Anti-Government Protests Spread to Thai Provinces


Anti-government protesters are blocking roads in Thailand's provinces, raising fears the political crisis may spread beyond the capital, Bangkok. Adding to the tensions, a counter group is pushing the government to declare state of emergency in some provinces and for the military to end the protests.

The People's Alliance for Democracy wants the Thai government to declare a state of emergency in provinces dominated by the anti-government protesters known as red shirts.

On Monday, the PAD also called for the military to declare martial law in Bangkok to end seven weeks of protests led by the United Democratic Front Against Dictatorship.

Sunday, red-shirt protesters in northern provinces began blocking convoys of security forces being sent to Bangkok.

The PAD stance raises pressure in the country. The group led campaigns to oust former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was removed in a coup in 2006, and later helped force out two pro-Thaksin governments in 2008.

The red shirts largely support Mr. Thaksin.

Sean Boonpracong, a red shirt spokesman, says provincial supporters took the initiative to prevent the police from coming to Bangkok.

"It was not a deliberate strategy. There are lot reds outside Bangkok who take their initiative. And I think that, God willing, the police have cooperated with them," he said. "There are many police units sent. But the police are in two minds. Some are even arriving late."

The red shirts demand new elections within three months. The UDD claims the government is illegitimate because it was selected by parliament, not voters.

The red shirts, mostly from rural areas and the urban poor, are loyal to former prime minister Thaksin because of his policies to reduce poverty. But Thailand's urban middle and upper classes say he was corrupt and abused his power.

An economist at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, Somphob Manarangsan, says the red shirts' civil disobedience indicates the protests are escalating.

"The conflict is going to be expanding to not only in Bangkok - even in Bangkok it is expanding - there are more demonstrations from various groups, and at the same time it is also expanding to the provincial areas; particularly in the north and northeast; that means that the

Greece Optimistic About IMF, EU Loan Package


The Greek debt crisis remained a key topic on the sidelines of world economic talks of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Washington.

The head of the IMF and Greece's finance minister expressed confidence that negotiations over a massive emergency loan package for the country would end soon.


Speaking at a news conference at IMF headquarters, Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said negotiations to secure $60-billion in loans from European governments and the International Monetary Fund are going well.


He expressed confidence that Greece could meet its deadlines for loan payments coming due in mid-May and that talks would conclude as soon as possible. "I think early May is a good ball-park figure. I do not want to give a particular date. We all know that these negotiations take weeks.

We are working very fast," he said.
Papaconstantinou said the loan package framework has strong conditions, to help assure its European and IMF lenders, as well as fiscal measures to reassure Greek citizens efforts are being made to end the country's financial crisis.

The finance minister downplayed concerns that some European Union members were not fully supportive of the loan package and quickly shot down a question about what Greece might do if the loan was not approved by May. "There is no if. The support mechanism will be ready during the month of May. And there is absolutely no one in Europe or outside it that has a different opinion to this," he said.


In an interview published in a mass-circulation German newspaper (Bild am Sonntag), German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble was quoted as saying that the final decision on the package could either be positive or negative.
Germany could be one of the biggest contributors to the Greek bail-out plan. Greece has accumulated more than $400-billion in public debt. The country is seeking emergency loans of about $40-billion from European countries and an additional sum of more than $13-billion from the IMF.

In a statement, IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said everyone trying to help Greece understands the "need for speed."
Officials in Europe and the IMF have made it clear to Greece that their support is contingent on efforts by the country to put its fiscal house in order.

Greece has agreed to begin an austerity program that cuts civil servants' pay, freezes pensions and raises taxes. That program has triggered massive street protests and labor strikes in Greece.


During the past few days of the spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington, the 186 countries that own the World Bank Group have endorsed a boost in its capital by more than $86-billion. They also agreed to give developing countries more voting rights, increasing the voting power of developing and transition countries by a little more than three percentage points.


A World Bank said the "historic changes" will also help position the poverty fighting institution to help what it called a "transformed world" as it emerges from the global economic crisis.