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4 Killed, Including a Police Officer, as Thai Police Move In on Protests 4 Killed as Police Try to Remove Protesters in Bangkok
(about 14 hours later)
BANGKOK — Four people, including a police officer, were killed and at least 64 were injured on Tuesday as antigovernment demonstrators resisted attempts by thousands of riot police officers to dislodge them from the streets surrounding the prime minister’s office.BANGKOK — Four people, including a police officer, were killed and at least 64 were injured on Tuesday as antigovernment demonstrators resisted attempts by thousands of riot police officers to dislodge them from the streets surrounding the prime minister’s office.
Protesters, who for the past three months have sought to overthrow the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and have hampered elections, remained defiant as thousands of officers cleared away barricades that protesters had erected on a bridge near key government offices. Protesters, who are trying to overthrow Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, remained defiant as the police cleared away barricades erected weeks ago to keep her and other government leaders from their offices.
“We insist that we will remain in the seized areas because we don’t want the cabinet and prime minister to return and use their barbaric powers,” said Ekanat Prompan, a former member of Parliament who is a spokesman for the protest movement. “We insist that we will remain in the seized areas, because we don’t want the cabinet and prime minister to return and use their barbaric powers,” said Ekanat Prompan, a former member of Parliament who is a spokesman for the protest movement.
Mr. Ekanat, who spoke on Thai television, said protesters were “peaceful and unarmed” and accused the government of using weapons against them. The government’s attempts to clear barricades, its second try within days, appeared to signal a change in approach after months of allowing the protesters to stay encamped in central Bangkok. Even after the government declared a state of emergency several weeks ago, it did not take immediate action, instead choosing to have the prime minister and other government officials work in temporary offices.
But a photographer, Jack Kurtz, was among several witnesses who said he saw a man among the protesters carrying an assault weapon. Mr. Kurtz reported on Twitter that protesters had pushed out photographers when gunfire started and instructed them to stop taking photographs. It remained unclear who was responsible for the deaths on Tuesday. Mr. Ekanat, who spoke on Thai television, said protesters were “peaceful and unarmed” and accused the government of using weapons against them.
At least 20 of the injured were police officers. One police officer who was shot in the head and previously listed as dead by state media was later reported to be in a critical condition. The Thai news media reported that one of the civilians killed was a protester. The identities of the other victims was not immediately known. But a news photographer, Jack Kurtz, was among several witnesses who said they had seen a man carrying an assault weapon among the protesters. Mr. Kurtz reported on Twitter that protesters had pushed out photographers when gunfire started and told them to stop taking photos.
The government said that a grenade had been used against the police and that tear gas had been fired by the protesters — not by the police. Photos in the Thai news media showed a badly wounded police officer whose legs appeared to have been injured by an explosion. More than 140 protesters were arrested but, in a sign of the weakened powers of the Thai authorities, one protest leader who had been arrested Tuesday and detained in a police vehicle was later freed, reportedly by protesters. At least 20 of the injured were police officers. One police officer who was shot in the head and previously listed as dead by the state news media was later reported to be in critical condition. The Thai news media reported that one of the civilians killed was a protester.
Led by a former deputy prime minister, Suthep Thaugsuban, the movement opposing Ms. Yingluck and her brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, a former prime minister, has been part protest, part insurrection. The protesters have powerful allies in the Thai bureaucracy and elites who resent the dominance of the Shinawatra family in politics. Protesters denounce the “dictatorship of the majority.” The government said that a grenade had been used against the police and that tear gas had been fired by the protesters, not by the police. Video footage showed a police officer trying to kick away a grenade that had been thrown at the police and detonated in front of them.
Both the United States and the European Union have lauded the government for its restraint in handling the protests, which have shut down a number of government offices and blocked major intersections in Bangkok. More than 140 protesters were arrested, but in a sign of the weakened powers of the Thai authorities, one protest leader who had been arrested Tuesday and detained in a police vehicle was later freed by “unknown men,” according to a protest leader.
The number of protesters has waned in recent weeks, but a core of several thousand remain, including many from southern Thailand, the stronghold of the opposition. Led by a former deputy prime minister, Suthep Thaugsuban, the movement opposing Ms. Yingluck and her brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, a former prime minister, has been part protest, part insurrection. The protesters have powerful allies in the Thai bureaucracy and among elites who resent the dominance of the Shinawatra family in politics. Protesters denounce the “dictatorship of the majority.”
Protesters in southern Thailand were instrumental in blocking the registration of two dozen candidates for the Feb. 2 election, an obstruction that has prevented Parliament from reaching a minimum number of elected representatives. The government is pressing the country’s Election Commission to hold elections in the obstructed districts as well as fresh voting in areas where protesters blocked people from casting votes. Both the United States and the European Union have lauded the government for its restraint in handling the protests, which have shut down a number of government offices and blocked major intersections in Bangkok. The number of protesters has waned in recent weeks, but a core of several thousand remain, including many from southern Thailand, the stronghold of the opposition.
Ms. Yingluck’s opponents are hoping that she is removed from politics as part of an investigation into a botched rice subsidy policy that may cost the government billions of dollars. Thailand’s countercorruption commission on Tuesday announced that Ms. Yingluck must appear later this month to answer allegations that she “refused to perform her duty” by not suspending the policy. If Ms. Yingluck is charged with a crime, she could be impeached. But it is unclear what this means in practical terms since her government resigned in December when she called for elections. Protesters in southern Thailand were instrumental in blocking the registration of two dozen candidates for the Feb. 2 election, an obstruction that has prevented Parliament from reaching a minimum number of elected representatives. The government is pressing the country’s Election Commission to hold elections in those obstructed districts, as well as in areas where protesters blocked people from casting votes.
Ms. Yingluck’s opponents are hoping that she is removed from politics as part of an investigation into a botched rice subsidy policy that may cost the government billions of dollars. Thailand’s anticorruption commission on Tuesday announced that Ms. Yingluck must appear later this month to answer allegations that she “refused to perform her duty” by not suspending the policy. If Ms. Yingluck is charged with a crime, she could be impeached and removed from office.