Govt's time is running out, say protesters
Anti-government protesters say the Yingluck Shinawatra administration's days are numbered - although they differ on how it will be ousted.
Some protesters interviewed at the protest site at the Phan Fa Lilat Bridge on Tuesday preferred the House to be dissolved, while others wanted a royally appointed government and the banning of all politicians from politics for a few years.
“There should be no more elections from now on,” declared 63-year-old Somboon Salobon from Suphan Buri province. “We should do away with [elections] for a while in order to launch reform.”
The call reflects the views of anti-government leaders such as Chamlong Srimuang and Sondhi Limthongkul, both former co-leaders of the yellow-shirt People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), who most recently said that politicians should be kept away from running the country for a few years.
Somboon, a retired staff member of a construction firm, said he didn’t see how the government could survive, given the surge of protesters. “The bigwigs should prepare to flee. It’s up to them how they will prepare themselves, however.”
Somboon has been camping out with the Dhamma Army, led by the Santi Asoke sect of Buddhists, since they were at Lumpini Park. He said the group was becoming restless, claiming the Democrat Party-led demonstration was not willing to act decisively. Asked what he meant by acting decisively, he said some protesters wanted to seize the Government House.
Montorn Kongpayak, a shop owner from Surat Thani province, came to Bangkok a few days ago, camping on site. He told The Nation he agreed with Somboon, saying some protesters wanted closure soon.
Toe Suphongpat, a 62-year-old goldsmith from the nearby Charoen Krung area of Bangkok, was at the protest site Tuesday afternoon. He also predicted that PM Yingluck would eventually have to flee the Kingdom like her older brother, Thaksin. Toe said he would bring all his family and staff to join the strike and protest on Wednesday, though he’s unsure how to achieve the ouster of Yingluck besides the dissolution of the House, as he believes a military coup is unlikely to occur.
All the interviewees said it didn’t matter that the Senate had now rejected the blanket amnesty bill, as they didn’t trust the government, which they all viewed as corrupt.
