Thai Opposition Protesters Launch Bangkok Shutdown

Local Editor

Tens of thousands of Thai opposition protesters occupied major streets in central Bangkok on Monday in an attempted "shutdown" of the capital, escalating a campaign to unseat the embattled premier.

The demonstrators want Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to resign to make way for an appointed government that would oversee electoral reforms to curb the political dominance of her billionaire family and tackle a wider culture of money politics.

Thousands of flag-waving protesters, some wearing T-shirts with slogans such as "Bangkok Shutdown" and "Thai Uprising 2014," massed at key intersections in the city, including outside a major shopping mall that was set on fire during deadly political unrest in 2010.
The protesters have vowed to occupy parts of the capital until they win their fight. They have vowed to disrupt a February election, saying it will only return Thaksin's allies to power without reforms first.

A hardcore faction of the anti-government movement has also threatened to besiege the stock exchange and even the kingdom's air traffic control if Yingluck does not step down within days.
"It's going to be very volatile," warned Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a former Thai diplomat and associate professor at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Japan's Kyoto University.
"In a way there is no turning back for the protesters -they have come too far," he added.
The protests are the latest chapter in a years-old political crisis that has gripped Thailand since Yingluck's older brother, fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, was ousted by royalist generals in 2006.

The protests were initially triggered by a failed amnesty bill that could have allowed Thaksin to return from self-exile without going to jail.

The billionaire tycoon-turned-politician, who lives abroad to avoid a jail term for corruption, has strong electoral support in northern Thailand, but he is reviled by many southerners, Bangkok's middle class and members of the royalist establishment.
Police said there were 12 hospitals, 28 hotels, 24 schools and five fire stations within the areas affected by the shutdown.
Most people appeared to have opted to leave their cars at home and rely on public transport instead.
The shutdown has sparked panic buying among some residents and the US embassy has advised stockpiling a two weeks' supply of food, water and medicine.
Smaller rallies have been held in the capital to back the February election and oppose the shutdown, while government supporters planned to gather in various locations in northern Thailand on Monday.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team