Bangkok Breaking News – January 21, 2014

On this page we will keep you informed about Bangkok Shutdown. The posts are in reverse chronological order. The latest news is therefore at the top. Times in bold are Dutch time. In Thailand it is 6 hours later.

Common abbreviations

UDD: United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (red shirts)
Capo: Center for the Administration of Peace and Order (the body responsible for security policy)
ISA: Internal Security Act (emergency law that gives the police certain powers; applies throughout Bangkok; less strict than the Emergency Decree)
PDRC: People's Democratic Reform Committee (headed by Suthep Thaugsuban, ex-opposition Democrat MP)
NSPRT: Network of Students and People for Reform of Thailand (radical protest group)
Pefot: People's Force to Overthrow Thaksinism (ditto)

Foreign Affairs travel advice

Travelers are advised to avoid central Bangkok as much as possible, to exercise vigilance, to stay away from gatherings and demonstrations, and to monitor local media coverage daily of where demonstrations are taking place.

Photo above: Medical staff from some hospitals and organizations marched from Pathumwan to Asok yesterday. They advocated postponing the elections and political reforms.

Photo below: Victory Monument at night.

16:30 PM (Addition) The authorities will also talk to the media "who have spread news reports that are not based on facts," says Paradorn. He specifically mentions the Blue Sky TV channel of the opposition party Democrats, which has broadcast all the activities of the protest movement. "We're going to talk to them and try to come to an agreement. But we are not closing those stations, although we have the authority to do so.'

16:30 "The state of emergency means that the authorities have more powers, but it does not mean that we will attack the protesters," said Paradon Pattanatabut, secretary general of the National Security Council. The police are primarily responsible for maintaining the state of emergency. There will be no change in the deployment of the police (50 companies) and the army (40 companies).

Tomorrow, the authorities will consult with the protest movement about reopening the Department of Consular Affairs on Chaeng Wattana Road, as many people have problems collecting their passports and travelling. Negotiations are also underway to end some blockades, which are affecting large numbers of Bangkok residents.

16:06 Action leader Suthep Thaugsuban has said tonight that he will defy any orders given under the state of emergency. "We are going to step up our rallies to counter the state of emergency." According to Suthep, the measure will mobilize more protesters. He says there is no reason to declare a state of emergency, as all rallies have been peaceful so far. "The declaration of a state of emergency proves that the government has been cornered by the demonstrators."

15:32 Contrary to previous reports, the Electoral Council will go to the Constitutional Court before the elections. The Electoral Council wants the Court to make a decision: whether or not elections will be held on 2 February. The problem is that district candidates are missing in 28 constituencies because demonstrators have prevented their registration. As a result, the minimum number of occupied seats is not reached and the House of Representatives cannot function.

The government wants the elections to go ahead coute que coute; the Electoral Council is calling for a postponement. The Electoral Council will submit a petition to the Court tomorrow. The council states that it is unable to organize successful elections under the current circumstances.

15:19 So anyway. This morning the reports were still that a state of emergency was not being considered, but the government has now declared it anyway. The emergency ordinance applies to the whole of Bangkok and parts of neighboring provinces and replaces the less far-reaching Internal Security Act. According to Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul, Chief Capo, the state of emergency is necessary to better manage anti-government protests and, as he said, "to protect democracy." The state of emergency allows the deployment of the army.

10:30 Former Prime Minister Thaksin, who lives in exile in Dubai, has promised a 10 million baht reward for intelligence leading to the arrest of the man who threw a hand grenade outside the Victory Monument on Sunday, injuring 28 people. Panthongtae, Thaksin's son, reports this on his Facebook page. According to Panthongtae, the anti-government protest leaders arranged the attack themselves to provoke a military coup.

10:23 'Unrest in Thailand kills the economy', writes the Smart Investing website. The article says: 'The Thai economy is deteriorating rapidly, so much so that drastic measures are urgently needed. It looks at what the Bank of Thailand, the Thai central bank, will do now.

It meets on Wednesday 22 January and is generally expected to lower the benchmark interest rate to stimulate the economy. Seven out of eight observers surveyed by Bloomberg News expect interest rates to be cut by a quarter of a percent to 2 percent.

However, the question is whether this measure will be sufficient to keep the Thai ship economically afloat. Thailand's finance minister last week lowered his economic growth forecast for the second time in a month. He first assumed a growth of GDP of 4 percent, now that is only 3,1 percent.

[…] The current stalemate has led to a number of important government investments being shelved. Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong admitted that infrastructure works worth 2 trillion Thai baht have been put on hold. Thailand is certainly not the best country to invest in at the moment, but that can of course improve once the situation clears up again.'

10:03 The Buddhist Organization of Thailand has filed a police complaint against Luang Pu Buddha Issara, a core member of the protest movement, for violating the Buddhist Monk Act, which prohibits political activity.

The organization also accuses the abbot of Wat Or Noi in Nakhon Pathom of criminal law violations for leading protesters to besiege government buildings.

09:22 All 44 secondary schools and most primary schools and kindergartens in the southern province of Surat Thani have closed their doors. All local government offices are also closed. Two universities remain open, but students are allowed to carry out political activities.

In Nakhon Si Thammarat, PDRC supporters demonstrated outside the Provincial House, district offices and other government buildings to stop officials from going to work.

Many government offices and schools are also closed in Chumphon.

In Satun, demonstrators closed all gates of the town hall.

In Phatthalung, all government offices are closed indefinitely. Many schools in Muang district will remain closed until Friday.

09:00 Thailand's risk of default on its debts is at its highest since June 2012, as investors sell stocks and bonds as political turmoil continues. Wells Fargo has withdrawn $31 billion since October 4. Pacific Investment Co, Goldman Sachs Group and Kokusai Asset Management Co have also reduced their shareholdings.

A manager of Kokusai in Tokyo says the ongoing political unrest is hurting the outlook for the baht. 'There's no fiscal support as politics are in chaos. The only support they can provide under such a condition is monetary easing.'

08:38 The elections on February 2, which will not take place if it is up to the protest movement, will not go smoothly, the Electoral Council expects. The government wants the elections to go ahead qoute que coute despite pleas from the Electoral Council to postpone the elections. The council has now pinned its hopes on the Constitutional Court. That could tie the knot.

What is the Electoral Council afraid of? Firstly, that the elections will be disrupted by anti-government protesters, but more importantly, the lack of 28 district candidates in the South means that parliament will not receive the required minimum number of seats. In 28 constituencies, protesters have prevented candidates from registering, leaving ballot papers blank. [Apart from the national candidates, which can be voted on.]

A third fear is that not all polling stations can be staffed. The law requires at least eight officials to be in each polling station.

According to a source at the Electoral Council, the council [with cheerful reluctance] lets the elections go ahead, but the five commissioners go to the Constitutional Court as soon as irregularities occur. The elections could then be unconstitutional and the Court could demand new elections.

Primary elections will take place on Sunday. They will already give an indication of what to expect on February 2. Perhaps the protest movement will be successful after all.

07:00 The possible declaration of a state of emergency was not a topic of discussion at the daily meeting of the Capo this morning. Joint military and police operations have been discussed now that some violent attacks on demonstrators have taken place. Prime Minister Yingluck did not attend the meeting; she does chair the weekly cabinet meeting this afternoon.

06:53 When the peace has returned to Bangkok, a price war of hotels is expected. Since the protests began in November, at the beginning of the high season, the tourism sector has been losing money. The occupancy rate of hotels is currently lower than in 2007. At the same time, it is increasing in Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia.

Chanin Donavanik, director of the hotel chain Dusit International, says hoteliers will try harder to play with pricing. "I'm not XNUMX percent sure, but we do expect that situation to arise."

For Dusit, 2014 threatens to be a lost year. Expectations were that 2014 would be the best year since 2008, but those hopes were dashed when Prime Minister Yingluck decided to push through the hated amnesty law. Last Thursday, the occupancy rate of Dusit Thani Bangkok (on Silom Rd) was just 20 percent; normally it should be 80 percent. Dusit has twelve hotels in Thailand and 11 internationally.

06:23 A woman (26) was arrested by guards and handed over to the police after three shots were fired at Victory Monument, where demonstrators camped out, on Monday night. A car with bullet marks on the right side and near the license plate was found near the monument.

The woman would have driven the car and driven through a checkpoint on Phaya Thaiweg. Two men fled from the car. The police suspect that these are drug traffickers or car thieves. Police security has been reinforced on all four sides of the monument.

06:01 Demonstrators, led by action leader Suthep Thaugsuban and two other leaders, went from Lumpini to Silom this morning. The march passes through Silom, Charoenkrung, Chan and Narathiwat Ratchanakharin. Another group is on its way from Victory Monument to the Ministry of the Environment. The demonstrators on Lat Phrao have also left. It is unknown what the purpose is.

04.41 34 political parties attended the second meeting of the political reform forum formed by the government yesterday. They agreed that post-election reforms should be worked on. The majority believes that the elections should take place on February 2.

It is intended that an assembly of 200 people will be formed, which will have one year to make proposals. After that, a referendum on constitutional amendments and new elections can be held. The opposition parties Bhumjaithai and Democrats were not present yesterday. They distrust the whole circus.

04.23 No motorcycles on the expressways: It is forbidden and they can cause accidents, warns the Expressway Authority of Thailand. The expressways are used by demonstrators (sometimes in the wake of trucks, which serve as mobile podiums) to drive to action sites. Exat says the motorcyclists may be prosecuted. Camera images provide evidence for this. The transport minister has also asked protesters not to use the roads.

03:48 Eight medical faculties issued a statement yesterday calling for the elections to be postponed and for the government to step down so that an interim government can be formed. Postponing the elections will prevent the conflict from escalating and violent confrontations, say the faculty deans. First, the parties must agree on fair and transparent elections.

Hundreds of health workers marched from Pathumwan to Asok yesterday under the leadership of action leader Suthep Thaugsuban. Never before has the medical profession mobilized in such large numbers. "Doctors usually do not participate in street protests," said Porntip Rojanasunan, inspector general of the Ministry of Justice. "That's proof that they see the problems of Thai politics."

03:27 Anti-government demonstrators have stirred up in southern Thailand yesterday. Government buildings were sealed off in most provinces.

In Phuket, local radio and TV stations of the Public Relations Department also had to believe it.

In Nakhon Si Thammarat, all 23 district offices closed. They will remain closed for five days. Police stations and schools were also closed.

In Krabi, protesters closed the Provincial House, despite it being guarded by sixty defense volunteers.

In Chumphon, the demonstrators received reinforcements from municipal officials to close government buildings. Two schools also closed, although exams are coming up. According to the local protest leader, the closure was a decision of the school management.

The demonstrators have left hospitals, provincial courts, banks and local land registers undisturbed.

03:19 Twenty roads in Bangkok have been closed in whole or in part by anti-government protesters, the Transport Ministry's website reports. The closures affect the seven sites occupied since the Bangkok Shutdown began last Monday, plus two new ones: Ratchadamnoen Avenue and the Rama VIII Bridge.

The Ministry's update is in response to yesterday's traffic jams. The ministry has received many complaints from motorists about this.

The PDRC and NSPRT visited ten government buildings yesterday, including the Government Savings Bank (see the posting https://www.thailandblog.nl/nieuws/regering-wanhopig-op-zoek-naar-geld-voor-boze-boeren/) . In Nonthaburi, demonstrators marched to the Province House. There they held a short demonstration.

02:53 Of course there are rumors again, this time about the perpetrator of Sunday's grenade attack. That would be a naval officer. Rear Admiral Winai Klomin, commander of the Naval Special Warfare Command, denies that accusation. "The Navy is not opposed to the protesters, so there is no reason to harm them."

02:43 The Capo is meeting with the military today to strengthen security measures. The consultations are in response to the grenade attacks on Friday and Sunday. Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul, head of the Capo, says a state of emergency could be declared if violence intensifies. Capo will also invite representatives of the protest movement to work out security measures.

The grenade attack on Friday left 39 people injured and one killed. The attack on Sunday resulted in 28 injuries. A bounty of 200.000 baht has been placed on the head of Sunday's perpetrator by the Royal Thai Police. [According to an earlier report, 500.000 baht has been offered, to be coughed up by Capo and the police.]

00:00 Evil groups are mobilizing weapons and bombs to provoke violence and attack their rivals, said army spokesman Winthai Suwaree. They would be smuggled into Bangkok. Winthai, who gave no further details, says this in response to the grenade attacks on Friday and Sunday.

On Friday, a grenade exploded during a march on Banthat Thong Road. 39 people were injured and one demonstrator later succumbed to his injuries. On Sunday, a man threw two grenades behind the stage at the Victory Monument. 28 people were injured.

PDRC supporters accuse the government and the UDD of involvement in both attacks. But pro-government supporters and the red shirts say the PDRC is responsible and army officers are trying to stir up anti-government sentiment.

Winthai yesterday appealed to both sides to stop accusing each other. "Give the police time to find the real perpetrators and stop them from committing more violence." Security measures are being increased; for example, there will be more joint police and army checkpoints.

Army commander Prayuth Chan-ocha says it is evident that a group of individuals are trying to use violence to solve the problems. Soldiers will not intervene, he says in response to calls for the military to intervene. “The situation has not yet reached a point where we need to intervene. The situation is different from 2010.' [When the Army Ended the Red Shirt Riots]

Rumors of a military coup have resurfaced as BRT-3E1 armed vehicles remained in Bangkok after Army Day on Saturday. Tanks have returned to their bases in the country. The armed vehicles are being used for training purposes, Winthai said, but an army source says they are also being held back in case more violence involving heavy weapons and explosives breaks out.