Defiant Thai protesters return to Government House

[webfact]

MASS RALLY
Protesters return to Government House


Photo : Khanathit Srihirundaj

BANGKOK: -- Rally leader Suthep Thaugsuban led anti-government protesters on a march to Government House on Monday to prevent caretaker premier Yingluck Shinawatra from working there

I fear I may offend the military by laying siege to the Government House, but if I don’t, I will seize it. We are sure that our protest will bring down Thaksin Regime. If we don't, then Thaksin's son, Panthongtae or Oak will surely become the new prime minister. I pledge to all my brothers and sisters that I have the spirit to fight until the bitter end," Suthep told the cheering crowds.

The protesters set up a stage at Government House from where their leaders will take turns to speak out against the government. They say they will stay overnight possibly until Wednesday.

Suthep led the march from Pathumwan rally site and visited the rally site of Student and People Network for Thailand’s Reform (STR) before marching to Government House.

STR leaders Nithitorn Lumlue and Uthai Yodmanee also joined the march. After arriving at the Government House, Suthep took the stage and challenged Chalerm Yoobamrung, chief of the government’s Centre for Maintaining Peace and Order, to take Yingluck to work there. Chalerm will be regarded as a coward if he fails to do so, he said.

Suthep and other core leaders then helped block the Government House by pouring cement into the moulds of the barriers.

-- The Nation 2014-02-17

[webfact]

Defiant Thai protesters besiege government headquarters
by Aidan JONES

BANGKOK, February 17, 2014 (AFP) - Thai opposition demonstrators besieged the seat of government Monday in defiance of authorities who have vowed to reclaim the zone this week so Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra can return to work at her headquarters.

The government is attempting to seize back key official buildings after more than three months of mass rallies seeking to topple Yingluck's administration and curb the political domination of her family.

Yingluck has been unable to use Government House for about two months and has instead held meetings in various locations across the capital.

Protesters have taunted her for overseeing a mobile government, which they are hoping to upend through a combination of street action and pressure through Thailand's notoriously interventionist courts.

Thousands of demonstrators, among them a hardcore group known as the Student and People Network to Reform Thailand, rallied near Government House on Monday.

Protesters poured buckets of cement onto a sandbag wall in front of a gate to Government House, an AFP photographer said, while others manned tyre barricades nearby.

"We will not let them (the government) come back to work because we do not want them," firebrand protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban said from a stage.

"Yingluck will never have a chance to work at the Government House again."

- Change in tactics -
On Friday riot police swept through barricades around Government House with little resistance, clearing tents and sandbags from the area.

That operation marked an unexpected shift in tactics after months during which the demonstrators have often appeared to be more in control of the city than the authorities.

But hours later protesters had returned and rebuilt their barricades unopposed.

As they try to clear the protests, authorities are also determined to avoid confrontation with the demonstrators, whose numbers on the street have dwindled from highs of at least tens of thousands following widely disrupted February 2 elections.

Labour Minister Chalerm Yubamrung, responsible for overseeing a state of emergency imposed in the capital, said police would take "soft measures" to reclaim five official sites this week -- including Government House -- vowing to negotiate with protesters rather than "crack down".

A wave of grenade attacks and shootings in the capital linked to the protests has left 11 people dead and hundreds injured, raising fears over political violence.

The demonstrators want Yingluck to step down in favour of an unelected "People's Council" to carry out reforms to tackle graft and alleged vote-buying before new elections are held.

Yingluck's government held a general election earlier this month in an attempt to defuse tensions but the opposition boycotted the vote.

Demonstrators also prevented 10,000 polling stations from opening, affecting several million people.

Yingluck is also facing mounting anger from rice farmers who have not been paid for crops pledged into a controversial state subsidy scheme.

Critics say the populist policy has cost Thailand billions of dollars and its place as the world's leading exporter of the grain.

Opponents say Yingluck's government is in fact controlled by her brother Thaksin, who fled overseas in 2008 to avoid jail for a corruption conviction and now lives in Dubai.

Pro-Thaksin parties have won every election for more than a decade, propelled to power by strong support from the kingdom's rural north and northeast.


-- (c) Copyright AFP 2014-02-17

[TVGerry]

Hahaha and how many broken promises to reclaim this and that has Chalerm made already?

[khwaibah]

Normal construction methods.

[webfact]

Protesters seal Govt House against operations to retake seized areas
By Digital Content



BANGKOK, Feb 17 - Anti-government protesters of the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) today sealed the Government House entrance gates to block caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra from entering the compound.

The protesters led by secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban, joined the allied group of the Network of Students and People for the Reform of Thailand (NSPRT) which camped out near Government House following the announcement of the Centre for Maintaining Peace and Order of its intention to retake the area around Government House this week.

Mr Suthep led his supporters to pour cement over sandbags blocking Gates 1 and 2 of the government seat, without any disruption or prevention from security personnel.

The protest leader said he mobilised the crowds to Government House because CMPO director Chalerm Yubamrung challenged the protesters by announcing that he would open way for Ms Yingluck and the government to return to work there although they do not have legitimacy to remain in power.

Another protest leader, Thaworn Senneam, said he was confident as the CMPO would be unable to retake the five areas now occupied by the protesters, while saying that the government must take responsibility for any violence which occurs during this tense period.

At the PDRC rally site on Chaeng Wattana Road, protest leader Buddhist monk Phra Buddha Issara today is scheduled to negotiate with the secretary-general of King Prachadhipok's Institute who is seeking its reopening. The monk will also file a complaint with the Office of the Ombudsman and the National Human Rights Commission for the arrest warrant issuance against him despite having not committed any crime.

Meanwhile, prospective MPs for the ruling Pheu Thai Party in the Northeast met today and announced that they would hold a mass rally Saturday in the northeastern province of Sakhon Nakhon to fight against any attempt of the PDRC to topple democracy.

The group said they will also oppose to a coup and reject all "unconstitutional" conditions to end the crisis such as the formation of an unelected government. (MCOT online news)


-- TNA 2014-02-17

[Scamper]

This appears to be a sea-change, a doubling down. It has already embarrassed the administration, as the images from this are telegraphed throughout the world. The Yingluck administration is faced with a dilemma, though it is the same dilemma they have faced during the past four months - how far are they willing to go ? And if they do, will the army step in ? What compounds the administration's unease with this is that the retaking of Government House would be merely symbolic, as the administration is already devoid of a functioning parliament. Having Yingluck physically sit at her desk does not shift anything from this practical reality. Is the administration willing to make a stand on something like that ? And would they risk the army's intervention on the basis of that ? From any sober perspective, this administration has already been constitutionally stripped of power. Any images of armed police actively clashing with protesters are more likely to reflect more badly on the administration. And are also more likely to risk intervention by the army.

[djjamie]

Amazing what 50 grandma's in wheel chairs can do.

Unless of course Red Shirt Radio got it wrong?

[bkkjames]

no rebar?

[risky11]

The police and army should have secure all govt buildings from the beginning. Now they are on the outside trying to re-take lost ground. In any other country "trespassers will be shot." People know better than to challenge the govt directly, because they will be met with overwhelming force. What is wrong with Thailand? No balls?

[hansnl]

The police and army should have secure all govt buildings from the beginning. Now they are on the outside trying to re-take lost ground. In any other country "trespassers will be shot." People know better than to challenge the govt directly, because they will be met with overwhelming force. What is wrong with Thailand? No balls?

Shooting and killing anti-government protesters is mostly done in uncivilised countries, like, oh well, guess you are aware of which countries tend to use violence against protesters?

A government, sir, is not standing on it's own, it is based on the idea "for the people, by the people".

I guarantee you, sir, that going your bally way would mean civil war, huge loss of face, and the definitive end of the, as Kuhn Suthep names it, the "Shinawatra regime"

[Equalizer]

The advertisement on the Thai visa web site says it all. 16 room guest house for sale. 2.8 mill baht. All local tourist destinations around Pattaya are void of tourists. Nong Nooch Tropical Gardens, Dead as a door nail. Tiger Zoo, Dead as a door nail, among others. The only people here now are expats and the people who could not cancel their holidays. Next season will be worse, no one will be booking Thailand for this next coming high season.

[PeVee1st]

What a clown, maybe Chalerm should go on stage, he would make a good "Punch & Judy" show for those old enough to remember, or maybe he should be on the "first stage out of town"!!!!

He is nothing more than a big mouth blowhard!!!!

Sent from my GT-P7500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Baerboxer]

The police and army should have secure all govt buildings from the beginning. Now they are on the outside trying to re-take lost ground. In any other country "trespassers will be shot." People know better than to challenge the govt directly, because they will be met with overwhelming force. What is wrong with Thailand? No balls?

People know better than to challenge the government - <deleted>? Well, yes in North Korea, China and Zimbabwe or Cambodia then probably so.

Which version of democracy do you subscribe to - Shin Utopia?

[fxe1200]

The advertisement on the Thai visa web site says it all. 16 room guest house for sale. 2.8 mill baht. All local tourist destinations around Pattaya are void of tourists. Nong Nooch Tropical Gardens, Dead as a door nail. Tiger Zoo, Dead as a door nail, among others. The only people here now are expats and the people who could not cancel their holidays. Next season will be worse, no one will be booking Thailand for this next coming high season.

When Yingluck has left Thailand with her YSL suitcase full of hard cash towards Dubai, and the renewal of the Thai Democracy is in full swing, there will be more travellers than ever.

[Suriya4]

" . . . Thaksin's son, Panthongtae or Oak will surely become the new prime minister. . . ," Suthep told the cheering crowds.

[DirtFarmer]

Yeah this is really absurd...

":

"No I took it back!"

No I took it back!"No it's mine!"

"I have it...!"

"No you don't I do ! With cement on sandbags so it is definitely mine!"

And this is the best they can do...? It will have no effect whatsoever...for pity's sake GROW UP!

"No ! You grow up! I am taking my ball and going home! I don't wanna play anymore. I wanna be the government!

If I can't be the government, I don't wanna play!"

Okay we get it already...

So have your hissy fit ...

and somebody please give Mr Thaugsuban some English lessons...or the translators... makes them look really.. well not smart......

BANGKOK: -- Rally leader Suthep Thaugsuban led anti-government protesters on a march to Government House on Monday to prevent caretaker premier Yingluck Shinawatra from working there

"I fear I may offend the military by laying siege to the Government House, but if I don’t, I will seize it. We are sure that our protest will bring down Thaksin Regime. If we don't, then Thaksin's son, Panthongtae or Oak will surely become the new prime minister. I pledge to all my brothers and sisters that I have the spirit to fight until the bitter end," Suthep told the cheering crowds. "

(Searching for Forrest Gumps' Thesaurus...)

[Chao Lao Beach]

The police and army should have secure all govt buildings from the beginning. Now they are on the outside trying to re-take lost ground. In any other country "trespassers will be shot." People know better than to challenge the govt directly, because they will be met with overwhelming force. What is wrong with Thailand? No balls?

But didn't the police chief say that any tax payer can burn them down ? (about 2-3 months ago) can't find the link.

the whole thing is idiotic.

[wvavin]

Could this be caused by the fundamental education system in Thailand that resulting in their slowish in thought? Even basic education could have waken any law enforcer that what this government had done is despicable in mankind. Protest asides, just look at the poor innocent farmers pouring down from their provinces, crying for help despite the ever useless prime minister refused to meet them. These law enforcers are in my opinion, simply idiots for protecting someone, whom is tearing the whole country apart.

[Hardy99]

The police and army should have secure all govt buildings from the beginning. Now they are on the outside trying to re-take lost ground. In any other country "trespassers will be shot." People know better than to challenge the govt directly, because they will be met with overwhelming force. What is wrong with Thailand? No balls?

People know better than to challenge the government - <deleted>? Well, yes in North Korea, China and Zimbabwe or Cambodia then probably so.

Which version of democracy do you subscribe to - Shin Utopia?

What a Nonsens you are writing khun bearboxer (or is it beerboxer)... try ro enter the White house unallowed to seize or asd a mob - you will be dead! Try it in many other civilized countries.. they will welcome you with cake and coffee.. never read such a stupid comment for a Long time!

I am shure you can try it in Europe Berlin, Paris, London, there will be no Country let a mob seize Government house! There army and Police will kick you back with the neccessary force.. right so, because nobody has to go to seize government properties...

[Robby nz]

Normal construction methods.

Na they are doing it all wrong, they should have put one lot of sandbags on either side of the gates then filled them with concrete, great reinforcing them steel gates.

[khaowong1]

This country is a joke.. I understand what they are doing, and agree with them.. The Shin govt. needs to go, they've ruined Thailand.. But, taking over Govt offices like their doing would get them shot in the US or England. People in civilized countries can't understand why the police allow them to do what they are doing. Of course, if the police did step in like they would in the US or England and shot a few people, we would be looking at large riots and lot's of bloodshed and we would be saying, holy shit, this country is a joke. Not sure what the answer is..

[Jonmarleesco]

I'm not sure that Thaksin would put that much trust in his son and heir, and I find it difficult to imagine many of the electorate would - but then again...

[Jonmarleesco]

This country is a joke.. I understand what they are doing, and agree with them.. The Shin govt. needs to go, they've ruined Thailand.. But, taking over Govt offices like their doing would get them shot in the US or England. People in civilized countries can't understand why the police allow them to do what they are doing. Of course, if the police did step in like they would in the US or England and shot a few people, we would be looking at large riots and lot's of bloodshed and we would be saying, holy shit, this country is a joke. Not sure what the answer is..

You've been watching too much of some inane TV programme, though God knows which one it could be. They might, just might, fire a few shots in the US, but certainly wouldn't risk aiming at the protesters unless left with no choice. In the UK, it wouldn't happen, unless terrorism was suspected, and a high public risk.

[paz]

You've been watching too much of some inane TV programme, though God knows which one it could be. They might, just might, fire a few shots in the US, but certainly wouldn't risk aiming at the protesters unless left with no choice. In the UK, it wouldn't happen, unless terrorism was suspected, and a high public risk.

Wasn't in the UK where few years ago, an unamrmed man sitting in the metro was shot cold blood by police, as "a terrorist risk" and then said cops, their bosses, and the city all, were not prosecuted because of this and that good whatever reason ?

[ponchi]

it belong to the people not the government and we take back!

tomorrow we fight for my country with kamnan thep by the side.

he not scare like thaksin who run away to dubai. he fight for the country and the people.

[Amavel]

Blast the anti government mob with about 80 db of Justin Bieber music and they will disperse within 24 hours.

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[3NUMBAS]

they dont know about the secret tunnel that enables her to come and go at will from the house next door

[fasteddie]

This country is a joke.. I understand what they are doing, and agree with them.. The Shin govt. needs to go, they've ruined Thailand.. But, taking over Govt offices like their doing would get them shot in the US or England. People in civilized countries can't understand why the police allow them to do what they are doing. Of course, if the police did step in like they would in the US or England and shot a few people, we would be looking at large riots and lot's of bloodshed and we would be saying, holy shit, this country is a joke. Not sure what the answer is..

"they've ruined Thailand"

Oh really! not too good with economics are we?

[fasteddie]

This country is a joke.. I understand what they are doing, and agree with them.. The Shin govt. needs to go, they've ruined Thailand.. But, taking over Govt offices like their doing would get them shot in the US or England. People in civilized countries can't understand why the police allow them to do what they are doing. Of course, if the police did step in like they would in the US or England and shot a few people, we would be looking at large riots and lot's of bloodshed and we would be saying, holy shit, this country is a joke. Not sure what the answer is..

You've been watching too much of some inane TV programme, though God knows which one it could be. They might, just might, fire a few shots in the US, but certainly wouldn't risk aiming at the protesters unless left with no choice. In the UK, it wouldn't happen, unless terrorism was suspected, and a high public risk.

You have to be joking! in the US they would be shot and in the uk they would have their heads cracked open!

[shaurene]

The police and army should have secure all govt buildings from the beginning. Now they are on the outside trying to re-take lost ground. In any other country "trespassers will be shot." People know better than to challenge the govt directly, because they will be met with overwhelming force. What is wrong with Thailand? No balls?

Shooting and killing anti-government protesters is mostly done in uncivilised countries, like, oh well, guess you are aware of which countries tend to use violence against protesters?

A government, sir, is not standing on it's own, it is based on the idea "for the people, by the people".

I guarantee you, sir, that going your bally way would mean civil war, huge loss of face, and the definitive end of the, as Kuhn Suthep names it, the "Shinawatra regime"

You are so right, it is not the answer for the troops to go out and shoot people, the troops would not do it as a lot of them are from poor villagers and see their own people.