An opposition leader escalated his campaign to topple Thailand’s government, and ordered his followers to storm Bangkok’s police headquarters after they fought all day with riot police protecting heavily barricaded buildings.
On Monday, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said she is willing to do anything it takes to end the violent protests but made it clear she would not accept the opposition’s demand to hand power to an unelected council during the elections.
“Right now we don’t see any way to resolve the problem under the constitution,” she said in the 12-minute televised news conference.
Yingluck’s comments highlighted the unusual political deadlock Thailand finds itself in with no clear solution in sight.
The standoff intensified as protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban gave a defiant speech late on Monday to thousands of cheering supporters at a government complex they seized last week when the anti-government demonstrations started.
The protests have renewed fears of prolonged instability in Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy and come just ahead of the peak holiday tourist season, AlJazeera informs.
