Bangkok Under a State of Emergency

[Hop2089]

BANGKOK (AFP) – Bangkok was under a state of emergency on Thursday after anti-government protesters stormed the Thai parliament, but the demonstrators remained defiant and said they were ready for "war".

Lawmakers fled and several senior government figures were rescued by military helicopter after the red-shirted supporters of Thaksin Shinawatra forced their way into the parliamentary compound briefly on Wednesday.

The protesters idolise ousted former premier Thaksin and tens of thousands of them have been rallying in the Thai capital for weeks, at one point splashing their own blood at key locations in a grisly show of defiance.

To contain the growing crisis, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva invoked emergency rule Wednesday, banning public gatherings of over five people and giving broad powers to police and military in Bangkok and surrounding areas.

"The state of emergency aims to resolve the situation and bring a return to normal," Abhisit told a nationally televised news conference.

The premier, who has cancelled a trip to the US for a nuclear security summit next week due to the unrest, said the mass rallies were unconstitutional and had tarnished the country's image, eroding investor confidence.

It is the fourth time since 2008 that emergency law has been declared in the capital because of political turmoil.

But thousands of protesters flouted the decree, waving flags and cheering as their leaders railed against Abhisit's government from their rally stage close to a clutch of luxury hotels and giant shopping malls.

"We have to prepare for another war. If the military comes you should not panic -- just stay put," Reds leader Veera Musikapong told protesters.

Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters have refused to leave the city's main commercial district, where they have been since Saturday, disrupting traffic and causing major stores to shut.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban urged people with relatives rallying in banned areas "to tell them to leave immediately," adding that authorities would provide transportation for demonstrators from outside Bangkok.

The United States Wednesday rebuked the protesters.

"We respect the right of freedom of expression," said State Department spokesman Philip Crowley, but he added "forcibly entering government buildings is not an appropriate means of protest."

Security forces have so far refrained from using force to disperse the red-clad movement, who have vowed to keep up their demonstrations despite the emergency decree.

The Reds have been emboldened after the police and army backed down on Tuesday following a tense standoff in the capital's tourist heartland.

The Red Shirts say the government is illegitimate because it came to power with army backing through a parliamentary vote in December 2008 after a court decision ousted Thaksin's allies from power.

The mainly poor and rural followers of Thaksin, a billionaire telecoms tycoon who lives abroad to avoid a jail term for corruption, fervently support the populist policies he introduced before his ouster in a 2006 coup.

Thaksin sought to rally his supporters on Wednesday in a brief message through the micro-blogging service Twitter, praising their "courage, patience and unity."

The military has mounted a heavy security response, deploying 50,000 personnel at one point to try to contain the protests, which drew as many as 100,000 people on March 14.

But the government wants to avoid a repeat of last April's clashes with Red Shirts that left two people dead, six months after riot police took on the rival Yellow Shirts in bloody scenes outside parliament.

Source

The world needs to take a break from these uprisings.

 

[TrolleyDave]

Busy day for revolutionaries! Sad to see so much bloodshed, but impressive that there are still places where people are willing to rise up and revolt. The American governments response did make me chuckle though.

 

[Gus122000]

Is the world coming to a mother fucking end? What's next ?

 

[Hop2089]

Is the world coming to a mother fucking end? What's next ?

Hopefully a ban on loli, oh wait that will lead to protests which would lead to possible revolutions.

Shit, even a good thing such as this may cause shit to hit the fan, this is madness.

 

[TM2-Megatron]

Is the world coming to a mother fucking end? What's next ?

God's gonna come down and slap you upside the head for asking that. That's what's gonna happen

 

[TrolleyDave]

Is the world coming to a mother fucking end? What's next ?

The world has always been like this. The internet has given us access to a wider range of news at a more rapid rate.

 

[Sterling]

Is the world coming to a mother fucking end? What's next ?

The world has always been like this. The internet has given us access to a wider range of news at a more rapid rate.

But hasn't most of this stuff happened in the last week or so?

 

[r3dfaction]

[removed]

 

[TrolleyDave]

But hasn't most of this stuff happened in the last week or so?

Yep. It's still only a handful events in a week though. Have a read through the history of the last 25-30 years and you'll see it's not really that irregular. The reason it seems so compounded now is because regular people post about it on regular places, whereas before it would have been a few minutes on the news or a couple of columns in a paper. There's loads of stuff that doesn't make the news or YouTube that's just as shocking. Have a read about The Lords Resistance Army in Africa for a good example.

QUOTE(r3dfaction @ Apr 8 2010, 04:39 AM) Don't be silly the world has not been always like this, stop thinking everything is okay when its not. There's a lot of protest and rebellion in many countries, this is leading towards an uproar.

I can just imagine in INTERPOL busting in the Vatican and will finally shed light to all the disgraceful stuff that has occured there... that will be news

I didn't say everything was ok, I said the world has always been like this. Yes there's lots of protests and rebellion going on in many countries, but there always has been. The knowledge of it depends on how closely you follow the news and how much history you read. The world is a volatile place with many countries with many volatile situations.

edit : Here you go, have a look at these links.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_civil...rary_civil_wars
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocides_in_...ry#1951_to_2000
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_revol...80.E2.80.931989
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_21st_....28worldwide.29

And the earthquakes are just the last 10 years.

 

[ZeroTm]

Really just coincidence that all this shit happens. People are way too scared because of 2012.

 

[zuron7]

BAng KOK

I want peace on this earth even if it's just for one day.

 

[Sterling]

Really just coincidence that all this shit happens. People are way too scared because of 2012.

I am actually wary, but not scared. Common sense tells you not to be scared. I have the movie to look to if it starts to happen. XD