Thousands of protesters on Wednesday marched on ministries in Bangkok in an effort to paralyse the government, in what one minister labelled an attempted “people’s coup”.
Protest leader Suthep Thaungsuban, who has occupied the Finance Ministry with followers since Monday, led a march of about 5,000 demonstrators on a cluster of ministries in northern Bangkok.
The demonstrators were hoping to close down the ministries of Labour, Industry, Science and Technology, Commerce and Public Health.
On Tuesday, protesters surrounded the ministries of Tourism, Agriculture and Transport.
They also planned to continue occupying the Finance Ministry, including the Budget Bureau that disperses civil servants’ salaries.
Suthep, a former senior member of the opposition Democrat Party who resigned from parliament to lead the protests, has vowed to rid the government of the influence of fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Current Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is Thaksin’s younger sister, and he is considered the de facto leader of the ruling party.
“Today, I ask the people to show up in great numbers again at the targeted spots,” Suthep posted on Facebook. “We will put an end to the Thaksin Regime.” He said he will not stop the protest even if Yingluck resigned and dissolved parliament, leading some observers to accuse Suthep of paving the way for an “unconstitutional” means of seizing power.
“If there is no military coup there will have to be a people’s coup,” said Education Minister Chaturon Chaisaeng. “If the people seize all the ministries the government is paralysed, maybe they will try to set up some sort of an Assembly of the People.” There have been 18 military coups in Thailand since the overthrow of the absolute monarchy in 1932, the latest in 2006 to oust Thaksin.
Given the international condemnation the last coup triggered, it was unlikely that the army would intervene unless there is street violence, political observers said.
The protesters are a coalition of anti-Thaksin groups. Their demonstration gained momentum of Sunday when more than 100,000 people joined a rally in Bangkok to seek the government’s collapse.