|
BANGKOK, Sept 3 (Reuters) A strike by public sector workers in Bangkok started slowly today, with few services affected in the Thai capital a day after emergency rule was imposed to quash anti-government protests.
A quarter of the city's schools were shut, but electricity and water supplies were unaffected despite a threat by unions to disrupt services in the sprawling metropolis of 10 million people.
The leaders of 43 unions representing 200,000 public sector workers launched the strikes to pile more pressure on Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, the target of a three-month old street campaign to force him from power.
Samak, who refuses to bow to protesters occupying his official compound for nine days, invoked a state of emergency yesterday after clashes between pro- and anti-government demonstrators killed one man and injured 45.
Thailand's biggest power producer, EGAT, said it was business as usual at its Bangkok headquarters and power plants across the country as most staff showed up for work.
Bangkok's state-owned bus operator said all routes were operating as normal. The city's skytrain and underground subway were also running as usual, while outer city rail lines were operating at 75 per cent, rail officials said.
The city's notorious gridlock was lighter than usual as some residents opted to stay home, fearing transport problems.
Bangkok's main Suvarnabhumi airport remained open, although flights to the southern city of Hat Yai were disrupted for a second day after protesters blocked access roads yesterday.
On the streets, the city was functioning normally, with shops and restaurants open and thousands of tourists braving the tropical heat.
A Scottish tourist sitting in an open-air cafe near the scene of the protests said: ''There is no reason for tourists to be afraid at all. It's between Thais.'' But some tour companies have reported cancellations since the protests intensified last week, hurting a tourism sector than generates 6 per cent of GDP and is a major employer.
STALEMATE With the army refusing to use force to evict the thousands of protesters at Government House, despite an emergency decree giving it the power to do so, Thailand's political crisis appeared set to drag on, analysts said.
Thai shares fell again today and are down nearly 25 percent since the street protests began in May, distracting ministers at a time when investors feel they should focus on slowing economic growth and high inflation.
''Most analysts expect further near-term volatility as the situation on the ground is still not normal and is negative to the market,'' Siam City Securities senior analyst Apisak Limthamrongkul said.
Nobody knows how the crisis will end, but some analysts believe Samak could call a snap election as a last resort, despite his recent refusal to dissolve parliament.
The legislative body began debate on a new, 53 billion dollar national budget today, which analysts speculated would replenish government coffers for a possible election.
Sondhi Limthongkul, a PAD leader, laid out his group's latest demands in an interview with the Bangkok Post newspaper.
''They must accept the four-point demand, and only if the prime minister is either Somchai Wongsawat or Surapong Suebwonglee,'' he told the newspaper, referring to Samak's education minister and finance minister respectively.
A PAD spokesman later clarified that Sondhi would accept anyone as an interim prime minister as long as Samak went.
The PAD leader said the government must promise not to amend the constitution; must suspend all large infrastructure projects; commit to political reform; and accept a Thai court ruling in a dispute with Cambodia over an ancient temple.
The PAD accuses Samak of being a proxy of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, now living in exile in London after skipping bail on graft charges last month.
The PAD also paints itself as a guardian of King Bhumibol Adulyadej against a supposed Thaksin bid to turn Thailand into a republic, a charge denied by both Thaksin and the government.
|
