Workers dismantling the stage erected by anti-government PAD protesters after thay abandoned their four-month long seige of Government House. -- PHOTO: BLOOMBERG NEWS
BANGKOK: The four-month occupation of Thailand's Government House by anti-government protesters has racked up a damage bill of at least 20 million baht (S$860,000).
This is the cost of the damage done to the facilities and gardens inside the compound, said Mr Pongsak Siriwong, the Place and Security director of the House.
'We found that gardens and other facilities such as water sprinklers, electricity cables and spotlights were damaged, so we will need 20 million baht to restore the 10,000 sq m area,' he said. 'The work will take a month.'
The damage assessment was made after leaders of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) opened the doors of the Government House to government officials to examine it.
According to Mr Pongsak, no items - such as precious souvenirs presented by world leaders - had been moved or lost from key buildings. The officials also did not find much damage done to these buildings, apart from some dog droppings left on a valuable carpet in a meeting room.
PAD's lawyer will negotiate with the Secretariat of the Prime Minister's Bureau over compensation for the damage, said one of its core leaders Suriyasai Katasila. But he stressed that the group should not be fined or punished because the demonstration against the government was a political matter.
The PAD, which had occupied the Government House since storming it in August, had decided to abandon the grounds after protesters came under frequent grenade attacks.
A PAD supporter who identified herself as Tik, 55, told the Bangkok Post daily that she would miss the Government House where she and fellow demonstrators had camped for so many months.
'Despite all the discomfort, everyone here began fostering a sense of caring and emotional attachment as if they were one family, because we all shared the same ideals,' she said.
