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http://m.asia.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303595404579319582906954974
January 14, 2014 10:48 AM
Thai Protest Leaders Threaten to Detain Yingluck
Mass Rallies Continue to Paralyze Bangkok
Antigovernment protesters hold Thai national flags during a protest outside the Custom Department office in Bangkok on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters
By JAMES HOOKWAY
BANGKOK—Thailand's protest leaders are thinking up new ways to force Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra from power, even threatening Tuesday to detain her as the political crisis playing out in one of Asia's boom cities rumbles on.
It is unlikely that the protest's burly, 64-year-old leader, Suthep Thaugsuban, would be able to get near the prime minister with the security surrounding her. Ms. Yingluck, the sister of former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, who was overthrown in a military coup in 2006, has abandoned her home in a ritzy Bangkok suburb and is rotating through a series of secret locations.
But the opposition's threat to detain Ms. Yingluck and other government officials if they don't resign by the end of the week shows how street protesters are attempting to intensify their campaign to reshape this pivotal Asian economy in unpredictable and potentially damaging ways.
Demonstrators led by Mr. Suthep on Monday launched what they've called their final push to drive Ms. Yingluck from office, blocking off a series of intersections around Bangkok's commercial hub. It quickly turned into a carnival-like street party, complete with DJs, rappers and other artists. Tens of thousands of people joined the protest, many wearing the red, white and blue of Thailand's national flag and blowing whistles, the symbol of the monthslong campaign.
Many joined the rallies again Tuesday, with some saying they were concerned about the perceived influence of Mr. Thaksin, a billionaire businessman who ran the country until Thailand's army ousted him in a bloodless coup in 2006.
Some Thais believe he still pulls the strings in the country despite being overthrown. They want to install an unelected interim government to break the patronage networks that they say have enabled the Shinawatra family to flourish.
"We've had enough. We don't like the way he and his sister promise poor people lots of money in subsidies in return for their votes. It's corruption," said 47-year-old Warunee Srithaisong, reflecting a common complaint among the protesters and their leaders.
Ms. Yingluck, 46 years old, denies that Mr. Thaksin is using her as his proxy. She argues that her government's spending policies are designed to increase consumer spending across Thailand to reduce its dependence on exports. She also aims to push ahead with plans to hold an election Feb. 2 that opinion polls indicate she is likely to win thanks to strong support for her Pheu Thai Party in the north and northeast of Thailand, underscoring the gulf between public opinion in Bangkok and much of the rest of the country.
"I'm not clinging onto power to maintain the political status quo," Ms. Yingluck told reporters Tuesday. "It's because I'm trying to up hold democracy, which belongs to all Thais."
Political-risk consultancies such as New York-based Eurasia Group warn that the protests could escalate quickly in the coming days, "increasing the risk that violent clashes erupt between antigovernment protesters and other groups, most likely the police of pro-government supporters."
Already, splinter groups from Mr. Suthep's People's Democratic Reform Committee are planning to ramp up the intensity of the protests in their bid to delay the vote and force Ms. Yingluck's government to collapse.
Nitithorn Lamlua and other leaders of groups composed of students and trade unionists say they sometimes operate independently from Mr. Suthep and have given Ms. Yingluck until Wednesday to resign.
If she doesn't, they say, they may attempt to shut down facilities such as the headquarters of Thailand's stock exchange and the offices of a company that handles the communications systems for Thailand's air-traffic controllers.
The main protest group says it won't march on those buildings.
Stock-exchange officials Tuesday said they are prepared for potential protests and trades can be transacted off-site, while brokers and traders appeared upbeat about the bourse's ability to keep operating because it has backup servers in other locations.
"As long as there's a power supply to the servers of the stock exchange, trading should be able to go ahead normally," said Pattera Dilokrungthirapop, director of the Association of Thai Securities Companies.
Government officials and company executives at the air-traffic-communications firm, Aeronautical Radio Thailand, or Aerothai, in contrast, are asking the protesters to leave the company's facilities alone or else all flights within, to or passing over Thailand could be affected.
In 2008, a similar antigovernment protest movement blockaded Bangkok's two international airports for more than a week. That resulted in the collapse of the government and dented Thailand's reputation as a safe and reliable destination for tourism and business.
"We're responsible for international passengers, not just Thais," Aerothai's president, Prajak Sajjasophon, said during a government-arranged television address Tuesday.
—Warangkana Chomchuen contributed to this article.
Write to James Hookway at
January 14, 2014 10:48 AM
Thai Protest Leaders Threaten to Detain Yingluck
Mass Rallies Continue to Paralyze Bangkok
Antigovernment protesters hold Thai national flags during a protest outside the Custom Department office in Bangkok on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters
By JAMES HOOKWAY
BANGKOK—Thailand's protest leaders are thinking up new ways to force Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra from power, even threatening Tuesday to detain her as the political crisis playing out in one of Asia's boom cities rumbles on.
It is unlikely that the protest's burly, 64-year-old leader, Suthep Thaugsuban, would be able to get near the prime minister with the security surrounding her. Ms. Yingluck, the sister of former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, who was overthrown in a military coup in 2006, has abandoned her home in a ritzy Bangkok suburb and is rotating through a series of secret locations.
But the opposition's threat to detain Ms. Yingluck and other government officials if they don't resign by the end of the week shows how street protesters are attempting to intensify their campaign to reshape this pivotal Asian economy in unpredictable and potentially damaging ways.
Demonstrators led by Mr. Suthep on Monday launched what they've called their final push to drive Ms. Yingluck from office, blocking off a series of intersections around Bangkok's commercial hub. It quickly turned into a carnival-like street party, complete with DJs, rappers and other artists. Tens of thousands of people joined the protest, many wearing the red, white and blue of Thailand's national flag and blowing whistles, the symbol of the monthslong campaign.
Many joined the rallies again Tuesday, with some saying they were concerned about the perceived influence of Mr. Thaksin, a billionaire businessman who ran the country until Thailand's army ousted him in a bloodless coup in 2006.
Some Thais believe he still pulls the strings in the country despite being overthrown. They want to install an unelected interim government to break the patronage networks that they say have enabled the Shinawatra family to flourish.
"We've had enough. We don't like the way he and his sister promise poor people lots of money in subsidies in return for their votes. It's corruption," said 47-year-old Warunee Srithaisong, reflecting a common complaint among the protesters and their leaders.
Ms. Yingluck, 46 years old, denies that Mr. Thaksin is using her as his proxy. She argues that her government's spending policies are designed to increase consumer spending across Thailand to reduce its dependence on exports. She also aims to push ahead with plans to hold an election Feb. 2 that opinion polls indicate she is likely to win thanks to strong support for her Pheu Thai Party in the north and northeast of Thailand, underscoring the gulf between public opinion in Bangkok and much of the rest of the country.
"I'm not clinging onto power to maintain the political status quo," Ms. Yingluck told reporters Tuesday. "It's because I'm trying to up hold democracy, which belongs to all Thais."
Political-risk consultancies such as New York-based Eurasia Group warn that the protests could escalate quickly in the coming days, "increasing the risk that violent clashes erupt between antigovernment protesters and other groups, most likely the police of pro-government supporters."
Already, splinter groups from Mr. Suthep's People's Democratic Reform Committee are planning to ramp up the intensity of the protests in their bid to delay the vote and force Ms. Yingluck's government to collapse.
Nitithorn Lamlua and other leaders of groups composed of students and trade unionists say they sometimes operate independently from Mr. Suthep and have given Ms. Yingluck until Wednesday to resign.
If she doesn't, they say, they may attempt to shut down facilities such as the headquarters of Thailand's stock exchange and the offices of a company that handles the communications systems for Thailand's air-traffic controllers.
The main protest group says it won't march on those buildings.
Stock-exchange officials Tuesday said they are prepared for potential protests and trades can be transacted off-site, while brokers and traders appeared upbeat about the bourse's ability to keep operating because it has backup servers in other locations.
"As long as there's a power supply to the servers of the stock exchange, trading should be able to go ahead normally," said Pattera Dilokrungthirapop, director of the Association of Thai Securities Companies.
Government officials and company executives at the air-traffic-communications firm, Aeronautical Radio Thailand, or Aerothai, in contrast, are asking the protesters to leave the company's facilities alone or else all flights within, to or passing over Thailand could be affected.
In 2008, a similar antigovernment protest movement blockaded Bangkok's two international airports for more than a week. That resulted in the collapse of the government and dented Thailand's reputation as a safe and reliable destination for tourism and business.
"We're responsible for international passengers, not just Thais," Aerothai's president, Prajak Sajjasophon, said during a government-arranged television address Tuesday.
—Warangkana Chomchuen contributed to this article.
Write to James Hookway at
