Mes: agosto 2019

The prime minister, who has broken off negotiations with the protesters occupying parts of central Bangkok, said he hoped to resolve the crisis soon without resorting to force, but appealed for patience. “We recognize that as every day passes by, the people of Thailand suffer, the country suffers, but we want to make sure that there is rule of law,” Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, according to quotes posted on the news channel’s website. “We will try to enforce the law with minimum losses and we will try to find a political resolution, but it takes time, patience and cooperation.” The four-hour closure of Bangkok’s Skytrain caused commuter chaos and raised concerns in the tense capital, where hundreds of soldiers armed with automatic weapons were deployed to guard stations and other major city boulevards. At least 26 people have been killed and nearly 1,000 wounded since protesters known as the Red Shirts – who view the government as illegitimate – began occupying parts of Bangkok in mid-March, closing down five-star hotels and shopping malls and devastating the country’s vital tourism industry. The government has not given a clear statement of how it plans to end the standoff after rejecting a Red Shirt compromise proposal to disband parliament within 30 days instead of immediately. In his interview with CNN, recorded Monday, Abhisit said he could not disband...