksin Shinawatra was overthrown by royalist generals in a coup seven years ago.

Thaksin's Red Shirt supporters -- who staged their own mass street protests against the previous government three years ago -- warned Friday that they were ready to return to the streets if elections were thwarted.

"After the New Year we are preparing for a major battle," core Red Shirt leader Jatuporn Prompan told reporters.

Supporters of Thaksin, a billionaire tycoon-turned-politician who lives in self-exile, have accused the demonstrators of trying to incite the military to seize power again, in a country which has seen 18 successful or attempted coups since 1932.

But so far the army -- traditionally a staunch supporter of the anti-Thaksin establishment -- has avoided any public intervention in the unrest, apart from sending a limited number of unarmed troops to guard government buildings.

The protesters, a mix of southerners, middle class and urban elite, accuse Thaksin of corruption and say he controls his sister's government from his base in Dubai.

They want an unelected "people's council" to run the country to oversee loosely-defined reforms -- such as an end to alleged "vote buying" -- before new elections are held in around a year to 18 months.

The weeks-long unrest, which has drawn tens of thousands of protesters onto the streets, has left seven people dead and about 400 wounded.

It is the worst civil strife since 2010, when more than 90 civilians were killed in a bloody military crackdown on pro-Thaksin Red Shirt protests under the previous government.


-- (c) Copyright AFP 2013-12-27

This is going to be very interesting.

"Thai government to ask army to secure election"

Wouldn't it be better to say, "Thai government to ask army to overlook election"

To secure.....in my poor English.....means......make sure it happens!

Game on

They will stop at nothing to get their fingers back in the cookie jar

Funny how they say there is nothing in the constitution that allows them to delay or postpone the election, when just a few weeks ago they were saying they would ignore the constitution court. Looks like it only counts when they want it to count, making it up as the go along ...

Gonna get ugly ... just my opinion

I suspect that the Army will reject any involvement in the elections, and indeed, if they are asked, will suggest that such elections should be postponed in order to relieve the current tension.

Things are only going to get worse if YL insists on pushing on with the elections, which are clearly aimed at getting the PTP back in office before the 180-day period expires on the supposedly cancelled Amnesty Bill, at which point they will be able to bring back the fugitive criminal. If that is allowed to happen then the current goings on will seem like Christmas celebrations.

It would be far better for all parties to work together to come up with workable reform plans and then announce free and fair elections in the knowledge that the ultimate victors will be overseen by appropriate bodies providing checks and balances against corruption and frivolous and improper use of state funds.

I do not see these elections taking place since we are likely to see a significant rise in riotous behavior if they do go ahead. Reforms must come first.

Yeah, well.

The fox is being asked to guard the chicken coop.

It's a smart move by the government no matter the army's response (which I would expect to be negative, that the army can't be used against the people blah blah blah.)

If as one might expect the army says no, then the army likely would cast some measure of suspicion on its motives and possibly its intents in the immediately foreseeable future.

It would look strange if the army on Feb 2 turned around and started arresting red colored voters instead of wild eyed terrorists sent by Suthep.

AFP: "The security forces denied using live ammunition."

They lie...

The government should ask the 230,000 policemen in this country to do what they are supposed to do.

"I will also ask the military to provide security protection for members of the public on the February 2 election date," he said in a nationally televised address.

If you were commander of the army, would you do it? I sure wouldn't. The army would have to be crazy to get mixed up in this mess, it is an absolute no win, nothing good can come from it.

A 30-year-old civilian who was struck by a bullet in the chest during the unrest also died in hospital early Friday, according to the public health ministry.

If it turns out that the police killed this civilian, will Yingluck be charged with murder?

AFP: "The security forces denied using live ammunition."

They lie...

Just like they denied using sling shots....while they were being filmed doing it.

"I will also ask the military to provide security protection for members of the public on the February 2 election date," he said in a nationally televised address.

If you were commander of the army, would you do it? I sure wouldn't. The army would have to be crazy to get mixed up in this mess, it is an absolute no win, nothing good can come from it.

A 30-year-old civilian who was struck by a bullet in the chest during the unrest also died in hospital early Friday, according to the public health ministry.

If it turns out that the police killed this civilian, will Yingluck be charged with murder?

Haha that would be no. She can say, she was in Chiang Mai inspecting the road works and had nothing to do with the CAPO operations! What an excellent caretaker PM this Poo is, leading from the rear!

Any other country the Army would be told to do it not ask.

The government should ask the 230,000 policemen in this country to do what they are supposed to do.

nah they already have their hands full booking motorcyclists without papers and helmets

The army is being coaxed to make a decision.

They got to nip this in the bud and agree otherwise it won't just be a violent yellow shirt mob they have to control, it will be the whole nation.

Any other country the Army would be told to do it not ask.

Any other country the police would know it's their responsibility.

Thai government to ask army to secure election

"How much of the taxpayers' money do you want for your share????"

And again AFP loose with the truth, on several points.

The army will not help the government it is trying to overthrow, nor assist any Populist government.. The army wants the poor to stay poor and the rich to get richer. They are going to incite more violence, blame it on the government and install a "council".

What reforms is Suthep talking about, there has never been anything real with any degree of substance mentioned. The elected government can ask the army but they will not do anything because guess who the silent backer of Suthep is. These demonstrators don't want elections or democracy full stop, they want full, absolute control of everything. Who in their right mind would demonstrate to block elections and support less freedom of speech and more restrictions across the board. The power of a dictator is awesome to behold, he who knows whats best for all of us and if you don't go along with it, you may be killed as a traitor and laughed at. This fight is only about money and power for Suthep

"I will also ask the military to provide security protection for members of the public on the February 2 election date," he said in a nationally televised address.

If you were commander of the army, would you do it? I sure wouldn't. The army would have to be crazy to get mixed up in this mess, it is an absolute no win, nothing good can come from it.

A 30-year-old civilian who was struck by a bullet in the chest during the unrest also died in hospital early Friday, according to the public health ministry.

If it turns out that the police killed this civilian, will Yingluck be charged with murder?

Haha that would be no. She can say, she was in Chiang Mai inspecting the road works and had nothing to do with the CAPO operations! What an excellent caretaker PM this Poo is, leading from the rear! alt=clap2.gif pagespeed_url_hash=892957568 width=31 height=25>

Well if other reports are correct, it would be: 'she can say she wasn't there, she was on holidays with the family.'

What a joke.

AFP: "The security forces denied using live ammunition."

They lie...

So the bullets found on site must be brought by the protestors to flame the so called security forces!

"I will also ask the military to provide security protection for members of the public on the February 2 election date," he said in a nationally televised address.

If you were commander of the army, would you do it? I sure wouldn't. The army would have to be crazy to get mixed up in this mess, it is an absolute no win, nothing good can come from it.

A 30-year-old civilian who was struck by a bullet in the chest during the unrest also died in hospital early Friday, according to the public health ministry.

If it turns out that the police killed this civilian, will Yingluck be charged with murder?

Haha that would be no. She can say, she was in Chiang Mai inspecting the road works and had nothing to do with the CAPO operations! What an excellent caretaker PM this Poo is, leading from the rear! alt=clap2.gif pagespeed_url_hash=892957568 width=31 height=25>

Well if other reports are correct, it would be: 'she can say she wasn't there, she was on holidays with the family.'

What a joke.

She is always not there! The caretaker is always absent from anything, otherwise she is going to cry again.

Any other country the Army would be told to do it not ask.

No. Any other country, if needed, the police would be told to do it.

What reforms is Suthep talking about, there has never been anything real with any degree of substance mentioned. The elected government can ask the army but they will not do anything because guess who the silent backer of Suthep is. These demonstrators don't want elections or democracy full stop, they want full, absolute control of everything. Who in their right mind would demonstrate to block elections and support less freedom of speech and more restrictions across the board. The power of a dictator is awesome to behold, he who knows whats best for all of us and if you don't go along with it, you may be killed as a traitor and laughed at. This fight is only about money and power for Suthep

"This fight is only about money and power for Suthep"

Suthep is the Army's puppet. This is about removing any populist leader, denying the majority a say in future elections, and returning the Bangkok elite to power.

Perhaps voting by post, email or online would result in fewer casualties.

Even if Yingluck and anyone connected to Thaksin are sent to Mars, the Army will not allow the poor to choose a leader ever again.

Any future candidate proposed by the poor majority will be rejected as a "puppet of Thaksin" no matter what their background or affiliation.

The funny thing is that the below statement applies equally to both sides.... Not sure if that was your intent

They will stop at nothing to get their fingers back in the cookie jarFunny how they say there is nothing in the constitution that allows them to delay or postpone the election, when just a few weeks ago they were saying they would ignore the constitution court. Looks like it only counts when they want it to count, making it up as the go along ...Gonna get ugly ... just my opinion

What reforms is Suthep talking about, there has never been anything real with any degree of substance mentioned. The elected government can ask the army but they will not do anything because guess who the silent backer of Suthep is. These demonstrators don't want elections or democracy full stop, they want full, absolute control of everything. Who in their right mind would demonstrate to block elections and support less freedom of speech and more restrictions across the board. The power of a dictator is awesome to behold, he who knows whats best for all of us and if you don't go along with it, you may be killed as a traitor and laughed at. This fight is only about money and power for Suthep

"This fight is only about money and power for Suthep"

Suthep is the Army's puppet. This is about removing any populist leader, denying the majority a say in future elections, and returning the Bangkok elite to power.

If that were true, then the army could effect another coup. What are they waiting for?

What reforms is Suthep talking about, there has never been anything real with any degree of substance mentioned. The elected government can ask the army but they will not do anything because guess who the silent backer of Suthep is. These demonstrators don't want elections or democracy full stop, they want full, absolute control of everything. Who in their right mind would demonstrate to block elections and support less freedom of speech and more restrictions across the board. The power of a dictator is awesome to behold, he who knows whats best for all of us and if you don't go along with it, you may be killed as a traitor and laughed at. This fight is only about money and power for Suthep

"This fight is only about money and power for Suthep"

Suthep is the Army's puppet. This is about removing any populist leader, denying the majority a say in future elections, and returning the Bangkok elite to power.

I agree, I also did allude to the army being in control in the second sentence, my remark at the end was merely focused on the frontman, Suthep, as a representative of the elites and army.