Grenade, small bomb attacks in Thai capital

BANGKOK : A bank and the home of the Thai election commission chief were targeted with a grenade and small bombs in the latest violence in the protest-hit capital, police said Monday.

Nobody was hurt in the attacks, which were carried out by unknown assailants late on Sunday, said Major General Prawut Thavornsiri, a spokesman for the Bangkok police task force.

Thai PM demands quick end to protests

BANGKOK - Thailand's premier called Sunday for a swift end to mass anti-government protests following fresh bloodshed, saying he had a back-up plan to solve the crisis if the demonstrators refuse to disperse.

Thai protesters to rally until deputy PM surrenders

BANGKOK - Defiant "Red Shirt" opposition protesters vowed Monday to keep up their crippling rally in the Thai capital until the deputy premier surrenders to police over a deadly crackdown last month.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaungsuban was in charge of security when troops launched an unsuccessful operation on April 10 to clear an area of the capital, leaving 25 people dead and hundreds injured in fierce street clashes.

Thai protesters want Parliament dissolved in month

Protesters softened their demand for an immediate change in Thailand's government, saying they are willing to give the prime minister 30 days to dissolve Parliament and call new elections, after bloody attacks struck Bangkok's central business district.

Closing the flight route Medan-Phuket Unfortunate

Former Chairman of the Board of Tourism, Hendry Hutabarat, regretted the decision to close the Air Asia flight route Medan, Phuket, Thailand. "And we desperately need a route (Singapore-Phuket) that," Henry said Hutabarat in Medan, on Thursday (04/29/2010).

 

He said Singapore-Phuket route is needed to attract foreign tourists, especially from Germany and the Netherlands, which is widely available in the area.

 

Based on data obtained by it, there are about 173 000 German tourists and 50,000 Dutch tourists in the area every year.

 

If the route is still there, then the manager of tourism in Indonesia, especially in North Sumatra, can attract foreign tourists in Phuket to visit because of the relatively close distance. "The flight from Phuket to Medan only about 55 minutes," said former Chairman of Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), Medan City.

 

However, Hutabarat said, Air Asia as well as business-oriented companies that can not be blamed for closing these routes. That is because the number of passengers is not proper that the existence of Phuket is considered less profitable routes.

 

"To overcome this, governments need to remove the various policies, including subsidizing the operational costs of Medan-Phuket route. The policy is expected to make an opportunity to attract tourists that Phuket is still big there," said former National Director of the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) is.

Thai govt fails to defeat the shadow of Thaksin

In a number of locations in the Rajprasong area in Bangkok's commercial area, groups of people kept their eye on their 14-inch TV to watch a recorded speech of ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra on the sidelines of their demonstration.

The DVD was not part of the propaganda for the demonstration but actually was an advertisement to attract the "Red Shirts" to buy the DVDs being sold in the area.

"Thaksin is our true leader and hero. All our problems actually stem from the Army," Sapchai Nirat, a Bangkok resident who joins the protests everyday after work, said Sunday.  

All Red Shirts or the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) members and their leaders that have occupied parts of Bangkok for eight straight weeks are loyal followers of Thaksin, who governed Thailand from 2001 to 2006.

The Red Shirts, who view the government as an illegitimate puppet of Bangkok's urban elite and the military, are demanding that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva resign, dissolve Parliament and call new elections. Abhisit has rejected these demands.

The Red Shirts, drawn mostly from the rural and urban poor, seem to remember what Thaksin has done for them.         

After a landslide victory in the 2001 election, Thaksin, one of country's richest businessmen, became prime minister, the country's first to serve a full term as all his predecessors failed to complete their term either because of being forced to resign or having been ousted by a military coup.

During his administration, Thaksin introduced a range of relatively effective policies and was recognized as having reduced Thai poverty by half in only four years, making him highly popular among the rural poor, especially in the populous Northern part of the country.

Thaksin's 30-baht universal healthcare program also won the applause of the general public. Prior to the program's introduction, a large portion of the population had no health insurance and only limited access to healthcare. The program helped increase access to healthcare. Previously only 76 percent of the population could access healthcare and this rose to 96 percent  according an official source.

His re-election in 2005 attracted the highest voter turnout in Thai history.

The Thaksin government, however, also faced allegations of corruption, authoritarianism, treason and opposing the monarchy from the Bangkok elite and military, leading to protests by the People's Alliance for Democracy, or the Yellow Shirts, culminating in a military coup on Sept. 19 while he was abroad.

Analysts have said that the Red Shirt's protests were largely revenge for the military coup against Thaksin.

Speculation have even been circulating that the Red Shirt's movement is financed by Thaksin's money, and that he is still in control of the movement from abroad.

 Most Thai leaders have generally agreed that the only way any Thai government can last long enough is to overcome inequality and poverty, something any Thai prime ministers after Thaksin, including Abhisit, have shown no ability to do.

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Bangkok

European countries warn the citizens

England, France and Austria Thursday warned their citizens who were visiting Thailand for not attending political protests in Bangkok since the demonstration could turn into violence.

 

England has warned its citizens not to travel unless absolutely necessary, to the Thai capital for the more turbulent situation in the streets.

 

"The advice that reflects our concerns on the safety of British citizens who plan to travel to Bangkok, because of the risk that violence can erupt without warning in an increasingly troubling political crisis," said foreign ministry.

 

"Things are changing on a daily basis, and we recommend that a British citizen living in Thailand or travel to the country's check travel advice on the foreign ministry Web site regularly to obtain details about further developments."

 

Around 812 000 British citizens visited Thailand in 2008, the foreign ministry said, citing the number of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

 

French Foreign Ministry spokesman, Bernard Valero, said in a statement said: "We advise our colleagues to run a full caution and especially not to go where there is a political meeting."

 

He delivered a stern warning concern about Thailand's army spokesman, Sunsern Kaewkumnerd, that the troops can be used to crack down on anti-government protesters in Bangkok.

 

"We have reiterated our request to the government and protesters to act responsibly," said Valero.

 

Austrian Foreign Ministry also issued a warning of travel, advising their citizens not to do perjalaan is not important to the Thai capital, calling the high security risks in the area of Bangkok.

 

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