Tens of thousands of supporters of deposed Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra streamed through military checkpoints outside the capital yesterday as they headed to a rally aimed at toppling the government.
Thai authorities have deployed a 50,000-strong security force, including soldiers, to patrol the streets and search protesters entering the city, as they fear some could incite trouble ahead of today’s main rally.
Up to 20,000 protesters in their signature red shirts passed through the busiest checkpoint in Ayutthaya, 80km north of Bangkok, yesterday morning, the provincial governor said.
Governor Withaya Pewpong said that another 15,000 Red Shirts, waving red flags and traveling mostly by pick-up truck and car, were expected to enter the city via the northern post, which is manned by 700 unarmed soldiers and police.
“The protesters have been cooperating well with the security officials who are focused on looking for weapons and explosives and checking identity cards,” Withaya said.
Organizers insist the protests will be peaceful, but the government has enacted the strict Internal Security Act to monitor the rally, allowing authorities to set up checkpoints, impose curfews and limit movements.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who has refused to bow to the protesters’ demand to step down and call elections, spoke to reporters after meeting with ministers and top brass at a military barracks yesterday.
“We should not be complacent because there are some groups of people still wanting to create violence and cause confrontations,” said Abhisit, who has canceled a weekend trip to Australia because of the rally.
Around 6,500 protesters attended early demonstrations at several spots in Bangkok on Friday that passed without major incident, police said.
Red Shirt organizers set up a rally stage near government ministry buildings yesterday and police said about 1,000 demonstrators had arrived at the venue ahead of the official start of the rally at midday today.
The government has lowered its estimate of expected turnout at the rally to 70,000, but the Red Shirts say the figure will be nearer 600,000.
The protests come two weeks after Thailand’s top court confiscated US$1.4 billion of Thaksin’s assets, and are the latest chapter in a political crisis that has beset Thailand since Thaksin was toppled in a 2006 coup.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese