Thai army allays fears of possible coup

Thailand's powerful army tried to allay fears on Monday that it may seize control amid the country's deepening political crisis, even as protesters in southern provinces forcibly stopped candidates from registering for snap polls.

Rumours flew of a coup after the army refused to rule one out last week. Yesterday, army spokesman Winthai Suwaree told reporters that the rumours were causing "confusion and speculation".

"The army would like to insist there're no secret meetings or any operations by the military as speculated," he said.

Meanwhile, protesters trying to derail Thailand's snap polls on Feb 2 continued to sabotage registration for candidates in eight provinces in the south.

The eight provinces affected are Chumphon, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung, Songkhla, Trang, Krabi and Phuket - where the opposition Democrat Party, which is boycotting the elections, has wide support.

In Trang, about 500 anti-election protesters yesterday surrounded a sports stadium, forcing officials to cancel registration of candidates despite the presence of 300 police officers.

And for the third day in Phatthalung, protesters blocked the registration centre at a local school, locking the gates. Registration is supposed to continue until Wednesday.

The failure of registration in eight provinces out of 77 is unlikely to derail the elections, analysts say.

Deputy Prime Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul, after meeting election commissioners on Monday, said the government would ensure more security at registration venues in the southern provinces where the procedure has been temporarily suspended.

The baht on Monday fell again on worries over the political turmoil. It has lost 7.2 per cent of its value this year, and briefly sank to 32.96 to the US dollar on Monday, the lowest since June 2010.

Analysts say they are worried about violence in the days ahead.

In Bangkok on Monday, People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) supporters with brooms swept streets around the movement's sprawling rally site, ahead of what they say will be a massive demonstration later this week and continuing to the rest of the month, to "seize" the capital.

The anti-government PDRC has pledged to continue trying to derail the elections, saying the polls will only bring back the allegedly corrupt proxy rule of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra if reforms are not instituted first.

Even if the elections go ahead, they will do little to solve Thailand's serious political divide, analysts say. There is also some concern that the elections may not fill enough parliamentary seats to produce a quorum, if polls cannot go ahead in some provinces.

The PDRC wants to set up an unelected "people's council" to institute unspecified reforms before allowing another election. Its aim is to "eradicate the Thaksin regime" from Thai politics.

In an indication of the deepening lines of conflict, over 500 police officers in uniform gathered at the Royal Plaza in the afternoon to protest that they were being unfairly held back by the government's order to show restraint.

One police officer was shot dead and up to 15 wounded in clashes on Thursday with protesters. Video clips that have surfaced on the Internet show unknown men on a rooftop nearby shooting at them.

PDRC leader Suthep Thaugsuban, on the other hand, has accused the police of being complicit in a drive-by shooting last Saturday morning which killed a guard from a student network that is allied with the PDRC and that had been storming buildings earlier. In a speech to supporters, he alleged that it had been a revenge attack.

Political movements on the streets in Thailand typically have "security guards" staffing the perimeter of their gatherings. In some cases, they are former paramilitaries.

The police are seen as pro-government, based on old allegiances to Thaksin, the billionaire that the army ousted from the premiership in 2006.

Thaksin's political machine has returned to win every election since then, and his sister Yingluck Shinawatra is currently prime minister. Thaksin, in self-exile abroad dodging a two-year sentence for corruption, was once a police officer.

nirmal@sph.com.sg

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