State enterprises mull another protest

Riangsak Kaengkhan, the president of the SRT's labour union, said all union members would meet on Wednesday to formulate the protest strategies. He said that the statement would be issued after that, but the strategies are unlikely to include a work stoppage as the SRT wants to facilitate the transportation of protesters from provinces to Bangkok. 

 Boonma Pongma, vice president of Bangkok Mass Transit Authority, said that the agency is evaluating the situation. He said initially, BMTA has parked 3-4 buses in front of the entrances of Parliament Building and some union members joined the protest since Monday evening and five have been injured.

 Somboon Sapsan, president of the CAT Telecom Plc's union, said over 100 staff has joined the protest. He said the state agency is formulating the counter measures and agree to follow the federation of state enterprises' agreement.

Somchai Jitsuchon, director of Thailand Research Development Institute (TDRI), said to a TV programme on Tuesday morning that the renewed violence would batter the Kingdom's confidence as violence is the last thing Thailand needs.

 Personally, he believed that this is not the end of the problem, but the beginning of some more incidents as many parties are flexing their muscles to worsen the situation.

 He noted that the government should be allowed some time to prove itself, while the formation of the constitutional drafting committee should be used to normalise the political conflicts.