BANGKOK - Protesters seeking to topple Thailand's government yesterday threatened more demonstrations in the capital, a day after two people died and more than 400 were injured in the worst street violence in 16 years.
Prime minister Somchai Wongsawat briefed southeast Asian ambassadors on the deepening political crisis, telling them the government was "confident that it can take care of the situation", a diplomat at the meeting said.
The long-running campaign and recent violence have hurt investor confidence and distracted policymakers when they should be focused on slowing economic growth and the fallout from the global credit crisis, analysts say.
Leaders of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) vowed to press on with the four-month street campaign. "We can't stand this government with blood on its hands. More people will hit the streets to oust this government," said Sirichai Maingam.
The streets around parliament were quiet after the military deployed unarmed troops overnight to help police restore order.
Police identified the man killed by a car bomb near parliament on Tuesday as Methee Chatmontri, a former police colonel and relative of a PAD leader in northeast Thailand. Deputy Bangkok police chief Amnuay Nimmano told reporters they were investigating the source of the explosives and whether Methee knew the owner of the SUV destroyed by the blast.
A female protester also died in the clashes with police who fired volleys of teargas and stun grenades at the crowds. Demonstrators fought back with stones, clubs and pistol shots.
During a visit with injured police in hospital, the prime minister defended their use of tear-gas against the protesters. "Police were stabbed with steel bars, flag poles and even shot. The rally wasn't as peaceful as the protesters claimed," he told reporters.
As he left, Mr Somchai was accosted by a female PAD supporter who shouted: "Somchai, the tyrant! Somchai, the killer!" PAD radio and television broadcasts urged supporters in the provinces to join the street campaign, which began in late May.
The PAD is an extra-parliamentary coalition of businessmen, academics and activists who see Mr Somchai as a puppet of Thaksin Shinawatra, his brother-in-law, who was deposed in a coup in 2006 and has fled to exile in London to escape graft charges.
"The marked escalation in violence now further threatens the business climate, tourist receipts, capital flows, the stock market and the baht," JPMorgan Chase said in a research note.
Tuesday's violence appalled many Thais, including one Thai Airways pilot who refused to let a government member of parliament board his aircraft for a domestic flight, radio reported.
Doctors at Bangkok's main state hospitals said they would not treat police or politicians involved in Tuesday's clashes. They planned to march on national police headquarters today.
"No treatment for police and wicked politicians in this room," said a sign posted outside an exam room at Chulalongkorn hospital, although hospital officials said they did not endorse the boycott.
Thailand's revered Queen Sirikit donated another 200,000 baht to help treat the injured, a gesture the PAD leaders have embraced as an expression of support for their cause. The chief government spokesman said it was saddened by the deaths and injured, saying it was time society healed its divisions. - (Reuters)