Protest songs and flag waving lent a carnival atmosphere yesterday to the crowd of thousands rallying in downtown Bangkok in a final bid to oust Thailand's prime minister ahead of next week's trouble-plagued election.
Buoyed by chants of "Thaksin, get out!" several thousand people demanding Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's resignation began gathering near the premier's offices as protest organizers handed out fans to ward off the heat.
Tens of thousands more are expected later to join the rally, which security officials say will be the largest protest yet since anti-Thaksin crowds took to the streets early last month.
Wearing yellow headbands that have come to symbolize the anti-Thaksin movement, dozens of protesters stood in line for cups of ice water while a band on a nearby stage blared protest songs describing the struggle against authoritarian rule.
A sign written in English was posted on the fence of Government House, the heart of Thaksin's administration, reading "For Rent."
The crowd waved colorful flags with messages of solidarity for Thailand's revered king, as authorities braced for another night of street demonstrations.
"We have prepared three companies of police so in case of an emergency they can take action," said police General Chidchai Vanasathidya, Thailand's deputy prime minister.
As many as 10,000 police -- more than twice the number posted at previous rallies -- have been mobilized, with another 10,000 officers on standby, officials said.
Special Branch Police estimated up to 100,000 people might gather yesterday night as the People's Alliance for Democracy stages its final rally demanding Thaksin's resignation before next week's polls.
Thaksin called elections for April 2, three years early, in a bid to end the daily demonstrations against him and extricate Thailand from a political deadlock that threatens to push the kingdom into a constitutional crisis.
Advance voting began yesterday for those who can not make it to the polls in April. The main opposition Democrat party has said it will boycott the election, further deepening the political uncertainty.
At a separate rally on Friday night, the Democrats urged Thaksin and his Cabinet to quit and ask King Bhumibol Adulyadej to appoint an interim premier.
DOUBLE-MURDER CASE: The officer told the dispatcher he would check the locations of the callers, but instead headed to a pizzeria, remaining there for about an hour A New Jersey officer has been charged with misconduct after prosecutors said he did not quickly respond to and properly investigate reports of a shooting that turned out to be a double murder, instead allegedly stopping at an ATM and pizzeria. Franklin Township Police Sergeant Kevin Bollaro was the on-duty officer on the evening of Aug. 1, when police received 911 calls reporting gunshots and screaming in Pittstown, about 96km from Manhattan in central New Jersey, Hunterdon County Prosecutor Renee Robeson’s office said. However, rather than responding immediately, prosecutors said GPS data and surveillance video showed Bollaro drove about 3km
Tens of thousands of people on Saturday took to the streets of Spain’s eastern city of Valencia to mark the first anniversary of floods that killed 229 people and to denounce the handling of the disaster. Demonstrators, many carrying photos of the victims, called on regional government head Carlos Mazon to resign over what they said was the slow response to one of Europe’s deadliest natural disasters in decades. “People are still really angry,” said Rosa Cerros, a 42-year-old government worker who took part with her husband and two young daughters. “Why weren’t people evacuated? Its incomprehensible,” she said. Mazon’s
‘MOTHER’ OF THAILAND: In her glamorous heyday in the 1960s, former Thai queen Sirikit mingled with US presidents and superstars such as Elvis Presley The year-long funeral ceremony of former Thai queen Sirikit started yesterday, with grieving royalists set to salute the procession bringing her body to lie in state at Bangkok’s Grand Palace. Members of the royal family are venerated in Thailand, treated by many as semi-divine figures, and lavished with glowing media coverage and gold-adorned portraits hanging in public spaces and private homes nationwide. Sirikit, the mother of Thai King Vajiralongkorn and widow of the nation’s longest-reigning monarch, died late on Friday at the age of 93. Black-and-white tributes to the royal matriarch are being beamed onto towering digital advertizing billboards, on
POWER ABUSE WORRY: Some people warned that the broad language of the treaty could lead to overreach by authorities and enable the repression of government critics Countries signed their first UN treaty targeting cybercrime in Hanoi yesterday, despite opposition from an unlikely band of tech companies and rights groups warning of expanded state surveillance. The new global legal framework aims to bolster international cooperation to fight digital crimes, from child pornography to transnational cyberscams and money laundering. More than 60 countries signed the declaration, which means it would go into force once ratified by those states. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the signing as an “important milestone,” and that it was “only the beginning.” “Every day, sophisticated scams destroy families, steal migrants and drain billions of dollars from our economy...
RSS