Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Navigation
Primary Navigation
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular
Secondary Navigation
Australia
China
India
Indonesia
Japan
Malaysia
Philippines
Thailand
Vietnam
Search
Search:
Thai PM dodges protesters for first key speech
By MICHAEL CASEY,Associated Press Writer AP - 2 hours 49 minutes ago
BANGKOK, Thailand - Thailand's new prime minister evaded thousands of protesters blocking Parliament on Tuesday and delivered his first key policy speech in the Foreign Ministry instead, promising to heal the turmoil that has ripped at the country and its tourism-based economy.
"The government has come into office at a time of conflict. This conflict has become the weakness of the country," Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, Thailand's third prime minister in four months, told lawmakers that included only his coalition members. Opposition members boycotted the session, but enough lawmakers showed up for a quorum.
Abhisit was forced to move and delay the speech by a day because of the anti-government protesters outside Parliament _ the same street-swamping demonstration tactics that his own supporters had used just before he came to power two weeks ago.
For months, Thailand has been rocked by rival groups of demonstrators who either support or protest ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, once one of the country's richest men, who now lives in self-imposed exile after being forced from office in a 2006 coup.
The turmoil, along with the global financial crisis, has severely hurt tourism _ most dramatically in a recent eight-day seizure of Bangkok's two main airports _ and threatens to push the country into recession.
Abhisit was formally named prime minister Dec. 17 in what many hoped would bring peace.
But on Monday, thousands of Thaksin loyalists. who call themselves the Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship, vowed to surround the Parliament building until new general elections are called.
The street protest echoed the last round of protests that helped bring Abhisit to power, when demonstrators opposed to Thaksin took over the prime minister's residence and seized Bangkok's two main airports for eight days.
In his speech Tuesday, Abhisit promised to "keep negotiating and mediating" to end the crisis.
Soon after he slipped into the Foreign Ministry to make his speech, the anti-government protesters abandoned their siege of that building. They said they might back off from their siege of Parliament as well, as early as Wednesday, a government holiday.
"It's not important how long we will gather. The important thing is that we have had the chance to express our view of the current government," protest leader Chakrapob Penkhair told The Associated Press.
The Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship _ also known as the "red shirts" because of their clothes_ is an eclectic mix of Thaksin loyalists, farmers and laborers from the cities including the capital, Bangkok.
They have demanded the new government dissolve the legislature and call general elections, which they believe the pro-Thaksin camp would win easily because of its strong rural base.
Abhisit's party, which had been in opposition since 2001, heads a coalition that some analysts doubt is strong enough to last until the next general election in 2011.
Analysts also say continuing upheavals will further batter Thailand's virtually moribund tourist industry and other economic sectors.
"There's no confidence among tourists who want to visit Thailand," said Prakit Chinamourphong, president of the Thai Hotel Association. "I just want to see a peaceful country without demonstrations so that the tourists will come back to Thailand again."
Email Story
IM Story
Printable View
Blog This
Recommend this article
Average (0 votes)
Sign in to recommend this article »
Most Recommended Stories »
Related Articles: Asia Pacific
Pakistan closes US supply route into AfghanistanAP - 1 hour 10 minutes ago
Landslide win for ex-PM Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh pollAFP - 1 hour 15 minutes ago
Zia rejects Bangladesh election resultsAP - 1 hour 15 minutes ago
Bangladesh ex-PM Kahleda Zia rejects polls resultAP - 2 hours 16 minutes ago
Thai PM dodges protesters for first key speechAP - 2 hours 49 minutes ago
Most Popular – Asia Pacific
Viewed
Actress Jennifer Aniston appears naked in GQ magazine
Japanese tourist spends 3 months in Mexico City airport
Two thousand and strange: offbeat stories of the year
Natural disasters 'killed over 220,000' in 2008
US throws $6bln lifeline to GMAC
View Complete List »
Search:
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular