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BANGKOK: Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has cancelled a trip to Hanoi for a summit of Southeast Asian leaders to deal with mass anti-government protests in Bangkok, who are defying a state of emergency with plans to stage yet another major rally.
Abhisit decided to skip the talks with fellow leaders of member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Vietnam's capital after declaring a state of emergency Wednesday in Bangkok.
"The prime minister has cancelled his trip to the ASEAN summit to wait and watch the situation here," said Satit Wonghnongtaey, minister attached to the premier's office.
Leaders of the tens of thousands of supporters of ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra have warned they are ready for "war" but the authorities have avoided using force to break up the demonstrations.
There was no end in sight to the weeks of political turmoil, with the Red Shirts planning another big gathering on Friday, extending more than three weeks of rolling rallies that attracted 100,000 people at their peak.
"News of an imminent crackdown is normal for us," said Red Shirt leader Jatuporn Prompan. "I want to warn those who want to crack down on democracy protesters: it will not be easy."
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has banned public gatherings of more than five people and given broad powers to police and military under emergency rule announced Wednesday in the capital and surrounding areas.
It is the fourth time since 2008 that a state of emergency has been declared in the capital because of political turmoil.
Tensions have escalated after the Reds forced their way into the parliamentary compound briefly on Wednesday, prompting lawmakers to flee and several senior government figures to be airlifted to safety.
The head office of the Reds' arch-rivals, the royalist "Yellow Shirts", was targeted on Thursday with a grenade and gunfire that wounded one policeman.
Abhisit has cancelled a trip to the United States for a nuclear security summit next week due to the unrest but was due to shuttle back and forth from a two-day summit of Southeast Asian leaders in Hanoi that began Thursday.
Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters have refused to leave Bangkok's main commercial district, where they have been since Saturday, disrupting traffic and causing major stores to shut.
"We have to prepare for another war. If the military comes you should not panic - just stay put," another Reds leader, Veera Musikapong, told protesters late Wednesday.
Tourist chiefs and business leaders have urged the demonstrators to end their action, warning it is taking a heavy toll on the economy.
The United States also rebuked the protesters.
“We respect the right of freedom of expression," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said Wednesday, but he added "forcibly entering government buildings is not an appropriate means of protest."
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.
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.
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.
- AFP/yb
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