BANGKOK, Dec 10: Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said on Tuesday she would not resign ahead of national elections set for Feb 2, her voice filling with emotion as she discussed her family’s role in Thai politics.

Yingluck spoke one day after she announced elections – and one day after the main opposition leader ended a massive protest rally of 150,000 people by insisting his movement had now assumed broad political power.

The streets of Bangkok were quiet, a national holiday, after weeks of sometimes violent political turmoil as protesters demand Yingluck give up power to an unelected “people’s council.’’

The protesters accuse Yingluck of serving as a proxy for her billionaire brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who lives in self-imposed exile to avoid jail time for a corruption conviction but still wields immense influence in the country.

She became choked up when reporters asked, as they often do, about her family’s position in Thailand’s political scene.

“I’m not without emotion,” she said, her voice quavering.

“I’m also Thai. Do you not want me to set foot on Thai soil anymore? “I have retreated as far as I can. So I ask to be treated fairly,” she said, turning and walking quickly away from the podium.—AP

Opinion

Editorial

Kurram atrocity
Updated 22 Nov, 2024

Kurram atrocity

It would be a monumental mistake for the state to continue ignoring the violence in Kurram.
Persistent grip
22 Nov, 2024

Persistent grip

PAKISTAN has now registered 50 polio cases this year. We all saw it coming and yet there was nothing we could do to...
Green transport
22 Nov, 2024

Green transport

THE government has taken a commendable step by announcing a New Energy Vehicle policy aiming to ensure that by 2030,...
Military option
Updated 21 Nov, 2024

Military option

While restoring peace is essential, addressing Balochistan’s socioeconomic deprivation is equally important.
HIV/AIDS disaster
21 Nov, 2024

HIV/AIDS disaster

A TORTUROUS sense of déjà vu is attached to the latest health fiasco at Multan’s Nishtar Hospital. The largest...
Dubious pardon
21 Nov, 2024

Dubious pardon

IT is disturbing how a crime as grave as custodial death has culminated in an out-of-court ‘settlement’. The...