BANGKOK ON EDGE OF CHAOS

Thailand slid perilously close to chaos yesterday as opposition protesters rejected a government decision to announce a state of emergency in Bangkok as “a declaration of war”.

Prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday announced the imposition of the state of emergency in a televised address, arguing it was needed “because we want to return the country to normalcy”. The state of emergency bans large meetings and gives the government and security forces wide-ranging powers to arrest and detain.

But anti-government protesters, fresh from derailing a key Asian summit on Saturday, reacted to the declaration by attacking both the Ministry of Interior, from where the Oxford-eductated Mr Abhisit had made the announcement, and his car as he left the building. The car was severely damaged but the prime minister managed to escape the area after guards fired shots in the air.

The protesters have been seeking the resignation of Mr Abhisit, who they claim rose to power illegitimately through a back-room deal. He became prime minister after winning a controversial parliamentary vote last December which the opposition says was part of a deal brokered by the military and others to keep supporters of Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup, out of government.

Mr Thaksin, who lives in exile to avoid a two-year sentence for breaking conflict of interest laws, charges he says were politically motivated, last night called on his red-shirted supporters to stay on the streets.

“Now that they have tanks on the streets, it is time for the people to come out in revolution. And when it is necessary, I will come back to the country,” he said in a telephoned message to followers who surrounded Mr Abhisit's office.

“This is a golden minute,” Mr Thaksin said. “We will make history and there will be no more coups in Thailand. We have to help achieve democracy for all of us.”

Jakrapob Penkair, a former minister in Mr Thaksin's government and one of the protest leaders, said the state of emergency was “a declaration of war against the people of Thailand”. “At this point we have no plan to go offensive, but we will be aggressively defending ourselves if necessary,” he said.