A strike meant to pile pressure on Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej fell flat yesterday, but thousands of protesters besieging his offices refused to back down on their demand for him to quit.
Meanwhile, Thai Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag handed in his resignation yesterday but it has yet to be accepted by the prime minister, an aide said.
The aide, who refused to be named, said Tej had tendered his resignation because of his wife’s ill health.
TPBS TV, quoting unnamed government sources, said Tej quit after completing his mission to repair diplomatic relations with Cambodia following a temple dispute that forced out his predecessor.
Tej’s departure could add more pressure on Samak’s beleagured government.
With Bangkok under a state of emergency for a second day, Thailand’s political stalemate showed no sign of easing even as the strike threatened by utility workers flopped.
Unions representing 200,000 employees at state enterprises had threatened to make crippling cuts to water and power supplies nationwide. But few workers heeded their call.
Some workers who began disrupting train services last week returned to the job yesterday, the State Railway of Thailand said, adding that operations had actually improved, with trains suspended only in southern provinces.
Thai Airways reported no disruptions and transport authorities in Bangkok said public buses were running as usual.
But the thousands of activists who stormed Samak’s official compound 10 days ago refused to budge, raising fears of new violence after one man was killed and 44 injured in clashes between Samak’s opponents and supporters late on Monday.
The violence prompted Samak to invoke a state of emergency early on Tuesday, essentially giving control of Bangkok to the military. But the military has made no move to evict activists squatting in the Government House compound, and one of the key protest leaders said they would only open negotiations if Samak resigns.
One senior aide to Samak told reporters that the prime minister was surprised that General Anupong Paojinda had not taken any action against the protesters.
“Anupong should not be a mediator,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “What are the military playing at?”
Samak’s state of emergency has sharply split Thais, according to a survey of Thailand’s 16 biggest provinces by Assumption University, which found 50.8 percent of people who were questioned supported the decision.
The protesters, who call themselves the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), accuse Samak of acting as a puppet for Thaksin, who has has fled to Britain to escape corruption charges.
The PAD wants to weaken the voting power of the rural poor, who form the base of support for both Samak and Thaksin, by appointing rather than electing 70 percent of parliamentarians.
Such a change would undo most of Thailand’s democratic development over the last 30 years.
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