Kamikaze

The government last night threatened to take strong legal action against protesters at Bangkok's Rajprasong intersection and nearby areas after they failed to heed its deadline to disperse by 9pm.

Business and other activities at the city's main commercial and tourist district yesterday came to a halt after the intersection was closed by several tens of thousands of protesters.

Their latest anti-government offensive, aimed at pressuring Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to call a snap election, has caused significant damage to retail, hotel and other tourism-related enterprises in the areas.

Satit Wongnongtaey, the PM's Office minister, said last night that Deputy Premier Suthep Thaugsuban had already signed the Peacekeeping Operations Centre's fifth announcement banning public gatherings in Rajprasong and nearby areas.

Under the Internal Security Act, unlawful gatherings are punishable with a maximum jail term of one year and/or a fine of Bt20,000.

The government's threat came after protest leaders spurned a group of senior police officers, who personally negotiated with them, to disperse peacefully.

Satit said the police would today inform protesters via loudspeakers that their actions are punishable under the ISA.

Most protesters may not know, so the government will give them some time before enforcing the law, he added.

Pol General Panupong Sinhara, one of the senior officers who negotiated with protest leaders last night, said talks for the rally dispersal were unsuccessful largely because there was a large number of protesters at the site.

Earlier in the day, police estimated that about 54,000 red-shirt protesters were present at Rajprasong intersection, where eight major department stores and large retail outlets as well as several four- and five-star hotels are situated. CentralWorld, Gaysorn Plaza, Siam Paragon, Siam Discovery, Siam Centre, Amarin Plaza, Platinum and Central Chidlom are among major operators hit hard by the protests.

Preliminary estimates show that the financial damage and business opportunities lost could run to into several billion baht if the protests are prolonged.

Besides major retail operators, thousands of small and medium-sized trading partners and suppliers were also affected.

Several tourist hotels in the areas yesterday reported that many tourists wanted to change hotels to stay away from the protests.

The Board of Trade, the Federation of Thai Industries and the Thai Bankers Association said they would hold a joint meeting tomorrow to discuss the impact of the latest protest on the economy.

Abhisit said protesters had violated the law on peaceful demonstrations after they closed the major Bangkok intersection, causing traffic snarl-ups on several major city streets.

An official source said it would be too risky for the government to take quick action to disperse the masses, even though the economic toll is rising as the major commercial and tourist district is being paralysed.

However, the government is expected to take more decisive measures to deal with protesters after the mekong River Commission Summit ends tomorrow.

Abhisit was in Hua Hin yesterday taking part in the summit, also attended by leaders of six other Indochina countries and China's deputy foreign minister.

If the current measures used by the Peacekeeping Operations Centre in Bangkok are not effective in the coming days, it is possible the government may declare a state of emergency to deal with the situation.

Declaring a state of emergency will give the government more powers to ban public gatherings and impose curfews in selected areas of Bangkok.

At this stage, the government is likely to still focus on negotiations.