3 dead as protesters clash with police in Bangkok
20 Feb 2014 4:44 AM IST
The National Anti-Corruption Commission said that if found guilty of the accusations, which relate to a controversial rice subsidy scheme, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra could be removed from office.
The announcement came hours after gunfire and explosions shook an area of the city’s historic district just a short walk away from major tourist attractions, as riot police moved to clear sites of protest rallies.
A policeman was shot dead and three civilians were killed, according to the Erawan emergency centre, while 64 others were injured. Police said 24 of its officers were among those hurt.
The protesters have staged more than three months of mass street rallies demanding Yingluck’s resignation, occupying major state buildings and preventing civil servants going to work.
Police launched another operation to reclaim besieged government buildings and clear rally sites in the capital Tuesday, tearing through razor wire and sandbag barricades.
They met fierce resistance from protesters and were eventually forced to retreat amid volleys of gunfire. It was unclear who was shooting.
‘The government cannot work here anymore,’ a spokesman for the protesters, Akanat Promphan, said from a rally site near Yingluck’s headquarters.
‘The will of the people is still strong. The government is trapped. It has no way forward,’ he added.
Bemused tourists caught up in the chaos were seen taking photos of the aftermath of the clashes near the backpacker haven of Khaosan Road.
‘I heard there were political problems in Thailand but I came anyway,’ said Jerome Dennehy, 45, from Ireland.
‘It’s not good to see but this is one part of Bangkok, in a country of millions. It won’t stop my holiday.’
Around 150 opposition demonstrators were arrested at a different rally site at an energy ministry complex in the capital on charges of violating a state of emergency, the first mass detentions during the current protests began.
Years of rival protests
Thailand has been periodically rocked by mass demonstrations staged by rival protest groups since a controversial military coup in 2006 that ousted then-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, Yingluck’s brother.
Fifteen people have died and hundreds have been injured in political violence linked to the latest round of rallies. Yingluck’s opponents say she is a puppet for her brother Thaksin, a billionaire tycoon-turned-politician who fled overseas in 2008 to avoid jail for a corruption conviction.
The announcement came hours after gunfire and explosions shook an area of the city’s historic district just a short walk away from major tourist attractions, as riot police moved to clear sites of protest rallies.
A policeman was shot dead and three civilians were killed, according to the Erawan emergency centre, while 64 others were injured. Police said 24 of its officers were among those hurt.
The protesters have staged more than three months of mass street rallies demanding Yingluck’s resignation, occupying major state buildings and preventing civil servants going to work.
Police launched another operation to reclaim besieged government buildings and clear rally sites in the capital Tuesday, tearing through razor wire and sandbag barricades.
They met fierce resistance from protesters and were eventually forced to retreat amid volleys of gunfire. It was unclear who was shooting.
‘The government cannot work here anymore,’ a spokesman for the protesters, Akanat Promphan, said from a rally site near Yingluck’s headquarters.
‘The will of the people is still strong. The government is trapped. It has no way forward,’ he added.
Bemused tourists caught up in the chaos were seen taking photos of the aftermath of the clashes near the backpacker haven of Khaosan Road.
‘I heard there were political problems in Thailand but I came anyway,’ said Jerome Dennehy, 45, from Ireland.
‘It’s not good to see but this is one part of Bangkok, in a country of millions. It won’t stop my holiday.’
Around 150 opposition demonstrators were arrested at a different rally site at an energy ministry complex in the capital on charges of violating a state of emergency, the first mass detentions during the current protests began.
Years of rival protests
Thailand has been periodically rocked by mass demonstrations staged by rival protest groups since a controversial military coup in 2006 that ousted then-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, Yingluck’s brother.
Fifteen people have died and hundreds have been injured in political violence linked to the latest round of rallies. Yingluck’s opponents say she is a puppet for her brother Thaksin, a billionaire tycoon-turned-politician who fled overseas in 2008 to avoid jail for a corruption conviction.
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