Angry Protesters Throw Shoes, Plastic Bottles at embattled Thai PM

By SUTIN WANNABOVORN / AP WRITER

BANGKOK — A crowd of angry protesters threw shoes and plastic bottles at the Thai prime minister's entourage after cornering him in an underground parking lot Wednesday. He escaped unharmed.

Somchai Wongsawat's security agents and police shielded him and hustled him into a waiting car, which sped off in a motorcade.

The protest was staged by more than 100 employees of the state-owned telecom operator TOT during a visit by Somchai to their headquarters outside the capital, Bangkok.

"It was not a serious protest," Somchai later told reporters. He described the incident as a "colorful protest."

It marked the first time in Thailand's months of political crisis that state employees have come into direct confrontation with the prime minister.

It was not, however, the first time that Somchai has had to make a quick getaway.

On October 7, Somchai escaped a violent protest outside Parliament by climbing over a back fence to safety. Riot police outside the building fired tear gas to disperse rowdy protesters, leaving hundreds injured and two dead.

Wednesday's rally started outside the TOT headquarters, on the grounds of the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology.

Somchai's motorcade detoured into an underground parking lot to avoid the crowd shouting "Somchai, Murderer!" in reference to the two fatalities at the October 7 protest.

Protesters swarmed around him in the parking lot, waving noisy plastic clappers shaped like giant hands.

After holding a meeting inside the building, Somchai exited through the main entrance, where more protesters had gathered. Some hurled clappers at his entourage and plastic water bottles and shoes.

Throwing shoes is particularly insulting in Thai culture, which considers feet the dirtiest part of the body.

Somchai, who took office last month, has come under growing pressure to step down to ease Thailand's deepening political crisis.

He has repeatedly ruled out stepping aside, saying it would not resolve the country's political crisis.

"Nobody stays in office forever," he told reporters Wednesday in response to a question. "I am considering the pros and cons of the situation if I quit. It is worth it or would I not be giving priority to national interests?"

Somchai is a brother-in-law of deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, around whom the crisis revolves.

Thaksin was convicted of corruption and sentenced to two years in prison in a landmark ruling Tuesday. But he is currently living in self-imposed exile in London and most Thais doubt he will ever serve time behind bars.

The verdict was widely expected to embolden anti-government protesters and prolong a stalemate that has paralyzed Thailand's government. Protesters have branded Somchai a Thaksin puppet.

Thaksin, who was ousted by a 2006 coup, remains the country's most influential politician. He is adored in rural areas, where he built up a political base during his six years in power, but reviled by many of the educated elite in the cities, where his administration was seen as deeply corrupt.