8 theSun | WEDNESDAY APRIL 15 2009

news without borders

Opposition parties
to discuss poll errors
Thai protesters end

EPAPIX
‘RED SHIRTS’ END
JAKARTA: A group of Indonesian po- poll, with reports of incomplete voter OCCUPATION OF
litical parties led by the main opposition lists and delays in distributing ballot
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) met papers across the archipelago’s 6,000 GOVT HOUSE TO
yesterday to discuss irregularities in last inhabited islands.
week’s general elections, officials said. The Election Supervisory Body said AVOID LOSS OF LIFE
The parties are expected to sign a it had received more than 1,000 com-
joint declaration condemning the or- plaints of irregularities surrounding
ganisation of the vote, which has been Thursday’s vote. It was only the third BANGKOK: Thai anti-government protesters
subject to hundreds of complaints about general election in Indonesia since the in Bangkok surrendered yesterday, giving the
problems such as inaccurate voter lists fall of strongman Suharto in 1998. harried prime minister some breathing space
and missing ballot papers. The poll has kicked off intense talks to try to fix the worsening economy.
“They will have a joint statement between political parties hoping to form “We have to stop because we need to
regarding the process of the elections,” coalitions ahead of presidential elections look after the lives of our supporters,” said
said Yus Usman Sukmanegara, secre- in July. Jatuporn Prompan, one of the leaders of the
tary- general of the Hanura party led by A party or coalition must have 20% of red-shirted protesters loyal to former premier
former military chief Wiranto. seats in the lower house or 25% of the Thaksin Shinawatra who still commands
Independent polling agencies have national vote to nominate a presidential widespread loyalty among the rural poor.
said President Susilo Bambang Yud- candidate. The government extended the New Year’s
hoyono’s Democratic Party won the The PDI-P of ex-president Megawati holiday for the rest of the week for “public
most votes with around 20.48%. Final Sukarnoputri – Yudhoyono’s chief rival safety” in case the red shirts regroup in
official results are not expected until in the presidential race – gained an esti- Thaksin strongholds and come back to the
early May. mated 14.33% of the vote and Golkar, of capital, government spokesman Panitan Wat-
The Electoral Commission has been the outgoing ruling coalition, was third tanayagorn told Reuters.
criticised for its poor organisation of the with 13.95%. – AFP “Overall, I don’t think this is the end of the
story,” said Danny Richards, senior economist
at the Economist Intelligence Unit in London.
“This crisis still has a long way to go.
Tamil Tigers ready to negotiate “But in terms of this protest in itself, Abhisit
has managed to remain in control, and I think
for truce, peace talks you’d have to say he has avoided a major
crisis of confidence in his government.”
Police said Arrest warrants have been is-
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels offered sued for Thaksin and 13 other pro-Thaksin
yesterday to negotiate a bilateral ceasefire with leaders in the United Front for Democracy
government forces and to open political talks to halt against Dictatorship (UDD) for violating a A lone anti-government
decades of ethnic bloodshed. state of emergency, which forbids more than protester with baggage leaves
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said the five people for political reasons. Government House yesterday. .
government’s current two-day halt in fighting was Four of them were already in custody.
insincere but that they were ready for a long-term Thailand’s intractable political divide
truce supervised by the international community. broadly pits royalists, the military and the protests on Monday between red shirts and
“Such a ceasefire should also contain a base for urban middle-class against the rural poor troops at a major junction in the capital with-
political negotiations,” the rebels said in a statement. loyal to Thaksin. out too much bloodshed.
The Tigers have suffered months of battlefield set- Standard & Poor’s downgraded its lo- Two people died, both of them in skir-
backs at the hands of government troops, and their cal currency sovereign rating for Thailand mishes between residents and someone rid-
37-year armed campaign for an independent Tamil yesterday and said political tension would ing on a motorbike, while 123 people were
homeland appears close to an end. remain high, whichever side was in power. injured in the clashes between soldiers and
The rebels said Sri Lankan leaders had called for “We believe that investor confidence has protesters, mostly from tear gas, authorities
a brief pause in fighting to deflect mounting interna- been damaged significantly as a result of said.
tional pressure, as the military closes in on the final the latest developments while, in the near Abhisit said yesterday the state of emer-
rebels holed up in the northeast of the island. term, inbound tourism will also be affected gency in greater Bangkok that he imposed
“We consider this ceasefire announcement of negatively,” said S&P credit analyst Kim Eng on Sunday would remain for the time being
the Sri Lankan government as a two-day holiday Tan. to restore order in parts of the capital where
opportunity availed to its servicemen,” the Tigers Thai stocks look set to fall when they protests were still taking place “but without
said. “The LTTE unequivocally condemns this political resume trading tomorrow after a long holiday their red shirts on”.
swagger aimed at deceiving the world as well as the scarred by political unrest, and the baht may Thousands of red shirt protesters were put
Tamil people.” also come under pressure due to the down- on buses back to their home provinces after
The Tigers said an internationally backed ceasefire grade, investment analysts said. their leaders surrendered to the military at
was needed to end the suffering of tens of thousands Abhisit was made to look foolish after the Government House.
of civilians trapped in the conflict zone. – AFP “red shirts” forced the cancellation of an Asian The violence has damaged Thailand’s
summit in the resort of Pattaya on Saturday, crucial tourist industry at a busy holiday time.
an event the prime minister had trumpeted as Several countries have issued advisories on
proof Thailand was returning to normal. travel to Thailand.
Protesters had besieged his office at Gov- The tourist sector was barely picking up
Military occupies Fiji central ernment House since March 26, demanding
he resign and new elections be held.
after a one-week shutdown of Bangkok’s
airports by protesters opposed to Thaksin late

bank, governor dismissed But Abhisit restored some of his lost

credibility after the military quelled violent
last year when a government allied to him
was in power.

SUVA: The governor of Fiji’s central
bank was dismissed yesterday and the
military has taken over the building,
said a senior bank official. In the latest
upheaval to hit the island nation, Reserve
Bank of Fiji governor Savenaca Narube
was told to vacate his office because his
appointment was constitutional and Fiji
no longer has a constitution, the official
said on condition of anonymity.
President Josefa Iloilo scrapped the
constitution on Friday to bypass an
Appeal Court ruling that prime minister
Voreqe Bainimarama had been in power
illegally since the 2006 coup he led.
He also sacked all judges and judici-
ary officials before reappointing military
chief Bainimarama and his cabinet for
five more years.
There was no official confirmation of
Narube’s dismissal, but a statement from
the central bank, that exchange controls
had been tightened, was issued in the
name of deputy governor Sada Reddy.
The deputy governor is not a constitu-
tional appointment.
Commission (embassy) office, and a Protesters
spokesman for the New Zealand foreign make their
ministry said the commission staff were last stand
not under any threat. burning
New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray buses on
McCully said soldiers had entered the the main
building and “people coming and going road in
are being checked.” Bangkok.
Earlier yesterday, McCully raised the
possibility of travel and trade bans on Fiji,
and said people should think twice about
visiting the popular South Pacific holiday
destination.
New Zealand has condemned the
latest upheaval in Fiji where courts and
the public prosecutions office remained
closed yesterday because there was no
one to staff them on the first working day
after the Easter holiday break.
The Fiji Human Rights Commission
was also shut because it was an office
appointed under the constitution.
Under emergency regulations, the
Fijian media is under orders only to pub-
lish positive stories about the political
situation or risk being shut down, while
EPAPIX

The Reserve Bank of Fiji is in the foreign journalists face deportation.

same building as the New Zealand High – AFP