Thailand’s anti-government “Red Shirt” protesters besieged a Bangkok police station after the arrest of a man who posted a YouTube video warning of violence in the capital, police said yesterday.
About 200 supporters of fugitive former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra — mainly taxi drivers — gathered in their vehicles outside the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) late on Saturday in protest at the arrest of Phornwat Thongthanaboon, a CSD spokesman said.
Thai media said an arrest warrant was issued for Phornwat on charges of attempting to cause unrest and panic after he appeared in a YouTube video predicting bombs and unrest after last month’s verdict on Thaksin’s fortune.
A court seized US$1.4 billion of the ousted prime minister’s assets on Feb. 26. The next day, four grenades were fired at branches of the biggest Thai bank, two of which detonated, but caused no injuries.
The “Red Shirts” now say they expect hundreds of thousands of anti-government demonstrators to gather in the capital next Sunday.
The movement’s leaders said the rallies would be peaceful, although Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told Thai radio on Saturday that intelligence reports indicated the possibility of a sabotage during the protests.
Phornwat, known as K Thong, is a close associate of Major-General Khattiya Sawasdipol, an outspoken Thaksin loyalist and suspended senior army officer, who was charged last month with illegal arms possession after he was linked to an attack on the army.
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