Thailand riots leave two dead, hundreds injured
08/10/2008 15:21 JAKARTA, October 8 (RIA Novosti) - At least two people were killed and 443 others injured in violent clashes Tuesday between anti-government protesters and police in central Bangkok, the Nation newspaper reported.
The turmoil started on October 6 after police used tear gas and force to disperse around 5,000 protesters who were trying to prevent an address by the country's new premier, Somchai Wongsawat, to parliament.
Some 82 people, who were "stabbed, shot and crushed by a truck driven by protesters" were hospitalized, the newspaper said citing health officials. One man died when a car bomb went off in front of the Chart Thai Party headquarters, several meters from the parliament.
Deputy Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, the government's chief negotiator with the opposition party, People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), tendered his resignation Tuesday after accepting responsibility for the violence.
In his letter of resignation, he said: "Since this action did not achieve what I planned, I want to show my responsibility for this operation."
Following a complaint by opposition lawmakers, the country's former-prime minister Samak Sundaravej resigned on September 9 over a breach of constitutional law after receiving payment for an appearance on a TV cooking show.
The new premier, Somchai, who has been in charge just three weeks, has called for calm and was quoted by The Bangkok Post as saying, "We will resolve domestic problems through the democratic process."
Somchai is the brother-in-law of the ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, currently living in the U.K. after failing to return to Thailand to attend court accused of income tax evasion and corruption.
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