Thai protesters surround untouched govt offices
17 Jan 2014 5:34 AM IST
The marches appeared to be a way to maintain momentum amid a decline in the number of protesters who have blocked key intersections in Bangkok for four days now in an attempt to shut down the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. Their numbers could swell again this weekend.
Yingluck’s opponents, largely from the south and urban middle and upper classes, claim she is carrying on the practices of her billionaire brother by using the family fortune and state funds to influence voters and cement her grip on power.
But she has widespread support among Thailand’s poor majority in the countryside because of the populist policies carried out by her brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who lives in self-imposed exile to avoid being imprisoned on a corruption conviction.
On Wednesday evening, protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban urged followers to march on the offices of the Revenue Department. Thursday morning, a column of flag-waving, chanting protesters marched off to surround three branches of the Revenue Department, asking workers inside to leave - and many did.
Last month, protesters had surrounded the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Transport Ministry and other government agencies, prompting some to move to temporary premises or allow employees to work from home.
Other groups of demonstrators targeted the Public Health Ministry and at the Public Works Department. One group led by a Buddhist monk claimed to be headed to the office of the Department of Special Investigation, Thailand’s FBI.
Yingluck’s opponents, largely from the south and urban middle and upper classes, claim she is carrying on the practices of her billionaire brother by using the family fortune and state funds to influence voters and cement her grip on power.
But she has widespread support among Thailand’s poor majority in the countryside because of the populist policies carried out by her brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who lives in self-imposed exile to avoid being imprisoned on a corruption conviction.
On Wednesday evening, protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban urged followers to march on the offices of the Revenue Department. Thursday morning, a column of flag-waving, chanting protesters marched off to surround three branches of the Revenue Department, asking workers inside to leave - and many did.
Last month, protesters had surrounded the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Transport Ministry and other government agencies, prompting some to move to temporary premises or allow employees to work from home.
Other groups of demonstrators targeted the Public Health Ministry and at the Public Works Department. One group led by a Buddhist monk claimed to be headed to the office of the Department of Special Investigation, Thailand’s FBI.
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