Thai Protesters Storm Parliament, Lawmakers Flee

Thailand's government security agency says a Black Hawk helicopter landed at Parliament and evacuated lawmakers trapped by anti-government protesters surrounding the building.

A statement from the agency, known as CAPO, said Wednesday that the helicopter carrying "five soldiers armed with M16s landed on the Parliament's helipad and picked up ministers and lawmakers trapped inside."

INN television reported that Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban was among those evacuated.

Other lawmakers had already scaled walls to flee protesters who surrounded the Parliament and briefly broke into the building before retreating.

The so-called Red Shirt protesters have been camped in Bangkok since March 12 and say they will continue protests until Parliament is dissolved.

The "Red Shirts" virtually had the run of the city after police and army troops made little effort Tuesday to block them from triumphant, motorized rallies through central Bangkok.

On Tuesday afternoon, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva defended his government's gentle approach in dealing with tens of thousands of rowdy demonstrators who blocked major roads and pushed through lines of soldiers to demand that he dissolve parliament and call new elections.

Many Thai columnists and editorials on Wednesday questioned whether Abhisit was losing the weeks-old confrontation with the protesters and the crucial backing of the military and police. At least four former prime ministers planned to step into the fray in an attempt to negotiate an end to the crisis, state media reports said.

"If I were the prime minister, I would have got rid of those who would not carry out my orders," said a former head of the National Security Council, Prasong Soonsiri. He said there was strong support for the Red Shirts within the civil service and law enforcement agencies.

Local merchants have complained that the boisterous demonstrations have cost them billions of baht (millions of dollars), and luxury hotels near the site have been under virtual siege.

Thai authorities moved thousands of troops in riot gear Tuesday to confront the demonstrators at their encampment in the middle of Bangkok's tourist and shopping district.

The protesters had been banned from 11 main streets, but they surged past lines of soldiers and police to parade raucously down several. A tide of red streamed through the Silom Road financial center, with horns blaring and loudspeakers playing the folk music of rural Thailand.

The deployment of thousands of troops around the downtown protest site had triggered fears of a crackdown.

Because of the heated situation, Abhisit interrupted programming on all channels with a brief TV address, saying his government "eased our security measures to ensure that no confrontation would spiral out of control."

"We are confident in using the law to resolve the problem and move things forward. I know that many of you who would like to see things set straight and the rules of law respected are discouraged," he said.

"But the current fragile situation, involving a large number of misinformed people, demands careful maneuvering. We need to plan and implement everything to the last detail and with thorough care," Abhisit said.

The English-language The Nation, said in Wednesday's front-page editorial, that Tuesday was "arguably the best day so far for the Red Shirts and definitely the worst day" for the prime minister.

"Also, for the first time, the prime minister must have started questioning the loyalty of the police and some in the military," the editorial said.

Abhisit has been under pressure to use force to oust the protesters and restore order. On Tuesday, the government obtained legal authority to arrest Red Shirt leaders, but said they could only be detained during an act of speaking to crowds.

Charnvit Kasetsiri, one of the country's most prominent historians, called the situation "a game of brinkmanship."

"It's about who's going to blink or make the first mistake, and whoever makes the first mistake will inevitably lose," Charnvit said.

Although the crowd and security forces have avoided violent clashes so far, there were minor scuffles Tuesday. A grenade exploded in the parking lot of Abhisit's ruling Democrat Party's headquarters, injuring two police, party officials said. Dozens of similar unclaimed blasts have targeted government offices since protests started March 12.

The Red Shirt movement - known formally as the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship - contends Abhisit came to power illegitimately in the years after ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was removed in a 2006 coup on corruption allegations. The group is made up largely of Thaksin supporters and pro-democracy activists who opposed the putsch.

Political turmoil has increased in the years since the coup and deeply divided Thai society. The most striking aspect may be the sense of empowerment engendered in poor rural and city people, who have long been used to kowtowing to bureaucrats and more well-off countrymen.