Thaksin supporters plan 'million man march'
Source: Agencies |
March 13, 2010, Saturday
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A DAY of anti-government protests around Thailand passed peacefully yesterday, though concerns remained about possible violence when demonstrators converge in the country's capital Bangkok for a "million man march" tomorrow.
There had been fears of gridlock on the roads in Bangkok, but the city instead saw lighter than usual traffic as many school and businesses closed in anticipation of possible trouble. Gatherings of the so-called Red Shirts at several points in the capital were also smaller than expected, ranging from several hundred to about 4,000 at most.
The Red Shirts, formally known as the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship, comprise followers of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, along with other people who oppose the 2006 military coup that toppled him.
They seek to have the current prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, call a new election which they believe will allow their political allies to regain power. They believe Abhisit came to power illegitimately with the connivance of the military and other parts of the traditional Thai ruling class, who were jealous and fearful of Thaksin's popularity while in office in 2001-2006.
Thailand has been in political turmoil since early 2006, when demonstrations accusing Thaksin of corruption and abuse of power were launched. In 2008, when Thaksin's political allies came back to power for a year, his opponents occupied the prime minister's office compound for three months and seized Bangkok's two airports for a week.
Although yesterday's crowds seemed low even in comparison to past Red Shirt events, organizers were pleased.
"Today's gatherings have exceeded our goals in terms of numbers. We expected only 2,000 people to show up at each point, but a lot more have come," said Weng Tojirakarn, a protest leader.
Thousands of red-shirted protesters on motorcycles and pickup trucks clogged streets around Bangkok before gathering at scattered rally sites. One group of several hundred rallied outside an army command center outside Bangkok where Abhisit was monitoring events, and then dispersed peacefully.
The Red Shirts will again rally today, though that will mostly be a travel day for demonstrators coming in from far-flung rural provinces. They say they hope to gather 400,000-600,000 people tomorrow on Bangkok's Rajdamnoen Avenue, a venue that has been the site of the country's most important political protests of the past 50 years.
There had been fears of gridlock on the roads in Bangkok, but the city instead saw lighter than usual traffic as many school and businesses closed in anticipation of possible trouble. Gatherings of the so-called Red Shirts at several points in the capital were also smaller than expected, ranging from several hundred to about 4,000 at most.
The Red Shirts, formally known as the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship, comprise followers of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, along with other people who oppose the 2006 military coup that toppled him.
They seek to have the current prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, call a new election which they believe will allow their political allies to regain power. They believe Abhisit came to power illegitimately with the connivance of the military and other parts of the traditional Thai ruling class, who were jealous and fearful of Thaksin's popularity while in office in 2001-2006.
Thailand has been in political turmoil since early 2006, when demonstrations accusing Thaksin of corruption and abuse of power were launched. In 2008, when Thaksin's political allies came back to power for a year, his opponents occupied the prime minister's office compound for three months and seized Bangkok's two airports for a week.
Although yesterday's crowds seemed low even in comparison to past Red Shirt events, organizers were pleased.
"Today's gatherings have exceeded our goals in terms of numbers. We expected only 2,000 people to show up at each point, but a lot more have come," said Weng Tojirakarn, a protest leader.
Thousands of red-shirted protesters on motorcycles and pickup trucks clogged streets around Bangkok before gathering at scattered rally sites. One group of several hundred rallied outside an army command center outside Bangkok where Abhisit was monitoring events, and then dispersed peacefully.
The Red Shirts will again rally today, though that will mostly be a travel day for demonstrators coming in from far-flung rural provinces. They say they hope to gather 400,000-600,000 people tomorrow on Bangkok's Rajdamnoen Avenue, a venue that has been the site of the country's most important political protests of the past 50 years.
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