BANGKOK, Oct. 7-- Thousands of demonstrators massed outside the Thai parliament building to derail its opening session Tuesday morning, and protesters said four people were severely injured when police fired tear gas canisters in an attempt to disperse the crowd.
At least two people lost parts of their legs, and two lost parts of their arms when they were hit by tear gas canisters or stun grenades, the protesters said. Another 47 people suffered lesser injuries. Police said two of their officers were injured when a protester fired a handgun at police lines.
The day-long confrontation undid weeks of quiet attempts at rapprochement by Somchai's government and gave new life to fears that the differences that have paralyzed Thai politics for much of the past two years may be beyond reconciliation.
The trouble started Monday night when some 8,000 protesters gathered outside parliament, vowing to prevent the lawmakers' from convening Tuesday morning. Police moved in shortly after dawn with a volley of tear gas canisters and stun grenades, sending the crowd running.
"They fired without warning," said Somran Rodpetch, one of the leaders of the People's Alliance for Democracy, which is organizing the protests.
Despite the police action, hundreds of protesters remained outside parliament. They trapped the members of parliament who were able to get into the building and forced Somchai to use a ladder to escape over a fence into a neighboring royal palace. It was late afternoon by the time police could clear a path for other lawmakers to leave.
Violence erupted again just after nightfall, when demonstrators
attempted to break through police lines. The police, who do not carry
firearms, responded with multiple rounds of tear gas, pushing the
crowds back. It was not clear if anyone was injured. By Tuesday night,
soldiers were assisting police in trying to restore order; the military
said their troops also would not be armed.
The People's Alliance for Democracy has vowed to bring down the government that was elected last December but has been condemned by protesters as a corrupt legacy of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was removed by a military coup in 2006 after months of protests by the alliance.
Somchai, the current prime minister, is Thaksin's brother-in-law. Somchai has tried to reach out to the alliance, the most visible manifestation of a deep and widening gulf in Thai politics.
"We need to revive the economy," Somchai told parliament Tuesday. "It's time to reunite and help each other."
On one side of the divide is the government, elected to a convincing majority late last year with the support of the rural poor who, until Thaksin came along, were largely ignored by the political elite. Thaksin wooed the poor with plans for health care, education and loans for village improvement, and in the process welded together a political machine that has so far proved unstoppable.
The opposition is mostly urban and middle class. Many of Tuesday's protesters sported expensive digital cameras; their weapon of choice seemed to be golf clubs.
One of the most damaging accusations against Thaksin was that he wanted to abolish Thailand's revered monarchy, one of the country's few unquestioned institutions. Alliance supporters wear yellow shirts as a mark of their respect for King Bhumibol Adulyadej; a Bangkok hospital said that Bhumibol's wife, Queen Sirikit, has donated 100,000 baht to help those injured in the demonstrations.
They accuse Thaksin and his successors of fostering corruption and vote buying, and wanting to overthrow the king. have shown little appetite for compromise or negotiation.
"I'll be here until the Somchai government quits," said Suwan Kansanoh, a retired government officer who had joined the demonstration with his wife and a neighbor.
Somchai's efforts at reconciliation received an additional blow on Tuesday with the resignation of one of his deputies, Chavalit Yongchaiyuth, who had been given the task of negotiating with the alliance.
While the alliance shook Thailand's political establishment to its foundations six weeks ago when it stormed and occupied the prime minister's offices, it has since lost political momentum. Somchai moved his operations to a converted terminal building at Bangkok's old international airport, sidestepping further confrontation. And the alliance's proposals for political reform have garnered little public support; critics have called them both reactionary and ineffective.
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