Thai govt asks protest leader to surrender

The Thai government has ruled out further talks with the leader of ongoing protests until he surrenders to the police. Former opposition lawmaker Suthep Thaugsuban, who has been helming a month-long protest against the government, faces charges for insurrection and leading the occupation of a government building.

Deputy Prime Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul, who heads a special security team, was quoted by Reuters as telling reporters on Wednesday: "It is time for him to surrender because he broke the law, and anyone who gives him refuge or shelter would be deemed guilty too."

The comments came as anti-government protests in Bangkok were scaled down to prepare for the birthday of King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The revered monarch turns 86, and is scheduled to address the nation, as a truce brought at least a pause to street protests that have created Thailand's most serious political unrest since 2010.

On Wednesday, a crowd of anti-government protesters briefly entered Thailand's national police headquarters on an otherwise calm morning.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who has so far refused to resign and dissolve Parliament, held a relatively uneventful meeting in Government House. This came just one day after lawns of its compound were filled with flag-waving protesters, who had battled tear gas and water cannon to breach barricades and were let through by the authorities on Tuesday in a surprising climb-down.

Within the capital's historic district, where thousands of protesters have been camping out for a month in an effort to cripple Ms Yingluck's administration, city officials and protesters joined hands to clean the wide boulevards that would be decked with lights to honour the King.

At the national police headquarters downtown, more than 1,000 whistle-blowing protesters gathered to keep pressure on the authorities. Through loudspeakers, protesters demanded: "Do you belong to the people or Yingluck?" Some even tried to scale its fences. Police eventually opened the gates to let them enter the compound. They left shortly after.

The lull is expected to be brief. Mr Suthep, a former deputy premier who resigned as an opposition MP last month, has vowed to keep up the protest until the "Thaksin regime" is eliminated. He is referring to Ms Yingluck's brother Thaksin Shinawatra, who was premier until he was ousted in a coup in 2006 and lives abroad to evade a jail sentence for corruption.

Thaksin has remained a central figure in Thai politics, and his popularity among the rural masses has guaranteed electoral victory for every party he backs. It remains true for the ruling Puea Thai party, even if snap elections are called now.

But his foes include many among the elite, royalists and urban middle class. Over the past decade, the tussle between these two broad camps have given rise to street protests, the occupation of government buildings as well as a bloody military crackdown.

Mr Suthep is still pushing for the elected Parliament to be temporarily replaced by a "people's council" comprising representatives from different professions, and led by a prime minister appointed by the King. Elections will be called only after the council is done with its reforms, he has said.

According to police estimates, about 7,000 protesters remain encamped in the Finance Ministry, a multi-agency government complex, as well as various sections in historic Bangkok. tanhy@sph.com.sg

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