Protesters storm TV station
2008-08-26 10:08
Bangkok - Dozens of anti-government protesters armed with knives, guns and golf clubs stormed a TV station and briefly forced it off the air on Tuesday, while thousands more peacefully laid siege to government ministries, witnesses and local media said.
Members of the People's Alliance for Democracy stormed the government-controlled National Broadcasting Services of Thailand studios in the Thai capital, forcing it to shut down for a few hours before police arrested the 50 to 80 protesters without incident, the broadcaster said.
Hundreds more activists protested unarmed outside the gates of the media compound.
As many as 8 000 more PAD supporters were peacefully protesting outside the gates of several government ministries including the main Government House, preventing employees from entering the offices, witnesses and local media reported.
"We are now controlling most of the key government offices to prevent them from coming to work," said Sondhi Limthongkul, a co-leader of the PAD. "Today, we declare a long, long holiday for the government."
Top military officials assured the public they would not intervene with a coup, as they did in response to large anti-government protests in 2006.
Outside of Bangkok, protesters said they had blocked three main highways leading into the capital.
The protests are the latest effort by the PAD to force Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej's government from office. The PAD contends Samak is a proxy for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in the 2006 coup and has sought self-imposed exile in England.
Samak, whose party won national elections last December, has refused to step aside and insisted as late as Monday that anti-government protests would not impact Tuesday's cabinet meeting.
But by Tuesday morning, the government announced that it was moving the weekly meeting from Government House to the military headquarters to avoid the protests, deputy government spokesperson Natawut Saikau said.
Boonsrang Niempradit, the ceremonial chief of the armed forces, played down the demonstrations and dismissed suggestions that the military would take action against them.
"I think police are still able to control the situation so there is no need to send the soldiers out to stop the protesters," Boonsrang said.
- AP