Thai protesters call for releases
Source: Agencies |
January 24, 2011, Monday
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ABOUT 30,000 anti-government "red shirts" rallied in Thailand's capital yesterday in another show of strength that heralds a rocky run-up to an election due this year.
The mostly working-class "red shirts" marched from the shopping district they effectively closed for much of April and May last year to Democracy Monument in the city's old quarter.
The protests last year were halted by a military crackdown. In all, 91 people were killed, and many "red shirts" leaders remain in detention, one of the reasons for the -latest protests.
"We will stay until midnight and will meet again on February 13. Our rally will get bigger and bigger until the government releases our leaders," said Jatuporn Prompan, who managed to stay out of prison because of his status as a lawmaker.
Some protesters said they were also there to show their support for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by the military in 2006 and now lives in exile to avoid a jail term handed down for corruption.
"This government's policy is no good. I want Thaksin back," said Boonsri Sudanetr, 42, from Nakhon Ratchasima in the northeast of the country, a Thaksin stronghold.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has promised an election this year, perhaps in the first half, although that time-frame may not appeal to his coalition partners or his powerful backers in the military and royalist establishment.
The mostly working-class "red shirts" marched from the shopping district they effectively closed for much of April and May last year to Democracy Monument in the city's old quarter.
The protests last year were halted by a military crackdown. In all, 91 people were killed, and many "red shirts" leaders remain in detention, one of the reasons for the -latest protests.
"We will stay until midnight and will meet again on February 13. Our rally will get bigger and bigger until the government releases our leaders," said Jatuporn Prompan, who managed to stay out of prison because of his status as a lawmaker.
Some protesters said they were also there to show their support for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by the military in 2006 and now lives in exile to avoid a jail term handed down for corruption.
"This government's policy is no good. I want Thaksin back," said Boonsri Sudanetr, 42, from Nakhon Ratchasima in the northeast of the country, a Thaksin stronghold.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has promised an election this year, perhaps in the first half, although that time-frame may not appeal to his coalition partners or his powerful backers in the military and royalist establishment.
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