Thailand’s prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has declared a state of emergency to quell political unrest and threatened to take tough action against protesters who are gathering in greater numbers in Bangkok.
Troops fired into the air when anti-government protesters stormed the interior ministry. The crowds mobbed the prime minister's car and beat it with clubs as he drove away from the ministry.
Supporters of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra triggered the emergency when they stormed the venue of an Asian summit in the southern resort of Pattaya, forcing the government to cancel the meetings.
Some leaders had to flee by helicopter.
After declaring victory there, an estimated 40,000 ‘red shirt’ Thaksin supporters gathered at Government House in central Bangkok.
In his regular phone-in to the demonstration, Thaksin said now was the ‘golden time’ for the protesters to rise up against the government after soldiers deployed on Bangkok streets. Thaksin is in voluntary exile somewhere abroad.
He repeated his call for a ‘people's revolution’ and said he was ready to move back to Thailand to lead a people's uprising if there was a coup.
The cancelled summit and now the heightened tensions in the capital have undermined confidence in the government and dealt another blow to the economy, still reeling from last year's political chaos and the global financial crisis.
Mr Abhisit has appeared on television to warn Thaksin's supporters they face tough measures under the state of emergency.
Some protesters had disabled the tracks of two armoured cars near police headquarters. Others danced on top of the vehicles.
Up to 300 police with riot shields were deployed about 200 metres from the demonstration at Government House - the focus of the protests since late March.
The demonstration in Bangkok had earlier appeared to be winding down as people left the capital ahead of the three-day Thai New Year holiday from tomorrow, but it ramped up again after the emergency was declared.
Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs has urged Irish people intending to travel to Thailand to exercise extreme caution in Bangkok and other areas of political unrest in the region.
Tourists planning on travelling should check www.foreignaffairs.gov.ie for further information.
