Thailand declares emergency law after street clash (4th Lead)

Sep 2, 2008, 5:29 GMT

Thai pro-government supporters in clashes with anti-government supporters in the streets outside Government House in Bangkok, Thailand, 02 September 2008. EPA/BARBARA WALTON

    Bangkok - Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej Tuesday declared a state of emergency in Bangkok after a clash between pro- government and anti-government groups claimed one victim and left dozens injured.

'With the situation like this I had to find a way out,' Samak told a press conference. 'I have the duty to solve the country's problems, and every concerned party has the duty to help.'

He predicted that the emergency decree would be in force for only a few days.

The state of emergency went into effect at 7 am after army troops were called in to restore order around Government House, the seat of government, which has been occupied by anti-government protestors from the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) since August 26.

Pro-government groups moved on the compound early Tuesday, clashing with PAD forward guards. Narongsak Kobthaisong, 55, believed to be a pro-government protestor, was beaten to death in the clash, while some 44 others were injured.

Witnesses said both sides were armed with baseball bats, golf clubs and sticks. Some of the pro-government members had long knives.

The state of emergency, also decreed last year when Thailand was under an interim military-appointed government, prohibits gatherings of more than five people, allowing authorities to arrest those who disobey.

Samak said he had set up a joint military-police committee to find a way to get the PAD out of Government House and to investigate the clash.

Shortly after midnight a pro-government mob marched on Government House from Sanam Luang (the Royal Grounds) and clashed with PAD security on the outskirts of the government compound, sparking the confrontation.

Government House was occupied August 26 by thousands of followers of the PAD, a loose alliance of conservative groups demanding the resignation of Thai Prime Minister.

Samak, a veteran right-wing politician who has been linked to other violent crackdowns on protestors in Thailand's recent history of coups and pro-democracy struggles, has faced a dilemma evicting the squatters from Government House because of the reluctance of the police and military to use force against them.

He still faces that dilemma, as the PAD announced Tuesday that they would not leave despite the enforcement of emergency law.

'Enforcing the decree means clearing PAD out by force and this is what the PAD wants,' said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Chulaongkorn University. 'They are hoping for a spontaneous uprising. This is the spark they hope will ignite the powder keg in Bangkok.'

The PAD comprises mainly middle class Thais, devoted to the monarchy and fed up with corrupt elected politicians. The movement's critics, such as Thitinan, have warned that if it succeeds in toppling Samak it will prove a step backwards for election-based democracy in Thailand and a victory for the conservative forces that favour a lead role for the bureaucracy and appointed officials.

Sonthi Limthongkul, one of five leaders of the PAD, claimed Monday that government members of parliament had bused in thousands of members of the United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship, a pro- government grouping, from the provinces to create a 'confrontation.'

Sonthi, a media entrepreneur, has been at the heart of the PAD movement since it began in early 2006 as a spearhead to topple the previous administration of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

Thaksin was ousted by a military coup on September 19, 2006, and now the PAD wants to force his 'nominee,' current premier Samak, to resign.

Samak leads the People Power Party which won the December 23, 2007, general election on an openly pro-Thaksin platform.

The PAD has been staging anti-government demonstrations on Rajadamnoen Avenue in the old section of Bangkok since May 25, when the Samak government indicated it wanted to amend the 2007 constitution in such a way that would favour a Thaksin comeback.

Efforts by police to forcibly oust the demonstrators from Government House on Friday failed and drew immediate criticism from a broad swathe of Thai society.

The labour union at the state-run State Railways of Thailand has been on partial strike since Friday, and on Monday the labour unions of 43 state enterprise labour unions threatened to stop work Wednesday to pressure Samak to resign.

'If they succeed what is the future of Thai politics?' said Samak, raising the question that has dogged the PAD movement.