Protesters Occupy Thai Army Headquarters

Updated Nov. 29, 2013 7:45 a.m. ET

With protests growing in Thailand, a key opposition legislator is calling for the end of “Shinawatra rule” in Thailand. The WSJ’s Deborah Kan speaks to Korn Chatikavanij on the opposition’s demands.

BANGKOK—Tensions escalated in the Thai capital Friday after more than 1,000 protesters forced their way into the army’s headquarters in central Bangkok, amplifying concerns about how long Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will be able to effectively govern this badly divided nation.
For five days now, protesters have been Ms. Yingluck and her self-exiled older brother Thaksin Shinawatra remove themselves from Thailand’s political system. Protesters fanned out across Bangkok, besieging government ministries and bringing work in some government departments to a virtual halt.
Among the main targets were the Ministry of Finance and a government complex in the northern suburbs of the city that houses the Department of Special Investigation, among other state agencies. Ms. Yingluck’s heavily-defended main base at Government House is so far unaffected.

Antigovernment protesters push through the gates of the Thai army headquarters in Bangkok on Friday. The activists withdrew after two hours.Getty Getty Images

The invasion of the army headquarters among the gilded temples and broad boulevards of Bangkok’s historic old quarter just after noon was especially significant.
Though military leaders previously relocated to a military base in the city’s suburbs, the army headquarters is one of the key symbols of political power in Thailand. Protesters at the site were heard demanding that the army declare which side it is on, with many posing for photographs within the grounds before leaving around two hours later.
The continuing protests, which rally leaders say they intend to intensify over the coming days, are in large part designed to wear down the government’s ability to function. When demonstrators surrounded the finance ministry on Monday, the main protest leader, former lawmaker Suthep Thaugsuban, said he hoped that shutting down the flow money could suffocate the rest of the government quickly bring the Yingluck administration to its knees.
Political analysts say the demonstrators are also attempting to create enough chaos to prompt the army to stage another coup, much as they did in 2006 to unseat Ms. Yingluck’s brother, Mr. Thaksin.

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“So far, the army has been closer to the government and has not shown any tendency to be against it,” said Panitan Wattanayakorn, a professor at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University and a spokesman in a previous government led by Mr. Thaksin’s critics. “But the army’s indifference is viewed by many protesters as a show of support for the government. They are now trying to push, provoke and pressure the army to tell them where it stands.”
In a statement, army commander-in-chief Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha urged rival groups to find peaceful solutions to their problems. “No one should hurt anyone else because at the end, no matter who wins, it is Thailand that will lose,” he said.
In a statement, army commander-in-chief Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha urged rival groups to find peaceful solutions to their problems. “No one should hurt anyone else because at the end, no matter who wins, it is Thailand that will lose,” he said.
Thailand’s economy and basic government systems thus far appear to bearing up under the strain, at least for the time being. “We are not seeing any major stresses so far, although the fact that tensions continue to rise rather than fall worries us,” said Supavud Saicheua, an economist and managing director at Phatra Securities in Bangkok.
The biggest problem, though, is that there appears to be no solution in sight. The protesters have rejected talks with the government and have rejected snap elections to clear the air, leaving it difficult to see how Thailand can find a way forward.

In many ways, the dispute is about the identity of the country as it enters the last years of the reign of its 85-year-old monarch, King Bhumibol Adjulyadej. During his decades on the throne, Thailand has evolved from a backward, impoverished nation to becoming a member of the club of so-called Asian tiger economies and globally-influential manufacturer of everything from computer hard drive to automobiles.
The arrival of telecommunications billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra as prime minister in 2001 sharply accelerated the rate of change. His brash populism turned Thailand’s hierarchical political culture upside down, and while this thrilled many poorer Thais, it left many in the country’s establishment uneasy with Mr. Thaksin’s growing power. The army disposed him in a bloodless coup in 2006 and Mr. Thaksin fled the country to avoid imprisonment on corruption charge that he says was politically-motivated.
When his sister, Ms. Yingluck, pressed ahead with plans for a sweeping amnesty law that could bring her brother back home a free man, many Thais were incensed. A series of protests erupted across Bangkok, and while Ms. Yingluck quickly backed off the amnesty plan, the demonstrations intensified and changed direction to target her entire two-and-half-year old government.
Business leaders and policy makers are now worrying about the longer-term impact of the protests. Pointing to the risks, the Bank of Thailand Wednesday surprised investors with a 25 basis point cut in its main policy rate to 2.25%.

About 1,200 protesters briefly forced their way into the Thai army’s headquarters in a two-hour protest, one of the most dramatic escalations yet in their campaign to unseat Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. Photo: AP.

“Their attitude changed markedly. Before the rate cut they were insisting that the economy is on the way to recovery,” Phatra Securities’ Mr. Supavud said. “Now they seem to see downside risks everywhere in the domestic economy—and they specifically mentioned politics.”
Many of Bangkok’s civil servants, meanwhile, are opting to work from home or from other backup facilities to keep the government moving. Some are still trying to work in some of the besieged buildings. Several staff at the Office of the Auditor General have turned up for their work at the offices of the finance ministry, but on Thursday had to abandon their building after demonstrators accused them of trying to remove files that could incriminate government leaders.
One official said she was worried about a backlog of paperwork building up while the protesters besieged the building. Customs officials also are having a harder time processing exports. One of the department’s servers is housed at the finance ministry, where the power was cut to some buildings. Officials now have to fill out some forms by hand as a result, increasing processing times for exporters.
Other civil servants tried to blend in with demonstrators in the hope that they would be to keep an eye on equipment and offices.
Boonmee Boonrat, who works in the Treasury Department, sports a whistle slung through a red-white-and-blue ribbon like many of the demonstrators. “My job is to take care of the building and make sure that no one damages the property,” Mr. Boonmee said. “It’s wise to try to blend in. People have different political opinions and you never know how they will react if they find out you don’t agree with them.”
—Wilawan Watcharasakwet and Nopparat Chaichalearmmongkol contributed to this article.
Write to James Hookway at james.hookway@wsj.com and Warangkana Chomchuen at warangkana.chomchuen@wsj.com

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