The leader of Thailand's anti-government movement announced late Friday the withdrawal of protesters from most Bangkok sites in an apparent sign that its "Shutdown Bangkok" operation to force the resignation of the Thai prime minister was fractionalizing and had failed.
"We will stop closing Bangkok and give every intersection back to Bangkokians from Monday," said Suthep Thaugsuban, a former deputy-leader of the opposition who has led demonstrations against the elected administration of Yingluck Shinawatra since the beginning of November.
"I apologize to business operators for disruptions of their activities and to Bangkokians for making more traffic congestion during the Bangkok Shutdown."
He added that the anti-government campaign was not over and that protesters under his leadership “will escalate the shutdown of government ministries and Shinawatra businesses.”
He said he had hoped that "the game would be over by March."
From Monday, protesters will occupy only one of their current protest site, the large Lumpini park in downtown Bangkok.
It was not a unified decision, however. Another group of anti-government demonstrators led by politicized Buddhist monk Luang Pu Buddha Issara announced Friday that it will maintain “no matter what” its own site in northern Bangkok.
The withdrawal is an apparent sign of the weakening of the protest movement. In the last ten days, only a few hundred people have attended speeches at sites where thousands had gathered just five weeks ago.
The withdrawal has also coincided with a clear sign of impatience from Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha who, for the second time Friday, refused to exclude a military coup as a solution to the crisis.
The situation in Thailand has become increasingly violent in the last two weeks, with gunfire and grenade explosions killing 3 people and injuring around 50.
Since the latest bout of Thailand's political crisis began 4 months ago, 22 people have been killed and over 700 injured.
Armed groups of so called “men in black” - vigilantes with a military background - have appeared on both sides of the conflict, with guards for the anti-government People's Democratic Reform Movement (PDRC) beating pro-government protesters.
In one instance Friday, a civil servant was attacked for going to work at an office blockaded by demonstrators.
“As the country swings wildly under the force of its many political groups fighting among themselves, an old social order that used to keep things together has been thrown into disarray,” said a Bangkok Post editorial March 1.
“We need to immediately restore social order and bring society back to a balance before all of us descend together into lawlessness and have no choice but to fend for ourselves with any means available”.
Prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra is facing a wave of opposition protests after her government pushed through an amnesty which would have lifted a conviction against her brother, Thaksin – a deeply divisive figure whose Thai Rak Thai (Thai Love Thai) party led the country from 2001 to 2006 until he was overthrown in a coup and then found guilty of abuse of power.
Confronted by massive protests, the government withdrew the bill, but the opposition has alleged massive corruption by the government and Shinawatra family.
Yingluck dissolved parliament December 9 and called February 2 elections, which were disrupted by protesters who want an unelected “people’s council” to run Thailand until the political system is reformed in a way which would limit the influence of elected governments and increase the powers of control of independent agencies appointed by magistrates.
Yingluck is also facing charges of negligence of duty filed by the opposition at the National Anti-Corruption Commission in relation to a rice subsidies-scheme – a process which could eventually lead to her impeachment.
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