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Fears of civil conflict deepen in Thailand
Reuters - 2 hours 3 minutes ago
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By Ambika Ahuja
BANGKOK - Protesters briefly forced Bangkok's elevated railway system to shut on Tuesday, paralysing traffic, and the government warned of tougher operations to quell growing unrest in a seven-week crisis that has killed 26 people.
As the crisis threatens to tear the country apart, Thailand's revered but ailing 82-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej, regarded as the nation's sole unifying figure, spoke publicly late on Monday for the first time since the turmoil erupted.
He did not directly address the political stalemate, telling the newly sworn-in judges to perform their duty honestly and provide examples to the public. In the past, including a bloody conflict in 1992, he stepped in as an arbiter to bring peace.
Hopes for an end to the standoff were dashed at the weekend when Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva rejected a proposal by the protesters for an election in three months, saying an immediate poll could turn violent and refusing to negotiate under threat.
The protesters said they planned to go on the offensive on Wednesday with daily mobile rallies across Bangkok, a provocative move in defiance of a state of emergency that could lead to clashes with troops or with rival protest groups.
The red-shirted supporters of ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra have fortified their encampment in Bangkok's commercial heart that has forced five major shopping plazas to close, and called for more supporters to come as fears of a crackdown grow.
Overnight, hundreds of red shirts massed on the Vipavadi-Rangsit road, a main thoroughfare into the city in the northern suburbs, in an attempt to stop the army and police from bolstering their forces, although some army trucks got through.
They also inflicted traffic chaos in Bangkok by stacking tyres on the platform of the Chidlom railway station by their protest site, apparently worried troops would try to use the elevated rail system to attack them from above.
Operating company BTS closed the network for several hours during morning rush hour.
"They threatened to throw the tyres down on the track so we had to close all of the routes for safety reasons," a public relations official at BTS said.
ECONOMY SUFFERING
Analysts say the deadlock and a possible deterioration in law and order could continue for weeks, carving into Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy, with consumer confidence flagging and the tourist industry suffering, especially in the capital.
The government said on Monday it may have to shave 0.64 of a percentage point from its 2010 economic growth forecast of 4.5 percent if the protests continued another three months.
The stock market has been volatile, despite a good start to the quarterly results season. "The political situation looks worse," broker Phillip Securities said in a report.
As the impasse deepens, the government is stepping up accusations that some senior figures in the protest movement want to overthrow the monarchy.
Red shirt leaders frequently pledge allegiance to the monarchy but accuse the king's senior advisors of meddling in politics and orchestrating a 2006 coup that toppled Thaksin.
Some analysts see the charges as an attempt to build public support for a harsh crackdown, noting similar accusations preceded tough action against student activists in the 1970s.
Army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd distributed a chart late on Monday showing the names of people the authorities said were involved in a network to undermine the monarchy. The list includes Thaksin, several red shirt leaders, academics and others involved in anti-government radio stations and websites.
The government has suggested members of the red shirt movement may have a republican agenda in a country where the king is regarded as almost divine. The red shirts deny this.
Thailand has tough lese majeste laws that restrict discussion of the country's monarchy.
The mostly rural and urban poor red shirts have set up half a dozen blockades in their north and northeast strongholds, another headache for the Oxford-educated Abhisit, who faces pressure from the urban middle class to take a harder line.
Diplomats likened recent rhetoric and actions on both sides to psychological warfare, which could provoke another clash.
"Neither side is likely to have an immediate and absolute victory if there is another battle," said Charnvit Kasertsiri, a prominent political historian. "Stalemate is likely to continue with many potential flashpoints unless a real political compromise is reached."
Analysts say a well-armed rogue military element led by retired generals back the protesters, who accuse of Abhisit of coming to power illegitimately in 2008, heading a coalition cobbled together with the help of the military.
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