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Thai protesters in biggest rally since crackdown
BANGKOK - Around 10,000 Thai protesters rallied in Bangkok
Sunday, police said, in the biggest rally against the government since
the military cracked down on violent demonstrations a month ago.
The red-shirted supporters of Thaksin Shinawatra, the fugitive
former prime minister, cheered when several leaders who were recently
freed on bail after being arrested for inciting the riots appeared on
stage.
The so-called "Red Shirts" forced the cancellation of a Asian
summit last month and then rampaged through the capital, leaving two
people dead and 123 injured, prompting current premier Abhisit
Vejjajiva to declare emergency rule.
Opposition legislator Jatuporn Prompan told the protesters gathered
in pouring rain on the outskirts of the city that they would "catch
Abhisit's lies", raising a cheer from the crowd.
He said they had a video which disproved Abhisit's recent claim
that he was in a car which was attacked by protesters during the
Bangkok riots, an incident the prime minister said had made him fear
for his life.
Jatuporn said the footage showed that British-born Abhisit was in another vehicle at the time.
Thousands of "Red Shirts" staged a three-week sit-in outside
Abhisit's offices in Bangkok from late March before moving to the
resort town of Pattaya to derail the summit of Asian leaders there on
April 11.
Protesters clashed with security forces in Bangkok over the
following two days but finally dispersed after troops surrounded them
and threatened to move them by force.
Thai authorities detained several protest leaders and issued an
arrest warrant for Thaksin, who was ousted in a military coup in 2006
and is now living abroad to avoid a jail term for corruption.
Abhisit lifted the state of emergency on April 24. Troops were
however deployed on the streets of Bangkok this week to prevent
protests when Asian ministers met to discuss the threat of Influenza A
(H1N1).
Source from http://www.channelnewsasia.com
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