Sutheps Declaration Of War On Police

[Flashermac]

Army chief urges protesters to clear Government House soon

 

 

Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha Tuesday urged protesters to leave the Government House's compound as soon as possible after they have finished staging a symbolic protest there, a deputy spokesman of the Army said.

 

Col Winthai Suwaree said Prayuth was worried about the current situation and would like all people to return normalcy to the country when everybody respects the rule of law.

 

Winthai said Prayuth would like to remind the protesters that government offices are property of the country and all Thais so the protesters should not cause any damage to the Government House.

 

"As a result, after the people have entered the compound to carry out activities they want, they should leave all government offices so that officials can resume their work," the spokesman said.

 

 

http://www.nationmul...o-30221257.html

[cavanami]

...and the police wear bullet-proof vest, because???

 

...and all the firemen went home because they were afraid there might be a fire!

 

...can't lose face about this...

[Flashermac]

Suthep claims partial victory as protesters enter Government House

 

 

Anti-Thaksin rally leader Suthep Thaugsuban on Tuesday proclaimed a cautious victory in what he called the long fight against the Thaksin regime and the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

 

Suthep made it clear to the cheering crowds that the fight would continue to uproot both the regime and the government.

 

"Today we can enjoy our victory but it is only partial. Our fight will continue as (Prime Minister) Yingluck Shinawatra, her government and the tyranny of the Thaksin regime are still intact and effective," he said.

 

He made the announcement after hundreds of the anti-government protesters entered the compounds of the Government House and Metropolitan Police Bureau without any resistance from police. The protesters were seen helping police and soldiers to move the cement barricades of front of both facilities that had been erected to block them from entering.

 

They also blew whistles, the symbols of their fight to chase away the Thaksin regime and the Yingluck government.

 

Suthep insisted that he would accept neither House dissolution nor resignation of the premier, as ultimately members of Thaksin regime could return to the political arena.

 

"If Yingluck resigns from the premiership, she could have her sister, Yaowapa Shinawatra, or brother in law Somchai Wongsawat, take the position. If she dissolves the Parliament, her party members would surely use any means to allow them to come back. Moreover, Pheu Thai's politicians earlier banned from politics for five years are coming back, as their bans have already expired," Suthep said.

 

He said without elaboration that necessary and truly democratic rules and laws should be drafted in order to prevent bad and corrupt politicians from returning to politics.

 

"After all is in order, I will wash my hands of politics. I have my personal belongings at Democrat Party headquarters already packed, meaning I will no longer work there," he said.

 

 

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Suthep-claims-partial-victory-as-protesters-enter--30221266.html

[cavanami]

...maybe I change my name to Whistle, then they can blow me!

 

OK, bad joke

[huumlaar]

<<He said without elaboration that necessary and truly democratic rules and laws should be drafted in order to prevent bad and corrupt politicians from returning to politics.>>

 

Errr, yeah, that would be some interesting definitions I am sure.

 

Frankly if the Democrats EVER want to get elected, then let the process run it's course, and eventually the tide will turn.

 

I suspect some key people back at Democrat HQ know that, hence their distancing themselves from Suthep

[Flashermac]

Suthep is like a raging bull ... useful but not someone politicians want to get too close too.

[Flashermac]

Chemicals sprayed on protesters identified

 

 

The violet-coloured water that police used against anti-government protesters wasn't a chemical weapon but water mixed with potassium permanganate and sodium thiosulphate, a Disease Control Department academic said Tuesday.

 

Dr Chanthana Phadungtos from the Bureau of Occupational and Environmental Diseases, said combining the two chemicals created sulphur dioxide, which caused skin and conjunctiva irritation. Mixed with water it creates a mild sulphuric acid, slightly more intense than vinegar. People exposed to it could feel itchy and burning sensations. It was not a liquid form of tear gas and wasn't a chemical weapon.

 

It was allowed for use under a riot control law. However, as this combined substance yields an acid, it could harm people who touch it, if it was mixed too intensely, she said.

 

 

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/Chemicals-sprayed-on-protesters-identified-30221286.html

[Flashermac]

Vocational students arrested with guns, police say

 

 

Nine vocational students were arrested for allegedly burning some vehicles of the Royal Thai Police, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) as well as a pickup truck at Bangkok's Orathai bridge during ongoing unrest.

 

National police deputy chief Gen Worapong Chewprecha said Tuesday that police arrested the suspects, who allegedly had several guns, at Wat Somanas.

 

He said the students joined the anti-government rally near Chamai Maruchet Bridge and had prepared weapons in advance to create chaos.

 

Police were investigating if they were involved in incidents at Ramkhamhaeng University on Saturday that resulted in four deaths.

 

 

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/Vocational-students-arrested-with-guns-police-say-30221281.html

[radioman]

What have they won? Strikes me nothings changed.

[Flashermac]

Thai police remove barricades to police and PM offices

 

 

Thai protesters entered the government's headquarters after police removed barricades from outside both Government House and the police office.

 

The mood in the capital Bangkok appeared considerably calmer after the move, which followed clashes over the weekend and on Monday.

 

But as tensions fell, protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban vowed to fight on and remove the government.

 

The Thai prime minister has rejected protesters' demands that she step down.

 

Yingluck Shinawatra said she was open to negotiations but that calls for the government to be replaced by an appointed council were illegal and unconstitutional.

 

The protests, which began on 24 November, had been largely peaceful until Saturday, when they became violent.

 

Over the weekend and on Monday demonstrators tried to break apart police barricades and storm the prime minister's office, Government House, with police using tear gas and water cannon to repel them.

'No confrontation'

 

Protest leader and former opposition politician Suthep Thaugsuban said on Monday that the protesters would "take over the Metropolitan Police Bureau and make it the people's".

 

On Tuesday morning - in a surprise and possibly shrewd move - the police took down barriers and razor wire outside their building and it was announced that the protesters were welcome inside, the BBC's Jonah Fisher reports from Bangkok.

 

Protesters were allowed through the barricades outside Government House.

 

Demonstrators gathered on the lawn of the headquarters, blowing whistles and waving flags. AFP news agency reported a "carnival" atmosphere at the site.

 

Protesters shook hands with police officers, hugged them, and offered them roses.

 

Deputy Prime Minister Pongthep Thepkanchana said the government was still functioning, but had asked the police to back off.

 

"We see the protesters just want to seize these places as a symbolic action, so we want to compromise," he told Reuters.

 

The police move is seen as an attempt to prevent further clashes.

 

The feeling on the ground is that after ten days of demonstrations there will now be a pause - if not a permanent halt, Jonah Fisher reports.

 

The Thai King's 86th birthday is on Thursday - and there is no question of trouble then, our correspondent adds.

 

"There's a mutual understanding that everything must be calm and orderly on this auspicious day," National Security Council chief Paradorn Pattanatabut told AFP news agency.

 

"Talks could be held after the king's birthday," he added.

 

Protesters have described the latest developments as a win for the people.

 

Mr Suthep told his supporters: "You cannot go back home yet. We have to continue our struggle,"

 

"Today we won a partial victory but we will fight on until the Thaksin regime has been driven out," he added, referring to Thaksin Shinawatra, Ms Yingluck's brother and an exiled former leader.

 

The demonstrators want to replace the government with an unelected "People's Council", alleging Ms Yingluck's government is controlled by Mr Thaksin.

 

One protester told Reuters: "We don't want to dissolve parliament, we don't want new elections because we will lose anyway. We want [the Shinawatra family] to leave the country."

 

Thailand's courts have issued two arrest warrants for Mr Suthep, although police have not attempted to arrest him so far.

 

Four people have died in clashes since Saturday. It has been Thailand's worst political turmoil since the 2010 rallies that ended in violence.

 

"Anything I can do to make people happy, I am willing to do... but as prime minister, what I can do must be under the constitution," Ms Yingluck said in a televised address on Monday.

 

Ms Yingluck has said that she would not authorise the use of force against protesters.

 

"I believe that no-one wants to see a repeat of history, where we saw the people suffer and lose their lives,'' she said on Monday.

 

More than 90 people, mostly civilian protesters, died when thousands of red-shirt Thaksin supporters held a two-month sit-in in the centre of Bangkok in 2010.

 

Ms Yingluck's brother, Mr Thaksin was ousted in a military coup in 2006 that left the country bitterly divided.

 

Her government, which has broad support outside the capital, took office after winning elections in 2011.

 

But the protesters allege that Mr Thaksin runs the government from overseas exile and accuse the current administration of using populist policies that are hurting Thailand's economy to remain in power.

 

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25190314