Thai Protesters Cut Power At Government House

Thailand protests at GH

Thai protesters announced they cut off electricity to the prime minister’s office compound and demanded that police abandon the premises, piling fresh pressure on the government amid a political crisis that has dragged on for weeks.

Hoping to douse tensions, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra dissolved the lower house of Parliament on Monday and called for early elections. Her foes, however, insist she step aside to make way for an interim appointed government, an action that cannot be taken under the country’s constitution.

The protesters, seeking to force the replacement of caretaker PM Yingluck Shinawatra’s government before a February 2 election, have threatened to force their way in if police don’t leave, rebuffing Police attempts to negotiate.

A photographer inside one of the buildings said electricity had been shut off to the press office. Police confirmed that power had been cut to some buildings in the compound, collectively called Government House.

Protesters also cut barbed wire placed on top of the steel fence surrounding the compound while police stationed nearby looked on.

Ms Yingluck was not in her offices at the time and shortly afterward gave a televised address from an unidentified location in which she announced a December 15 meeting of all sections of society to try to find a solution to the crisis.

Yingluck Shinawatra

The protest leadership has demanded a meeting with senior military and police officials, a call which has so far been rejected, at least publicly. Protest leaders did meet at a hotel with business leaders in what was billed as an effort to explain their goals.

In a previous confrontation, police withdrew from the prime minister’s compound to allow the demonstrators in without a fight. That withdrawal came after two days of increasingly violent standoffs. Since the latest unrest began last month that left five people dead and nearly 300 injured.

Protesters claim that Thai politics is hopelessly corrupt under the influence of Ms Yingluck’s billionaire brother Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup after being accused of corruption, abuse of power and disrespect for the country’s constitutional monarch.

To carry out reforms, they want to institute a less democratic system where the concept of one-man, one vote would no longer apply because they believe the masses are not well enough educated to choose responsible leaders. They also say the poor sell their votes.