Thailand - political unrest - a NYT report Thai Protesters Disrupt Early Voting in South By THOMAS FULLER JAN. 26, 2014 BANGKOK — Hundreds of thousands of people were blocked from voting on Sunday as antigovernment demonstrators obstructed polling places in Bangkok and southern Thailand in a campaign to suspend democracy and replace Parliament with an unelected “people’s council.” In a day of sometimes tense confrontations between protesters and would-be voters, one protest leader was shot dead by an unknown assailant and 11 people were wounded, according to Bangkok’s emergency services. Suthin Tharatin, a leader of one faction of the protesters, was shot as he tried to block a polling place on the outskirts of Bangkok, heightening fears of more widespread violence. The protest movement is battling to purge the country of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her influential family, and critics of the effort called Sunday’s shutdown of polling places a major blow to democracy in Thailand and a possible portent of further moves to seize power from the government. More than two million people out of a total electorate of about 48 million were registered for Sunday’s advance voting, which was being held for those unable to vote in the Feb. 2 general elections. Ms. Yingluck’s party is considered almost certain to win the elections, which by the main opposition party is boycotting. Launch media viewer A polling station in Bangkok was among the many forced to close early by antigovernment demonstrators. People in the north voted unimpeded. “This is the day when Thailand and the rest of the world saw the true face of the protest movement,” said Sunai Phasuk, a researcher in Thailand with Human Rights Watch. “They are using thuggery to disrupt the voting process.” Mr. Sunai said the protesters’ goal of fighting graft did not justify blocking people from voting. “You cannot battle corruption by stopping democracy,” he said. Suthep Thaugsuban, the main leader of the protests, told his supporters that Sunday’s events were “just a teaser.” “The real movie will be even more decisive,” he said, apparently referring to Election Day. In a vivid illustration of the divisions in Thailand, citizens in the north and northeast were able to vote unimpeded on Sunday. But in Bangkok, where the protest movement draws its strength among the affluent and the middle class, all 50 polling places had been shut by protesters before the normal 3 p.m. closing time. The blocking of polling places was carried out by bands of protesters, sometimes numbering only a few dozen people, who padlocked gates and intimidated election officials and voters. Although the government declared a state of emergency in Bangkok and surrounding areas last week, it has been reluctant to use force against the demonstrators, who the government says are backed by powerful forces in Thai society. The military has been ambivalent in its support of the government, and the commander of the army has not ruled out a coup. The military has overthrown a dozen governments in the country’s modern history. Among those unable to vote was Pruettha Jampathong, 30, a human resources manager at a Thai company. “I consider myself a very tolerant person,” Mr. Pruettha said after being turned away from a polling place where protesters were blocking the entrance. “But this is very unfair. They violated my political rights.” He added, “An election is the only scientific way to prove who is the majority in the country.” In some districts, would-be voters stood at closed polling places, chanting, “Election! Election!” Ms. Yingluck called the elections in December in a bid to end the protests that started after her government tried to pass an amnesty bill that would have allowed her powerful and wealthy brother, Thaksin Shinawatra — a former prime minister who is reviled by many of the protesters — to return to Thailand without facing corruption charges. Ms. Yingluck and her brother have led the most successful political movement in Thai history, one that has won the loyalty of millions of voters by introducing universal health care and making government offices more responsive and efficient. But protesters accuse them of allowing an unhealthy dominance of business and politics and of raising the level of corruption. The protesters, meanwhile, are led by Mr. Suthep, a former deputy prime minister and career politician who during his time in power was embroiled in numerous scandals. He faces murder charges from his role leading a 2010 crackdown of demonstrators loyal to the Shinawatra family that left dozens of people dead. The government says Mr. Suthep and his allies, the opposition Democrat Party, are leading a naked attempt to grab power because they cannot win elections. On Sunday, Ongart Klampaiboon, the deputy leader of the Democrat Party, referred to the voting as a “waste” and warned of further “violent confrontations” if the elections went ahead as scheduled. By blocking the elections, protesters say they will create a power vacuum that will force the governing party to resign and allow for the people’s council, which they say will reform the country. In addition to protesters, the government faces significant opposition from within government agencies, including the Election Commission. The commission has repeatedly asked the government to postpone the voting and at the commission’s urging, the country’s Constitutional Court ruled Friday that the vote could be delayed if the commission and the government agreed on a new date. Legal scholars say that the decision appears to contradict a mandate in the Constitution to hold the elections within 60 days of Parliament’s dissolution. Surapong Tovichakchaikul, a deputy prime minister, on Sunday accused the election commission of “playing tricks” and said the elections would be held as scheduled. He questioned why the commission had not called on security forces to guard the polling places Sunday. Even if the elections proceed, the new Parliament will not reach the required minimum number of members because protesters had already blocked the registration of candidates in many provinces in southern Thailand. More than two dozen by-elections would need to be held before Parliament could elect a new government. nytimes/2014/01/27/world/asia/thailand.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0
Posted on: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 01:57:25 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015