Thai king appeals for stability after violent protests

Thailand put politics aside on Thursday to celebrate the 86th birthday of the country's revered monarch.

In his address to the nation, King Bhumibol Adulyadej urged the people to support each other for the sake of the country.

“All Thais should realise this point a lot and behave and perform our duties accordingly, our duty for the sake of the public, for stability, security for our nation of Thailand,” the king said dressed in a ceremonial golden robe and seated on a throne before his audience.

The audience included Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her Cabinet ministers, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn and the leaders of the armed forces.

Prior to his arrival at Rajpracha Samakhom Pavilion, thousands of well-wishers dressed in the royal colour of yellow lined the roads in the seaside town of Hua Hin, to catch a glimpse of the frail and aging monarch, the Bangkok Post reports.

The military fired a 21 gun salute as the king made his appearance in the pavilion.

Special bus and train services had been laid on by the transport ministry to bring people to the town, the paper says.

The king traditionally delivers a speech to the nation on his birthday with the audience keenly anticipating for any hints of his thinking on events in Thailand.

Many people were hopeful the king would step in – as he has done before – to ease the current standoff, which results from years of enmity between supporters and opponents of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Thaksin was deposed by a 2006 military coup after being accused of corruption and disrespect for the king.

As a constitutional monarch, the king has no official political role, but no other figure commands the same moral authority or the same loyalty from the armed force in the coup-prone country.

The current wave of protests began in Bangkok relatively peacefully, but things took a violent turn of the weekend and on Monday.

The situation however calmed down on Tuesday after security forces stepped back from protesters.

The protesters are seeking to bring down Yingluck’s government, who is Thaksin’s sister, and institute an unelected “People’s Council” to administer the country.

The violence saw at least five people killed and wounded at least 277 since the weekend.

The protesters say there is more to come. “After the king’s birthday, we will start fighting again until we achieve our goal,” former deputy prime minister and protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban told AFP on Tuesday.