Hundreds of thousands Thai anti-govt protesters gather in Bangkok
A huge protest movement has gripped Thailand with hundreds of thousands gathering in Bangkok calling for the ouster of PM Yingluck Shinawatra. Their rivals meanwhile pledged to continue their rallies in support of the government.
Protest leaders estimated that at least at least 1 million anti-government protesters would gather near Democracy Monument for an organized march through the city. Latest police estimates showed that some 200,000 people have gathered on the streets, the biggest rally in three years.
The gathering follows weeks of rallies sparked by an amnesty bill that would allow the return of the former PM from exile and a pardon for those responsible for an army intervention in bloody rallies of 2010, in which over 90 people were killed. The legislation was rejected by the country’s parliament but protesters remained in the streets, trying to topple the government, which they say acts as a stooge for former leader Thaksin Shinawatra.
Current Thai PM Yingluck Shinawatra is the younger sister of former premier, who has been living in exile since 2008 to avoid a two-year jail term for abuse of power.
Addressing the "People's Day" rally the opposition Democrat Party leader Satit Wongnongtaey hailed the big turnout on Sunday.
"How can this government survive? How can the Thaksin system survive?" he said to applause from the crowd.
Many people came from outside the capital to show their discontent with the government.
"I arrived yesterday in a convoy of about 40 buses from Krabi province," protester Wilawan Kayathan told UPI. "We want to get Yingluck out and bring in a new government. This government is untrustworthy."
By the evening opponents of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her crisis-hit government had gathered in three sites in the city's historic center, calling for her government to be toppled.
At the same time, at least 20,000 pro-government Red Shirt activists staged a rally at a local football stadium to support Yingluck. Government supporters have vowed to stand by their prime minister, accusing the opposition of trying to provoke intervention by the army.
“It's not really important how many anti-government people there are,” the group's leader Thida Thavornseth told AFP. “What matters is if they try to do something violent that could change the situation.”
Both groups have vowed to stay in Bangkok and continue protesting as tension mounts. Police are preparing measures to prevent escalation of violence as the opposition says it will march on government buildings and TV stations on Monday.
“We will not use force and we will try to avoid any casualties,” police spokesman Piya Utayo told AFP
Yingluck who faces a no-confidence vote this week called for the demonstrations to remain peaceful.
“The government does not want to see conflict which will lead into violence,” she said on Facebook, adding that despite the fury in the streets the country has not yet reached a “dead-end.”
source http://rt.com/news/thailand-protest-biggest-rally-241/
25/11/2013
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ලයිට් බිල වැඩි කරපු එක හොදයි කියලා පෙළපාලි ගිය රටක් නේ මේක.
amoo apitanam beriyoooooo
