"This is the first time as far as I'm aware that protesters have ever occupied effectively what is the White House of Thailand," said CNN's Dan Rivers, who had to shout above the loud chants of the crowd.
Protests outside the Government House have been going on for months, but Rivers said the demonstrations "stepped up a quantum leap" on Tuesday. He said hundreds of protesters continue to pour into the streets outside the Government House late in the day. Watch more about the Bangkok protests »
Samak, who has been unable to get into his official residence, held a news conference Tuesday night refusing to back down and warning protesters that police will be moving in to disperse the crowds.
Other government ministers were also prevented from attending a weekly cabinet meeting inside the building.
But the protesters showed no sign of ending their demonstrations and have tried to fortify their positions with razor wire. Protesters also rallied outside the ministries of finance and agriculture
Some anti-government protesters also shut down a state-run television station in Bangkok. Armed with guns and knives, they briefly stopped NBT television's programming before police arrested 80 of them, the Thai News Agency reported.
The protests were the latest by the People's Alliance for Democracy, which says Samak's administration is a proxy for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a coup in 2006 and fled to England.
He returned to Thailand after Samak came to power in parliamentary elections in December. Thaksin fled again this month, just as he was to appear in court in a corruption case.The alliance contends that Samak is trying to amend the constitution so that Thaksin does not have to face the charges. It also blames the government for not trying to extradite the former prime minister.
Protests outside the Government House have been going on for months, but Rivers said the demonstrations "stepped up a quantum leap" on Tuesday. He said hundreds of protesters continue to pour into the streets outside the Government House late in the day. Watch more about the Bangkok protests »
Samak, who has been unable to get into his official residence, held a news conference Tuesday night refusing to back down and warning protesters that police will be moving in to disperse the crowds.
Other government ministers were also prevented from attending a weekly cabinet meeting inside the building.
But the protesters showed no sign of ending their demonstrations and have tried to fortify their positions with razor wire. Protesters also rallied outside the ministries of finance and agriculture
Some anti-government protesters also shut down a state-run television station in Bangkok. Armed with guns and knives, they briefly stopped NBT television's programming before police arrested 80 of them, the Thai News Agency reported.
The protests were the latest by the People's Alliance for Democracy, which says Samak's administration is a proxy for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a coup in 2006 and fled to England.
He returned to Thailand after Samak came to power in parliamentary elections in December. Thaksin fled again this month, just as he was to appear in court in a corruption case.The alliance contends that Samak is trying to amend the constitution so that Thaksin does not have to face the charges. It also blames the government for not trying to extradite the former prime minister.
1 comment:
im not a fan of samak suntornrawej. lets be clear about that. he lacks emotional quotient and maturity to deal with anyone or any situation he finds unpleasant. maybe he should step down from prime minister office BUT it should NOT be because of the ongoing demonstration.
as much as i dislike and disrespect samak suntornrawej, i despise the protesters more. what they are doing is the opposite to protecting the country. they are in fact damaging it. our country is in turmoil already, economy wise. they are contributing nothing to make it better.
to rally protesters to oust the leader is down-right wrong from the start. why bother with the election then? sonthi limthongkul, the mob leader, claimed that the election was fixed. so what he said is that what people voted is invalid while the mob is legit. what a ridiculous notion. he sounds like an idiot to me.
i think sonthi limthongkul is as bad as thaksin shinwatra. the ex-pm is corrupted and sonthi himself is nothing but anarchic. when he doesnt like something, he tries to be rid of it by force. maybe he and nazi are related
Post a Comment