Thai protesters vow to oust govt
2010-03-13 12:00
Bangkok - Thousands of red-shirted anti-government demonstrators converged on the Thai capital from the north and northeast Saturday, vowing to oust the government in a mass do-or-die display of muscle.
Although protest leaders stressed they would not resort to violence, many businesses closed down, social events were canceled and Bangkok's normally chaotic traffic was unusually light.
A force of 50 000 soldiers, police and other security personnel was mobilised in the capital area.
The "million-man march", which is to climax on Sunday, is regarded by some as the last chance for ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to return to Thailand.
The "Red Shirts", formally known as the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship, are made up of followers of Thaksin, along with other people who oppose the 2006 military coup that toppled him.
Forcing the government out of power, Thaksin loyalists say, could pave the way for his pardon and return. Thaksin, who resides in Dubai, faces a two-year prison term for abuse of power.
Thousands of protesters arrived in the sprawling capital Saturday after traveling in trucks, buses and motorcycles from the Thaksin heartland - the impoverished rural northeast and the north, where the fugitive leader was born.
Free bus rides
In Wang Noi, to the north of the city, a line of protesters in vehicles stretched about four miles (seven kilometers) along a highway as security personnel slowly searched the arrivals. Traffic jams on the highway began as far as 50Km from the city.
Government spokesperson Panithan Wattanayakorn said protesters were being provided with free bus rides from provincial areas to Bangkok, but vehicles driven by the demonstrators had to be parked in designated areas.
"In general we think the peacekeeping operation has been going well. We will have to be more cautious at the rally tonight to prevent any possible violence," he said.
The demonstrators want Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to call new elections, 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.
"As long as there is no justice, Thailand cannot be united," Jaran Ditthapichai, a Red Shirt leader, told a crowd outside police headquarters on Friday. "We want power to be returned to the people."
Thailand has been in a state of constant political turmoil since early 2006, when demonstrations accusing Thaksin of corruption and abuse of power began. 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.
Chances of violence
Recent polls in Bangkok indicate a large segment of the population, irrespective of their political beliefs, is fed up with the protests, which have battered the economy, including the lucrative tourism industry.
"I'm so sick of the protests. It doesn't matter who becomes prime minister. The economy is not good and neither is anything else. Every time a protest plan is announced, tourists disappear," said Yai Oat-ngam, a restaurant owner near an area popular with foreign backpackers.
The Red Shirts have vowed to keep their protest nonviolent - and some in Bangkok carried roses that they handed to policemen. However, the group's last major protest in Bangkok in April deteriorated into rioting that left two people dead, more than 120 people injured and buses burned on major thoroughfares. The army was called in to quash the unrest.
The Red Shirts say they hope to gather 400 000-600 000 people on Sunday on Bangkok's Rajdamnoen Avenue, the site of many of the country's most important political protests in the past 50 years.
Many embassies have warned their citizens to stay away from areas of the city where violence could erupt.
- AP