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Thousands of Thais rally in Bangkok
Agence France Presse - October 17, 2008
Thousands of anti-government protesters rallied in Bangkok's business district Friday, police said, as pressure mounts on the prime minister to step down after last week's deadly street clashes.
Police hung back by the roadside as some 5,000 supporters of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) marched down a busy street carrying pictures of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat emblazoned with the word "murderer".
Two people were killed and nearly 500 injured on October 7 when police fired tear gas to prevent thousands of PAD supporters from blocking parliament, prompting some protesters to fight back.
Speaking from a makeshift stage on the back of a truck, Somsak Kosaisuk, a PAD leader, said they were planning on handing out 100,000 books and CDs with photos and accounts of the violence.
"The truth will show why the government has no legitimacy to run the country," Somsak told the crowd, many wearing black to mourn the dead supporters or yellow out of allegiance to the king.
"The government thinks that people are their enemy and used the police to kill people on October 7."
The full-colour booklets showed graphic images of protesters whose limbs were blown off in the clashes – injuries blamed by a forensic expert on dangerous Chinese-made tear gas canisters.
The front page of the PAD leaflet showed a man clutching the bloodied stump of his leg, allegedly after it was blown off in the police crackdown. "We have brought pieces of cloth, water bottles and masks in case the police use tear gas again," said Dusadee Siriwanlop, 42, a PAD supporter.
The PAD launched its campaign in May, claiming that the ruling People Power Party elected in December was a puppet of ousted and exiled premier Thaksin Shinawatra, whom they accuse of corruption and nepotism.
The demonstrators seemed largely cheerful Friday, sheltering from the sun under a sea of umbrellas.
"More than 5,000 people have joined the march. Today the police prepared around 150 policemen to help maintain safety," a police colonel told AFP.
The rally ended without incident at about 1:00 pm (0600 GMT) after the protesters marched to the main shopping district and dispersed.
Friday's protests came a day after army chief General Anupong Paojinda appeared on television saying that if he were Somchai, he would resign, upping pressure on the premier who only took up the job a month ago.
"Nobody should allow that kind of tragedy to happen – I did not expect that things could turn that bad," said Anupong, referring to the clashes and flanked by the heads of the navy, air force and police.
Somchai, Thaksin's brother-in-law, was elected after Samak Sundaravej was forced to resign after a Thai court ruled he had illegally accepted payment for TV cooking shows.
Somchai has repeatedly said he is not overly attached to the position of prime minister but wants to stay in office to oversee amendments to the constitution, brought in during military rule after the coup.
The PAD are a largely right-wing coalition of businessmen, academics and union leaders, who despite their name are campaigning to have fewer elected representatives in Thailand's parliament.
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