Thai PM dissolves Parliament, calls elections
(AFP /Banaras Khan)Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has dissolved parliament and called an election, after sustained protests in the capital, Bangkok.
The move followed the resignation of all opposition MPs from parliament on Sunday, and came as protesters marched again on Government House.
"At this stage, when there are many people opposed to the government from many groups, the best way is to give back the power to the Thai people and hold an election.
So the Thai people will decide," Yingluck said in a televised address as thousands of protesters resumed demonstrations across Bangkok.
The leader of the protest movement that has been battling to oust Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said he would not end his demonstrations despite her dissolving of parliament on Monday and a promise of an early general election.
Opposition Democratic Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva, a former prime minister, questioned the offer and said Sunday that his party\’s lawmakers would resign from parliament en masse effective immediately.
Opposition leaders have said they would not rest until Yingluck quit and turn over control to an unelected council.
At least four people have been killed and many wounded in recent protests. The demonstrations were triggered several weeks ago by an amnesty bill that would have allowed former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to return home and avoid a two-year jail term for corruption.
The Senate rejected the bill, but protests have continued.
Thaksin, Prime Minister Yingluck\’s billionaire brother, was ousted in a 2006 military coup.
The conflict pits Bangkok\’s urban middle class and royalist elite against the mostly poor, rural supporters of Yingluck and Thaksin.
Source: Agencies
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