Bangkokians join street protest to rule on Thai-Cambodian border row

Thousands of Thai people gathered on a major Bangkok street on Monday to demonstrate against a controversial legislation earlier pushed by the government and a ruling of the International Court of Justice due in late afternoon on a chronic Thai-Cambodian border dispute surrounding a historic Preah Vihear temple. Under guidance of former deputy premier Suthep Thaugsuban and the rank and file of the Democrat Party, the street demonstrators, many being middle-class Bangkokians, came from varied parts of the Thai capital, mostly in busy spots such as Silom Road, Sukhumvit Road and Paholyothin areas, to join the protest at Democracy Monument and adjacent stretches of Rajdamnern Avenue. Many joined processions from busy spots in the heart of the capital to Rajdamnern Avenue, which is less than half a kilometer from the Government House. Suthep and his party colleagues have given the government headed by Lady Premier Yingluck Shinawatra a deadline at 6 p.m. on Monday to dump the "blanket amnesty" bill and told the protesters to reject any ruling of the world court, which, they said, might come off in favor of the Cambodians. The government legislation was earlier designed to grant amnesty to certain people, including Suthep himself and former premiers, namely Abhist Vejjajiva, who is currently leader of the Democrat Party, and Thaksin Shinawatra, brother of Yingluck. Abhisit and Suthep have been charged by the Office of Attorney General of involvement in 2010's army crackdowns which saw nearly 100 people killed and some 2,000 others injured in Rajprasong and Rajdamnern areas. Thaksin was sentenced in absentia by the Supreme Court to a two- year jail term on corruption charges involving a Bangkok land grab scandal and had some 1.5 billion U.S. dollars in assets confiscated. Nevertheless, the ruling Pheu Thai (For Thais) Party and other coalition partners recently issued a joint declaration to dump the "blanket amnesty" bill if the Senate disapproved it in the face of massive street protests against it. The Upper House's lawmakers would very likely hold a marathon debate on the bill and would not vote against it until late Monday night, according to Senate whips. Meanwhile, Yingluck has remained inside the Government House where she and members of her cabinet were monitoring the ICJ's ruling from the Hague on the Thai-Cambodian border controversy. She planned to deliver a speech shortly after the world court's judgment is read, said Government Spokesman Teerat Rattanasevi. The lady premier announced that the Thai government will certainly respect the ICJ ruling and asked the Thai people to do the same while, she confirmed, the close and cordial relationships between Thailand and the neighboring Cambodia will remain unchanged. The Cambodians had called on the ICJ to judge the sovereignty of a 4.6-square-kilometer neighborhood surrounding the World Heritage temple, which the world court had ruled as territory of Cambodia half a century ago. An estimated 5,000 policemen, armed with batons and shields, stood guard inside the Government House and nearby spots as hundreds of protesters, led by the so-called Network of Students and People for Thailand Reform and 77-Provincial Province Alliance, continued to gather in a sustained stand-off with policemen at Makkawan Bridge, about 200 meters from the Government House. The police might possibly use tear gas to disperse any protesters if they happened to cross the barriers, set up by the police at the bridge, in attempt to move over to the Government House, lay siege around it or get inside it, said deputy Metropolitan Police chief Pol Maj Gen Adul Narongsak, citing the Security Act which remains in force since last month. No violence or untoward incident to the politician-led protest has been reported so far, according to the police.