The Hindu : Armed monk storms Thai Parliament, held

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 23, 2002

International

International

Armed monk storms Thai Parliament, held

A Buddhist monk brandishes an AK-47 assualt rifle as he shouts to police and reporters after taking hostages at an office in the Thai Parliament in Bangkok on Wednesday. — AP

BANGKOK May 22. A young Buddhist monk was arrested on Wednesday after storming Thailand's Parliament with an assault rifle, taking about 30 people hostage and demanding to speak with the Prime Minister. No one was injured.

After a one-hour standoff during which he berated authorities by mobile phone and fired an AK-47 assault rifle into the air once, the monk was captured by three plainclothes police posing as reporters who grabbed the gun and handcuffed him. The monk, who wore a traditional saffron yellow robe, said he was from a province in south-eastern Thailand and was in his 20s.

Before being arrested, he demanded to be allowed to talk with the Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, saying that he wanted to protest "unjust treatment" he suffered when arrested by police several years ago.

Speaking into a reporter's mobile phone, the monk said in a lengthy speech that was broadcast live on radio and television that he was arrested in 1996 for trespassing in a national park and was beaten and stripped by police. He said that authorities had not responded to his complaints. The chaos began at about 8:30 a.m. local time, just minutes before Thailand's 500-member elected Lower House was set to debate a much-anticipated no-confidence motion against 15 Cabinet members in Mr. Thaksin's 14-month-old Government.

A woman entering the Parliament building to listen to the debate said that the monk threatened to kill her and others. "He stormed into the reception office where I was and said, `Don't move or you'll get yourself killed,' " said Pratuang Mongkolsil, 53. "Then the monk went out and shot once and came back. I was so frightened."

The monk identified himself as Sayan Chitasuro from the south-eastern Chanthaburi province, bordering Cambodia. — AP

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International

Stories in this Section

Allies too face terror threat: Bush

Armed monk storms Thai Parliament, held

Jack Straw to visit India, Pak.

LTTE, Colombo reiterate commitment to peace process

Russia urges restraint

Rafsanjani's son held talks with U.S.?

Pact will slow Russia's arms cut

Russian army told to forage for food

U.S. plea to Pak.

Pak. decries Vajpayee's speech

Pak. rejects charge