Thousands in Thai government demo
Supporters of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra chant slogans in Thailand (AP)
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Friday March 12 2010
Anti-government protesters gathered around Thailand for a march they hope will paralyse the capital and force prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to call new elections.
The authorities have mobilised 50,000 security officers to police the protests and set up checkpoints around Bangkok.
Schools closed in Bangkok and foreigners were advised by more than 30 embassies and the Tourism Authority of Thailand to stay away from the protests as Thailand braces for violence in the latest chapter of a four-year political crisis.
The so-called Red Shirts, who support fugitive ex-leader Thaksin Shinawatra, have vowed to keep their protest non-violent, and some in Bangkok carried single stem roses they handed to police officers.
The group includes followers of Mr Thaksin and other people who oppose the 2006 military coup that toppled him. They believe Mr Abhisit came to power illegitimately with the connivance of the military and other parts of the traditional Thai ruling class who were fearful of Mr Thaksin's popularity while in office in 2001-06.
The group's last major protest in Bangkok last 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.
In a televised news conference, deputy PM Suthep Thaugsuban addressed a mood of national anxiety and sought to assure the public they were not targets. "So far, people in Bangkok can still live their lives normally," he said. "They should be on the lookout for violence but do not panic. There have been reports that targets would be government offices, not people's homes."
The government, while saying it will honour the right to gather for peaceful protest, has set up roadblocks at all main access points to the capital, and has been stopping and searching cars for weapons.
Hundreds of red-shirted protesters on motorcycles and pick-up trucks clogged streets in central Bangkok before gathering at scattered rally sites, including the national police headquarters. One group of several hundred rallied outside an army command centre on the outskirts of Bangkok where Mr Abhisit was monitoring the day's events, and then dispersed peacefully.
Leaders of the mostly rural movement say they are aiming for a "million man march" and a blockade of government offices to protest against what they call undemocratic rule that serves the urban elite. Ahead of the big rally on Sunday, the government invoked its Internal Security Act to give the military special powers to restore order if necessary.
