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| Thai Police Step Up Defense in Bangkok as Protests Continue | Thai Police Step Up Defense in Bangkok as Protests Continue |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| BANGKOK — After a week of using soft-gloved tactics against antigovernment demonstrators, the Thai police on Monday aggressively stepped up their defense of government buildings in Bangkok, firing a hail of rubber bullets and tear gas and using water cannons. | |
| Both protesters and the government leaders they vow to depose dug in their heels amid the grinding standoff, Thailand’s deepest civil unrest in three years. | Both protesters and the government leaders they vow to depose dug in their heels amid the grinding standoff, Thailand’s deepest civil unrest in three years. |
| Most of greater Bangkok, which has a population of around 10 million, remained calm Monday, and the vast majority of businesses in the capital were open, including shopping malls that had shut their doors as a precaution on Sunday. | Most of greater Bangkok, which has a population of around 10 million, remained calm Monday, and the vast majority of businesses in the capital were open, including shopping malls that had shut their doors as a precaution on Sunday. |
| But in areas targeted by protesters — particularly around the prime minister’s office and the metropolitan police headquarters — clashes were intense. | But in areas targeted by protesters — particularly around the prime minister’s office and the metropolitan police headquarters — clashes were intense. |
| Bloodied protesters were carried away from the protest zones, many of them hit by rubber bullets. | Bloodied protesters were carried away from the protest zones, many of them hit by rubber bullets. |
| Amid the scenes of chaos, a deadline appeared to loom: Analysts said the protests could wind down very fast as the birthday of King Bhumibol Adulyadej approaches. The monarch, who turns 86 on Thursday, is highly revered, especially by older Thais. | |
| Protesters have set the ambitious — and, according to many analysts, unachievable — goal of ridding the country of the Shinawatras, the country’s most influential political family. | |
| Led by Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister who was deposed in a military coup in 2006 and now lives in exile, the family has spearheaded one of the most popular political movements in modern Thai history, winning every national election since 2001. Mr. Thaksin fled overseas in 2008, just before being convicted of abuse of power in a highly politicized trial. | Led by Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister who was deposed in a military coup in 2006 and now lives in exile, the family has spearheaded one of the most popular political movements in modern Thai history, winning every national election since 2001. Mr. Thaksin fled overseas in 2008, just before being convicted of abuse of power in a highly politicized trial. |
| The country’s prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, who is Mr. Thaksin’s sister, sounded both firm and conciliatory on Monday. | The country’s prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, who is Mr. Thaksin’s sister, sounded both firm and conciliatory on Monday. |
| “The government is leaving open every option for discussion,” she said. But she rejected demands of protesters for a “people’s council” of unelected representatives to replace the country’s parliamentary democracy. | “The government is leaving open every option for discussion,” she said. But she rejected demands of protesters for a “people’s council” of unelected representatives to replace the country’s parliamentary democracy. |
| The proposal has been ridiculed by academics and openly questioned by some members of the opposition Democrat Party, who are allied with the protesters. | The proposal has been ridiculed by academics and openly questioned by some members of the opposition Democrat Party, who are allied with the protesters. |
| Ms. Yingluck was more diplomatic in rejecting the idea. | Ms. Yingluck was more diplomatic in rejecting the idea. |
| “At this point we don’t see how we can make it happen under this Constitution,” she said. | “At this point we don’t see how we can make it happen under this Constitution,” she said. |
| The police said they would allow peaceful demonstrations to continue, including in the capital’s historic district, where tens of thousands of protesters have gathered for the past week. Crowds there have swollen in the evenings to create a carnival-like atmosphere, with demonstrators offering foot massages and free food. | |
| But the police said that they would vigorously defend key government buildings from protesters, who announced over the weekend that they planned to seize additional buildings, having already occupied the Finance Ministry and a large government complex last week. | But the police said that they would vigorously defend key government buildings from protesters, who announced over the weekend that they planned to seize additional buildings, having already occupied the Finance Ministry and a large government complex last week. |
| Protesters spent Sunday and Monday dismantling razor wire and pushing over dozens of concrete barriers erected by the police to protect the prime minister’s office. | Protesters spent Sunday and Monday dismantling razor wire and pushing over dozens of concrete barriers erected by the police to protect the prime minister’s office. |
| “I would like to urge your cooperation in not attempting to invade the area behind the barriers,” Lt. Col. Anchulee Thirawongpaisal of the police said in a televised media briefing on Monday. | “I would like to urge your cooperation in not attempting to invade the area behind the barriers,” Lt. Col. Anchulee Thirawongpaisal of the police said in a televised media briefing on Monday. |
| Journalists using miniature drones mounted with cameras — an innovation not widely used in the many previous bouts of unrest in Thailand — circulated videos of the battles between a thin line of riot police officers protecting the prime minister’s office and the protesters attacking the barricades. | |
| Protests reached a crescendo over the weekend, when a group of students allied with the antigovernment demonstrators clashed with government supporters, known as red shirts. Shootings between the two groups left at least three people dead and dozens injured. | |
| As of Monday afternoon, the government reported that the number of injured had risen to 123, although the number was likely to increase as more protesters were sent to hospitals Monday from the protest areas. | |
| The protesters are divided into very disparate factions. Some are allied with the Democrat Party, the oldest political party in Thailand, which broke with tradition this year and joined street protests. | The protesters are divided into very disparate factions. Some are allied with the Democrat Party, the oldest political party in Thailand, which broke with tradition this year and joined street protests. |
| Others come from an ascetic Buddhist sect, vocational schools and an ultramonarchist grouping known as the yellow shirts. | Others come from an ascetic Buddhist sect, vocational schools and an ultramonarchist grouping known as the yellow shirts. |
| More than a dozen secondary schools, at least seven large universities and the United Nations regional headquarters were closed Monday. | More than a dozen secondary schools, at least seven large universities and the United Nations regional headquarters were closed Monday. |
| The protests were set off by the government’s attempt to push through an amnesty that would have broadly applied to any politics-related cases since 2004. Critics said it would help ease the return to Thailand of Mr. Thaksin by wiping clean pending corruption cases against him and voiding his conviction. The government withdrew the amnesty bill last month after a public outcry, but protesters, led by a former deputy prime minister, Suthep Thaugsuban, expanded their demands to include the elimination of what they call the “Thaksin regime.” | |
Poypiti Amatatham contributed reporting. | Poypiti Amatatham contributed reporting. |