The leader of the anti-government protests that have roiled the Thai capital acknowledged on Friday that he did not have enough supporters to overthrow the prime minister, and called for more followers to turn out tomorrow for a massive rally that he vowed would be the final showdown in the standoff with authorities.
“We will only win if we have so many people that they can’t hurt us,” protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban, a former Thai deputy premier said in a speech, sounding almost desperate as he signaled an end to a truce called in honor of the king’s birthday on Thursday.
Protesters are unlikely to gather in such numbers. By most estimates, fewer than 30,000 of Suthep’s followers have joined most protests over the past two weeks.
He promised that tomorrow would be the last showdown with Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s administration, though he has made similar vows in the past.
“If you don’t come out, we will have to accept our defeat,” said Suthep, who currently faces an arrest warrant in connection with the protests.
He promised to “walk into jail” if millions do not turn out.
He called on followers to march through Bangkok to Government House, home of the prime minister’s office, but did not urge them to seize control of the complex.
The city remained tense, but calm on Friday evening following several days of violence that resulted in five people killed and at least 289 wounded. Violence ended abruptly on Tuesday as both sides set aside their differences to honor King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who turned 86 on Thursday.
The king is widely revered in a country sharply divided along social and political lines, and in a brief birthday speech he called for unity and stability.
He did not directly mention the political turmoil, disappointing those who had hoped the visibly infirm king would use the occasion to broker peace, as he has in the past.
Although major celebrations ended on Thursday, several more ceremonies are to be held over the next few days to honor the king.
On Friday, Thai government spokesman Teerat Ratanasevi said Yingluck has canceled trips overseas scheduled for this month, including visits to Myanmar, Japan and Russia, so she could remain in Thailand to monitor the political situation.
Three men were injured in incidents late on Thursday and early on Friday, including one man shot in the arm at the finance ministry, which is occupied by anti-government protesters. National police spokesman Major General Piya Uthayo said the violence was the work of unidentified people trying to disrupt the protests.
MONEY MATTERS: Xi was to highlight projects such as a new high-speed railway between Belgrade and Budapest, as Serbia is entirely open to Chinese trade and investment Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic yesterday said that “Taiwan is China” as he made a speech welcoming Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to Belgrade, state broadcaster Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) said. “We have a clear and simple position regarding Chinese territorial integrity,” he told a crowd outside the government offices while Xi applauded him. “Yes, Taiwan is China.” Xi landed in Belgrade on Tuesday night on the second leg of his European tour, and was greeted by Vucic and most government ministers. Xi had just completed a two-day trip to France, where he held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron as the
With the midday sun blazing, an experimental orange and white F-16 fighter jet launched with a familiar roar that is a hallmark of US airpower, but the aerial combat that followed was unlike any other: This F-16 was controlled by artificial intelligence (AI), not a human pilot, and riding in the front seat was US Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall. AI marks one of the biggest advances in military aviation since the introduction of stealth in the early 1990s, and the US Air Force has aggressively leaned in. Even though the technology is not fully developed, the service is planning
INTERNATIONAL PROBE: Australian and US authorities were helping coordinate the investigation of the case, which follows the 2015 murder of Australian surfers in Mexico Three bodies were found in Mexico’s Baja California state, the FBI said on Friday, days after two Australians and an American went missing during a surfing trip in an area hit by cartel violence. Authorities used a pulley system to hoist what appeared to be lifeless bodies covered in mud from a shaft on a cliff high above the Pacific. “We confirm there were three individuals found deceased in Santo Tomas, Baja California,” a statement from the FBI’s office in San Diego, California, said without providing the identities of the victims. Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend Jack Carter
CUSTOMS DUTIES: France’s cognac industry was closely watching the talks, fearing that an anti-dumping investigation opened by China is retaliation for trade tensions French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) at one of his beloved childhood haunts in the Pyrenees, seeking to press a message to Beijing not to support Russia’s war against Ukraine and to accept fairer trade. The first day of Xi’s state visit to France, his first to Europe since 2019, saw respectful, but sometimes robust exchanges between the two men during a succession of talks on Monday. Macron, joined initially by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, urged Xi not to allow the export of any technology that could be used by Russia in its invasion