One protester killed in new Thai political violence
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — Gunmen killed an anti-government activist and wounded two others in the Thai capital yesterday, while protesters elsewhere blocked candidates from registering in upcoming elections, deepening a political crisis that threatens to derail democracy in this South-east Asian nation.
The registration was suspended in four of the country’s 77 constituencies. All are in the south, a sign of the limited national appeal the protest movement seeking to oust Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra enjoys outside of Bangkok.
The events followed comments Friday by the powerful army chief in which he declined to rule out the possibility of a coup in the country, which is a major US ally, South-east Asia’s second largest economy and a popular tourist destination.
The long-running dispute between Thailand’s bitterly divided political factions flared anew in November after Yingluck’s elected government tried to introduce an amnesty for her brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, to enable him to return to Thailand and escape a jail term for corruption.
Yingluck called early elections as a way of difusing the crisis, but the protesters are demanding she resign and hand over power to an unelected council to carry out reforms. They are trying to disrupt the polls, which most people believe will give her a strong mandate thanks to strong support in the north and north-east of the country.
On Thursday, protesters tried to overrun a Bangkok sports stadium where election candidates were gathering to draw lots for their positions on ballots. Masked protesters fired rocks from slingshots as they tried to break into the building to halt the process, while police responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. Two people, including a police officer, were shot dead.
The overnight attack took place close to a protest camp in the city centre, according to a government-run Erawan medical centre. It said a 31-year-old man was killed by gunfire and two others wounded in the attack yesterday at around 3:30 am. Local media said unidentified gunmen opened fire on guards close to a protest camp before escaping into the night.
Hundreds of candidates yesterday were registering for the polls.
But in four southern provinces, the process was stopped because protesters blocked the venues and local election officials wanted to avoid violence, said Puchong Nutrawong, secretary general of the election commission. Registration continued in a fifth province — Surat Thani — despite protests there, he said.
“Our policy is to avoid any confrontation,” Puchong said.
Thailand’s army has so far stayed out of the crisis, but it has staged 11 successful coups in the country’s history — the last against then Prime Minister Thaksin in 2006 — so its intentions are being watched carefully.