Thai opposition protesters occupying central Bangkok threatened Tuesday to take the prime minister captive and close down all government offices in an increasingly bold bid to force her from office. While well known for their blustery rhetoric, the belligerent tone reflects an air of impunity surrounding rally leaders who travel freely around the city despite warrants for their arrest for their role in civil unrest that has left eight dead and hundreds injured. The protesters, backed by the kingdom’s royalist establishment, want Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to resign to make way for an unelected “people’s council” that would oversee reforms to curb the political dominance of her billionaire family. Her supporters say the rallies are a threat to the country’s fragile democracy and want the dispute to be settled at the ballot box but the opposition is boycotting a February 2 election. Demonstrators have camped out along a busy bridge and on major roads for several days, calling for a “shutdown” of Bangkok and threatening to occupy several buildings. Mostly the protests have been peaceful, but a shooting incident where 7 protesters were injured last week has caused renewed alarm in the nation’s capital.
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