An anti-government protester throws tear gas back to riot police near the Government House in Bangkok Monday, Dec. 2, 2013. Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban vowed Monday to escalate his campaign to topple Thailand鈥檚 government, and ordered his followers to storm Bangkok鈥檚 police headquarters after they fought all day with riot police protecting heavily barricaded key buildings. AP
BANGKOK鈥擜 firebrand opposition leader vowed Monday to escalate his campaign to topple Thailand鈥檚 government, and ordered his followers to storm Bangkok鈥檚 police headquarters after they fought all day with riot police protecting heavily barricaded key buildings.
Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban gave a defiant speech late Monday to thousands of cheering supporters at a government complex they seized last week when the anti-government demonstrations started.
Also on Monday, a Thai court issued an arrest warrant for Suthep Tn for 鈥渋nsurrection鈥� over his attempt to topple the government, police said.
The warrant was issued 鈥渇or the charge of insurrection which shall be punished with death or life imprisonment,鈥� said Chayut Thanataweerat, deputy metropolitan commander, in a televised statement.
While the charge is serious the death penalty is rarely carried out in Thailand.
The protests have renewed fears of prolonged instability in Southeast Asia鈥檚 second-biggest economy and comes just ahead of the peak holiday tourist season.
Even if Yingluck dissolves parliament and calls fresh elections, Suthep said, he will 鈥渃ontinue the fight 鈥� because they can always come back to suck the blood of people, steal from people, disrespect the constitution and make us their slaves.鈥�
鈥淚f people are happy with elections and go home, I will remain here alone,鈥� he said.
Earlier Monday, protesters commandeered garbage trucks and bulldozers, and tried to ram concrete barriers at the Government House and other key offices. Police repelled them by firing tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets, as protesters shot back explosives from homemade rocket launchers.
At least three people were killed and more than 200 injured in the past three days of violence, which capped a week of massive street rallies that drew crowds of more than 100,000 at their peak. A Bangkok hospital confirmed that two of the people they treated Monday had suffered gunshot wounds, but it is not clear who shot them. The police say they have not used live rounds.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was 鈥渃oncerned鈥� about the situation in Thailand and urges all sides to exercise 鈥渦tmost restraint,鈥� his spokesman, Martin Nesirky, said.
The protesters, who are mostly middle-class Bangkok supporters of the opposition Democrat Party, accuse Yingluck of being a proxy for her brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. He was deposed in a 2006 military coup but remains central to Thailand鈥檚 political crisis, and is a focal point for the protester鈥檚 hatred.
The protesters say their goal is to uproot the political machine of Thaksin, who is accused of widespread corruption and abuse of power.
鈥淐ome and join the people to get rid of the Thaksin regime and we can work together to change Thailand into a pure and democratic country,鈥� said Suthep who has projected his fight as a non-violent campaign for democracy.
Still, he called on his supporters to attack and take over the Bangkok Metropolitan Police headquarters on Tuesday, saying the police were a lackey of Thaksin and Yingluck.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to gather all our forces and we鈥檙e going to take over the Metropolitan Police Bureau and make it the people鈥檚,鈥� he said.
Key institutions
Monday鈥檚 violence took place around key institutions鈥攖he Government House, the Parliament and Metropolitan Police Bureau in the historic quarter of the capital. The area has some of Bangkok鈥檚 main tourist attractions such as the Grand Palace, Wat Pho temple, the Bangkok zoo, and the backpacker area of Khao San Road. Most of Bangkok, a city of 10 million, has been unaffected.
Analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak told The Associated Press that while Suthep鈥檚 demands may appear 鈥渂old and blatant,鈥� they go down well with the people 鈥� who think that the electoral system can never be trusted and therefore they have to set up their own government and rewrite the rules.鈥�
The protesters鈥� numbers have dwindled from a peak of 100,000-plus a week ago but hardcore groups have remained at the frontline, fighting running battles with the police.
In her news conference, Yingluck stuck a conciliatory tone, repeatedly pleading for negotiations, and implied she was willing to hold fresh elections if that helped.
鈥淚 am not against either resignation or dissolution of parliament if this solution will stop the protests,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he government is not trying to cling to power.鈥�
鈥淚f there鈥檚 anything I can do to bring peace back to the Thai people I am happy to do it,鈥� Yingluck said. 鈥淭he government is more than willing to have talks, but I myself cannot see a way out of this problem that is within the law and in the constitution.鈥�
She and Suthep met briefly on Sunday in the presence of top military leaders, even though he had an arrest warrant against him. A second arrest warrant was issued Monday on charges of insurrection. His sustained campaign has raised suggestions that he may have the backing of the military, which has long had a powerful influence over Thai politics. The army has often stepped in during times of crisis, carrying out 18 successful or attempted coups since the 1930s.
鈥楪reat hesitation鈥�
But this time, if the army does anything, 鈥渋t will be with great hesitation鈥� because it would have no support internationally and would find it tough to install a new civilian government acceptable to all, said Thitinan, director of Chulalongkorn鈥檚 Institute of Security and International Studies.
鈥淪o this is something the army wants to avoid. It has stayed on the sidelines for now. And if it does (act), I think we can look at more turmoil down the road, I am afraid,鈥� he said.
Political instability has plagued Thailand since the military ousted Thaksin, who remains hugely popular among rural voters, in 2006. Two years later, anti-Thaksin protesters occupied Bangkok鈥檚 two airports for a week after taking over the prime minister鈥檚 office for three months, and in 2010 pro-Thaksin protesters occupied downtown Bangkok for weeks in a standoff that ended with parts of the city in flames and more than 90 dead.
鈥淚 believe that no one wants to see a repeat of history, where we saw the people suffer and lose their lives,鈥� Yingluck said.
Suthep has called for the establishment of a 鈥減eople鈥檚 council鈥� to replace the current democratic system under which Yingluck took power.
In three decades in Thai politics, the 64-year-old has risen from village headman to lawmaker and then deputy prime minister from 2008-2011.
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