Brief calm as Thai cops remove barriers

An unexpected calm descended on Bangkok after police removed barriers leading to key government offices and allowed protesters access to the compounds they had been battling to occupy in the past week.

After a violent three days in which at least four people died and more than 200 were injured, jubilant, flag-waving protesters entered the compounds of the Prime Minister's Office and city police headquarters, before retreating to their original rally sites in the capital's historical district. Some believe the truce was brokered behind the scenes to smoothen birthday celebrations for the revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who turned 86 on Thursday.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, in a televised statement last night, invited academics, businessmen and protesters to join a reform forum "to find the best way out for our country and our children, and in order to get the economy back on track".

Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban hailed a partial victory but declared: "Our fight will continue."

The former opposition lawmaker has been leading a campaign to eliminate what he calls the "Thaksin regime" from Thai politics.

Thaksin Shinawatra, the brother of Ms Yingluck and former prime minister of Thailand, is widely seen to be pulling the strings of the government even though he was ousted in a 2006 coup and lives in self-imposed exile to avoid serving a jail sentence for corruption.

Mr Suthep's campaign, which has drawn tens of thousands of people onto the streets, has been supported by old money, royalists, the urban middle class, as well as a considerable number of people from the southern provinces, a key opposition Democrat stronghold.

He has repeatedly pushed for an ill-defined "people's council", saying that Ms Yingluck's resignation or a parliament dissolution will not work as elections will allow Thaksin-backed politicians to triumph again. The tycoon remains a cult figure among Thailand's rural masses, a crucial vote bank.

The protest leader stuck to the same line even during military- mediated negotiations with Ms Yingluck on Sunday night.

The military has stayed on the sidelines so far and tried to play the role of mediator.

The truce gives a temporary reprieve to ASEAN's second largest economy, which was already suffering from a shaky rebound after dipping into a technical recession in the first half of the year.

Bangkok's businesses, in particular, fretted about the long-term effects of the street battles in the current tourist peak season. The benchmark SET index inched up 9.63 points, or 0.7 per cent, on Tuesday.

On Tuesday morning, the tear gas, water cannon, homemade bombs and rock missiles were put away as protesters handed flowers to the same policemen they had been chanting abuse at a few days earlier.

City cleaners quickly moved in to clear the debris in Bangkok's historic district, which is usually elaborately decorated for the King's birthday.

Analysts, however, say the calm is likely to be short-lived.

"It will last until Dec 6, when the campaign will start again," said political scientist Mano Laohavanich.

On the bright side, the truce is likely to take the momentum off protests, and make both sides more amenable to negotiation, he said.

tanhy@sph.com.sg

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