In the Eve of King

of Thailand Birthday, December 5,

Street tensions ease as police shift tactics

The political crisis that has shaken Thailand’s capital for more than a week eased suddenly Tuesday after the prime minister ordered police to stop battling anti-government protesters, a move timed to coincide with celebrations of the king’s birthday later this week.
In a sharp reversal in strategy after two days of escalating street fighting, riot police lowered their shields and walked away from fortified positions around Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s office at Government House.
Demonstrators waving the red, white and blue Thai flag then swarmed across the compound’s lawn, shouting, “Victory belongs to the people!” Yingluck was not there at the time.
The government move was widely seen as offering demonstrators a face-saving way out of a conflict that has left four people dead and more than 256 injured in the past three days. Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban, however, vowed to keep up the struggle to topple Yingluck and keep her brother, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, from returning to power.
— Associated Press