keehah
8th April 2010, 03:27 AM
Telegraph UK: Military helicopters airlifted government ministers from Thailand's parliament Wednesday after angry protesters stormed the building in a dramatic escalation of their bid to topple the government. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/7562499/Thailand-ministers-airlifted-to-safety-as-protesters-storm-government.html)
07 Apr 2010
Two Blackhawk helicopters landed under the guard of armed soldiers to rescue the deputy prime minister and other senior government figures after other lawmakers fled.
Red-shirted protesters, many of whom support fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, had forced their way into Thailand's parliamentary compound, smashing through the gates with a truck.
"Our mission is completed," Korkaew Pikulthong, one of the Red Shirt leaders, told the crowd after the politicians fled and the parliament session was cancelled.
When he learnt that the Reds were approaching, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva left a cabinet meeting there for a military barracks in the city's northern outskirts, where he has been based for most of the weeks-long protest.
The cabinet extended a tough security law Wednesday as protesters refused to leave Bangkok's main commercial district, where they have been since Saturday.
The demonstrators are mostly from Thailand's rural poor and working class and see Abhisit's government as elitist and undemocratic.
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Telegraph UK: A state of emergency has been declared in Thailand after "red shirt" protesters stormed parliament and government ministers had to be airlifted to safety. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/7563626/State-of-emergency-declared-in-Thailand.html)
07 Apr 2010
MPs and officials were forced to use ladders to scale walls of the compound in Bangkok's old quarter after the mob broke down the gates with a truck invaded the grounds of parliament .
Hundreds rushed to the second floor where deputy prime minister Suthep Thaugsuban and other ministers were still inside. He and others were rescued by army helicopters, accompanied by troops, which flew them from the scene.
In an attempt to contain the crisis, the Prime Minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, enacted emergency law in Bangkok and surrounding areas, which paves the way for the arrest of key leaders of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship and bans gatherings of more than five people.
The prime minister said the protests that have crippled Bangkok for more than three weeks could no longer be considered peaceful.
It is the fourth time since 2008 that emergency law has been declared in the capital because of political turmoil.
The escalation of protests by the "red shirt" campaigners loyal to the ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra represents the most serious challenge yet to the government of Mr Abhisit.
Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters - mostly made up of the rural poor - have staged weeks of rolling rallies in the capital demanding Mr Abhisit step down and call fresh elections.
They claim the government is illegitimate.
Mr Thaksin has sought to rally his supporters with a brief message through the micro-blogging service Twitter, praising their "courage, patience and unity."
Mr Abhisit has rebuffed the demands of the "red shirts", most recently in several days of face-to-face talks with leaders last week, prompting the demonstrators to swarm into the commercial centre of the city and forcing the closure of a host of shopping malls and major roads.
However, Mr Abhisit has cancelled a planned visit to Washington, though he still appears to be proceeding with an forthcoming trip to a summit of south- east Asian ASEAN leaders in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi.
By imposing the internal security laws on Bangkok and several nearby districts Mr Abhisit will give more powers to the security forces to act to end the standoff.
But commentators say that the "red shirts" have the upper hand with the police and army apparently unwilling to act against the protesters who have roamed the city virtually unhindered by the security forces for days.
07 Apr 2010
Two Blackhawk helicopters landed under the guard of armed soldiers to rescue the deputy prime minister and other senior government figures after other lawmakers fled.
Red-shirted protesters, many of whom support fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, had forced their way into Thailand's parliamentary compound, smashing through the gates with a truck.
"Our mission is completed," Korkaew Pikulthong, one of the Red Shirt leaders, told the crowd after the politicians fled and the parliament session was cancelled.
When he learnt that the Reds were approaching, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva left a cabinet meeting there for a military barracks in the city's northern outskirts, where he has been based for most of the weeks-long protest.
The cabinet extended a tough security law Wednesday as protesters refused to leave Bangkok's main commercial district, where they have been since Saturday.
The demonstrators are mostly from Thailand's rural poor and working class and see Abhisit's government as elitist and undemocratic.
________________
Telegraph UK: A state of emergency has been declared in Thailand after "red shirt" protesters stormed parliament and government ministers had to be airlifted to safety. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/7563626/State-of-emergency-declared-in-Thailand.html)
07 Apr 2010
MPs and officials were forced to use ladders to scale walls of the compound in Bangkok's old quarter after the mob broke down the gates with a truck invaded the grounds of parliament .
Hundreds rushed to the second floor where deputy prime minister Suthep Thaugsuban and other ministers were still inside. He and others were rescued by army helicopters, accompanied by troops, which flew them from the scene.
In an attempt to contain the crisis, the Prime Minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, enacted emergency law in Bangkok and surrounding areas, which paves the way for the arrest of key leaders of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship and bans gatherings of more than five people.
The prime minister said the protests that have crippled Bangkok for more than three weeks could no longer be considered peaceful.
It is the fourth time since 2008 that emergency law has been declared in the capital because of political turmoil.
The escalation of protests by the "red shirt" campaigners loyal to the ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra represents the most serious challenge yet to the government of Mr Abhisit.
Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters - mostly made up of the rural poor - have staged weeks of rolling rallies in the capital demanding Mr Abhisit step down and call fresh elections.
They claim the government is illegitimate.
Mr Thaksin has sought to rally his supporters with a brief message through the micro-blogging service Twitter, praising their "courage, patience and unity."
Mr Abhisit has rebuffed the demands of the "red shirts", most recently in several days of face-to-face talks with leaders last week, prompting the demonstrators to swarm into the commercial centre of the city and forcing the closure of a host of shopping malls and major roads.
However, Mr Abhisit has cancelled a planned visit to Washington, though he still appears to be proceeding with an forthcoming trip to a summit of south- east Asian ASEAN leaders in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi.
By imposing the internal security laws on Bangkok and several nearby districts Mr Abhisit will give more powers to the security forces to act to end the standoff.
But commentators say that the "red shirts" have the upper hand with the police and army apparently unwilling to act against the protesters who have roamed the city virtually unhindered by the security forces for days.