By MISNA
Tension remains high in the Thai capital Bangkok, since yesterday under a state of emergency. Twenty-three Embassies, including the Italian, alerted their nationals to stay away from the demonstration areas and, in some cases, to be ready for situations of risk.
While parliament began the government confidence vote that will conclude tomorrow, also today the mass opposition protests blocked the activities of various ministries. An arrest warrant was issued against the opposition protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban for the occupation yesterday of the Finance ministry with thousands of protesters. Also the ministries of Tourism, Transport and Agriculture were occupied symbolically, while the Interior ministry was under siege for hours until the demonstrators moved back to the clearing near the Monument of democracy and Constitution street to coordinate new actions set for today. The organizers are also calling on ministry personnel and civil servants to join the rallies aimed at blocking state administration activities.
While the protest leaders were calling for a popular revolt and occupation of provincial and municipal administration buildings nationwide – already with some results – this afternoon the Centre for the Administration of Peace and Order (CAPO – that comes into being when the Internal Security Act is invoked) announced tough interventions against the occupations.
From the Finance ministry, Suthep Thaugsuban claimed he was ready to risk his political career and safety to ensure the exit of the government and definitively close with Thaksin Shinawatra. The former telecommunications tycoon after a career in the police force and prime minister until he was forced from office in a 2006 coup, Thaksin is seen by many as the true orchestrator of the Thai political scene from exile, where he lives to escape a two year conviction for abuse of power.
During his dramatic speech, delivered alongside Suthep – who has had a long experience in the Democratic party and who is a member of the opposition today, heads one of the most powerful clans in Thailand and he has delcared himself as the protector of the traditional elites against the ‘new money’ class personified by Thaksin, according to a Buddhist monk.
The growing rumors of Suthep’s imminent arrest last night tension escalated and a part of the demonstrators mobilized toward the Finance ministry to protect their leader. The leaders of the pro-government ‘red shirts’, gathered in thousands at the city stadium, announced the arrival tomorrow morning of reinforcements from the provinces and intention of converging toward the occupied ministry.
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