Thailand’s Cabinet agreed yesterday to hold a referendum on a civic group’s street campaign to oust the prime minister, which has paralyzed the government for the last 10 days and raised fears of violence and economic chaos.
The decision came hours after a defiant Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej went on national radio and vowed he would not step down.
His combative speech intensified the deadlock with the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), whose supporters in their thousands have taken over the sprawling lawns of Samak’s office compound since storming through the gates on Aug. 26.
PHOTO: AP
Describing the alliance as an anti-democratic group and their actions as a shameful embarrassment for the country, Samak said he would not bow to its demands.
“I will not abandon the ship, and I will take responsibility for the crew on board,” Samak said, peppering his speech with folksy language. “I am not resigning. I have to protect the democracy of this country.”
A referendum could show a way out of the deadlock.
Thai Culture Minister Somsak Kietsuranond told reporters that no date had been set for the referendum and the exact topic also remained unclear.
But the possible questions that would be asked include whether the government should resign, whether it should dissolve Parliament and what people think about the ongoing protest, he said.
“The Cabinet just agreed in principle for now,” he said, referring to the fact that there was yet no law providing for referendums.
“Whether it can be done and when it can be done depends on when the organic law on public referendums is passed by the Senate,” deputy government spokesman Nattawut Sai-gua said.
The announcement was met with skepticism from the anti-government protesters camped in the compound of Samak’s office, Government House.
“This is just a political game the government is trying to play. The government is not fixing the problems the PAD is talking about. This protest is about making sure the government corrects its mistakes,” said Pichet Pattanachote, a former vice president of the Senate who has joined the alliance.
The protesters are living under makeshift tents, and organizers have set up a high stage from which leaders deliver regular speeches between music concerts that keep the protesters entertained.
The alliance has already helped force one prime minister from power — staging demonstrations in 2006 that paved the way for the bloodless military coup that removed Thaksin Shinawatra.
Thaksin, a telecommunications tycoon, recently fled to Britain to escape corruption charges. The protesters say Samak is Thaksin’s stooge and is running the government for him by proxy. They accuse Samak’s government of corruption and making unconstitutional decisions.
Bloody rioting between supporters of Samak and the alliance left one person dead and dozens injured early on Tuesday, the only violence since the deadlock began. Samak imposed a state of emergency in Bangkok following the violence, but the military has not removed the demonstrators.
Still, the possibility of a military intervention hangs over Thailand, which has experienced 18 military coups since the country became a constitutional monarchy in 1932.
Analysts say new elections might ease the pressure on the government but won’t placate the alliance because Samak’s party is likely to return to power, thanks to the strong support it has in rural areas.
The alliance claims to be an apolitical group and is made up largely of royalists, wealthy and middle-class urban residents, and union activists.
“What they want is to eradicate Thaksin and his allies once and for all,” political analyst Panithan Wattanayagorn said.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese