Thai government vows action as red shirts block railway

Anti-government protesters forced Bangkok's elevated railway system to shut yesterday, and the government warned of tougher operations to quell growing unrest in a seven-week crisis that has killed 26 people.

Thailand's revered but ailing 82-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej, regarded as the nation's sole unifying figure, spoke publicly late on Monday for the first time since the turmoil erupted in his kingdom.

He did not directly address the political stalemate, telling newly sworn-in judges to perform their duty honestly and set an example to the public. He has stepped into previous political tussles, including one that ended a bloody conflict in 1992.

Hopes for an end to the standoff were dashed at the weekend when Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva rejected a proposal by the protesters for an election in three months, saying an immediate poll could turn violent and refusing to negotiate under threat.

Anti-government protesters said they planned to go on the offensive today with daily mobile rallies across Bangkok, a provocative move in defiance of a state of emergency that could lead to clashes with troops or with rival protest groups.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thuangsuban vowed action to prevent that. "It is clear the protesters are not gathering peacefully. We will not be lenient with these people anymore."

The red-shirted supporters of ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra have fortified their encampment in Bangkok's commercial heart that has forced five major shopping plazas to close, saying they fear an imminent crackdown.

But the army, which led a failed operation against a red shirt rally site on April 10 that killed 25 people and wounded 800, does not want to be dragged into battle with civilians.

"The army would rather see the government exhaust political means first," a military source told Reuters on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the press.

"We need to prevent trouble from spreading and containing the unrest, but actually ending it altogether would be very difficult without a political solution as well," he said.

Adding to the volatile mix, groups opposed to the red shirts and the loss to business and livelihoods the protests have caused in Bangkok, have held rallies in the capital and want to see the red shirt encampment broken up.

The mostly rural and urban poor red shirts inflicted traffic chaos in Bangkok yesterday by stacking tyres on the platform of a station by their protest site, apparently worried troops would use the elevated rail system to attack them from above.

Operating company BTS closed the network for nearly four hours during morning rush hour. The trains carry around 450,000 passengers a day in the city of roughly 15 million people.