Thai PM extends olive branch, but no polls

Court rejects bail application of 114 red shirts

BANGKOK - Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Friday he was committed to national reconciliation but made no offer of fresh elections, two days after troops quelled the worst political violence in modern Thai history.

Anti-government "red shirt" protesters, who rioted in Bangkok and come mainly from the rural and urban poor, have demanded new elections, saying they are disenfranchised by the urban elite.

"Let me reassure you that this government will meet these challenges and overcome these difficulties through the five-point reconciliation plan that I had previously announced," said Abhisit in a TV address to the nation.

Meanwhile a court in Thailand on Friday denied a bail application for 114 anti-government protesters facing charges of terrorism, Thai News Agency reported.

The plan, first announced on May 3, offers political reforms, social justice and an investigation into political violence. Before the latest violence, Abhisit had separately offered fresh elections in November, but has since withdrawn the offer, leaving Thailand's political divisions unhealed.

"You can be assured that this government has every intention of moving the country forward, restoring order, making sure that our recovery is well on track, and that we will do so in a transparent manner," said Abhisit.

Troops manned razor-wire roadblocks and searched vehicles for weapons in Bangkok on Friday, while hundreds of troops again swept through the capital's posh central shopping area, once a barricaded camp for thousands of protesters, searching for weapons and explosives in the now-deserted battleground.

Anti-government "red shirt" protesters say Abhisit lacks a popular mandate after coming to power in a controversial parliamentary vote in 2008 with tacit military support.

The red shirts broadly support former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, ousted by the military in 2006 and now living in self-imposed exile to avoid a jail term for abuse of power.

Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij said he still expected an early poll, adding it was highly unlikely the government would stay in office for its full term that ends in 2012.

Cleaning ladies scrubbed the entrances to Bangkok's ritziest stores on Friday to remove soot left from burning tire barricades. Firemen trained a hose on a mass of rubble and twisted metal that was once part of Central World, Southeast Asia's second-largest department store.

Outside the 6 sq-km (2.3 sq-mile) ringed-off area, Bangkok's chaotic traffic clogged roads as travelers were forced around the military zone. Many shops and banks were closed, public transport was limited and a week-long public holiday ensured many of the 15 million residents stayed at home.

Finance minister Korn expressed confidence that the economy would pick up fairly quickly if the stability seen over the past 24 hours was maintained.

But he acknowledged that tourism, which employs at least 15 percent of the workforce and accounts for 6 percent of the economy, would take much longer to recover.

"Clearly, with the events that took place the past several weeks and pictures of those events flashing across TV screens around the world, it is going to have a very disastrous impact on tourism as a sector, probably, frankly speaking, for the remainder of the year," Korn said.

With an overnight curfew in force for at least two more nights and mopping-up operations continuing under a state of emergency, officials may have their work cut out trying to reassure foreign investors.

Reuters

(China Daily 05/22/2010 page8)