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| Southeast Asia |
| Thai ministers airlifted |
| 2010-04-08 |
| [Straits Times] MILITARY helicopters airlifted government ministers from Thailand's parliament on Wednesday after angry protesters stormed the building in a dramatic escalation of their bid to topple the government. Two Blackhawk helicopters landed under the guard of armed soldiers to rescue the deputy prime minister and other senior government figures after other lawmakers fled. Red-shirted protesters, many of whom support fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, had forced their way into Thailand's parliamentary compound, smashing through the gates with a truck. 'Our mission is completed,' Mr Korkaew Pikulthong, one of the Red Shirt leaders, told the crowd after the politicians fled and the parliament session was cancelled. When he learnt that the Reds were approaching, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva left a cabinet meeting there for a military barracks in the city's northern outskirts, where he has been based for most of the weeks-long protest. The cabinet extended a tough security law on Wednesday as protesters refused to leave Bangkok's main commercial district, where they have been since Saturday. Government spokesman Supachai Jaisamut said the authorities were ready to use emergency law if needed. 'If the situation deteriorates, it's necessary for the government to invoke emergency rule,' he said. Mr Abhisit cancelled a planned trip to the United States for a nuclear security summit next week due to the unrest. The Reds have been emboldened after the police and army backed down on Tuesday following a tense standoff in the capital's tourist heartland. The authorities have threatened the protesters with a year in jail but so far no arrests have been made. Security forces have refrained from using force to disperse the tens of thousands of protesters, who have been roaming the capital, disrupting traffic and causing major shopping centres to shut. The government said it would act if needed to end the protests, but reiterated that it wanted a peaceful resolution to the standoff. |
| Posted by:Fred |