Bangkok, May 21: Thailand will not hold elections as demanded by anti-government protesters until passions from more than two-months of political violence are calmed, a key minister said Friday.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva earlier promised polling on Nov. 14 as part of a reconciliation plan to end often-violent protests that had crippled the capital’s central business district for weeks.
But when the proposal was rejected by the so-called Red Shirts, Abhisit said the deal was off and followed that with a military operation this week that cleared the streets but sparked rioting and arson attacks.
“We need to make sure that emotions have cooled to the extent that candidates from all parties can feel safe in campaigning anywhere in the country. Frankly we would not feel safe doing that today,” Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij told reporters after a speech in Tokyo.
While the protest has largely ebbed in Bangkok, fears persist that the quiet restored to Thailand’s capital after the bloody crackdown may just be a respite from violence and political polarization that could continue for years.
Scattered arson and looting was reported by local media late Thursday and early Friday as rioters set fire to a bank and broke into a convenience store to steal food and cash.
Korn said that in principle the government could agree to early elections as long as there was confidence that they would be free and fair and some measure of calm had been restored.
“And if we can do that in November, we will do it in November. If it takes a little bit longer than that, we’ll give it the necessary time that is required,” he said.
The leaders of the Red Shirt movement, taken into custody, have already threatened to return to fight for their cause.
“I think this is a new beginning for the Red Shirts,” said Kevin Hewison, a Thailand expert at the University of North Carolina. “It will be a darker and grimmer time of struggle and less-focused activities. By no stretch of the imagination is the movement finished.”
The government declared Thursday it had mostly quelled 10 weeks of violent protests in the capital as buildings smoldered, troops rooted out die-hard holdouts and some residents cautiously attempted a return to normal life a day after a military operation cleared the main commercial district of thousands of demonstrators, leaving 15 dead and 119 injured.
Troops roamed the city on foot and in Humvees and exchanged gunfire with scattered Red Shirt holdouts, who fought near the city’s Victory Monument and torched a bank, bringing to 40 the number of buildings set aflame after the military push sent the protesters retreating from their demonstration site.
The protesters had fortified themselves behind tire-and-bamboo-spike barricades and were demanding the ouster of Abhisit’s government and new elections. The protesters, many of them poor farmers or members of the urban underclass, say Abhisit came to power illegitimately and is oblivious to their plight.
Thailand’s finance ministry estimated the economic damage to the country at 50 billion baht ($1.5 billion). Continued security concerns led officials to extend a nighttime curfew in Bangkok and 23 other provinces for three more days.
Even so, army spokesman Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd said the government was in charge.
“Overall, we have the situation under control,” he said.
Residents, meanwhile, moved carefully to resume their routines.
With military checkpoints closing, city workers removed debris and collected piles of garbage left in the streets. Residents in protest areas were able to leave home to shop. Electricity was restored in many areas.
But many of those who ventured into the streets were still deeply shaken by the violence.
“This really worries me — this shouldn’t happen to Thailand,” said Somjit Suksumrain, a construction company manager. “Thailand should not end up like this.”
By late Thursday, authorities had taken into custody most of the senior Red Shirt leaders.
Three surrendered Thursday after five others gave themselves up the previous day and were flown to a military camp south of Bangkok for interrogation.
“I’d like to ask all sides to calm down and talk with each other in a peaceful manner,” Veera Musikapong said after being taken into custody Thursday. “We cannot create democracy with anger.”
Analysts said Abhisit was under increased pressure to hold early elections.
“Abhisit still has to hold elections by next year, and he could be under pressure still to do it earlier, by his original November offer,” said Paul Handley, the author of a biography of Thailand’s king. “Thailand still needs to hit this reset button. … Even if Abhisit’s government is technically legal, the Reds’ widespread perception that it is illegitimate remains.”
—Agencies