Core leaders of a renewed anti-government rally in Thailand's capital Bangkok on Saturday said their protest will be peaceful as they are demanding the coalition government to dissolve the House of Representatives and hold a general election.
The anti-government protesters, or the red-shirted people, who are led by the United front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), have started re-gathering at Sanam Luang in the center of Bangkok from around 16:00 p.m. local time.
At around 18:00 p.m. local time around 10,000 red-shirted people participated in the anti-government rally and listed to the anti-government speeches by the UDD core leaders.
Their latest move is the first time since they staged the scattered anti-government rioting in capital Bangkok in April. After the rioting ended, on April 15, the government said two died and 133 people from both sides - the security forces and anti- government protesters -- were injured during the clashes amid the scattered rioting.
"The red-shirted protesters want the Democrat-led government to dissolve the house," said UDD core leader Jatuporn Promphan, adding that the government should have returned the power to the people.
Jatuporn said: "The government is not legitimate anymore to remain in the office as it administrates the country with borrowing too much, creating the burden to the country."
The protesters will remain at Sanam Luang for the whole night, but will not march to rally at the Government House Saturday night, said Jatuporn.
Several red-shirted people are from the countryside and could not return home at night, hence the rally will continue until 6:00 a.m. local time, of Sunday, and after that they can travel to their hometown, said Jatuporn.
Some 600 of policemen have been deployed to keep law and order at Sanam Luang.
Metropolitan Police commissioner Lt-General Worapong Chiewpreecha expressed confidence that the police would be able to deal with the anti-government protesters, the website by The Nation newspaper reported.
After this rally, there will be three more protests in Bangkok planned by the UDD group as the next ones will be at the Democracy Monument, Army Headquarters, and the fourth one will be at the Government House, said Jatuporn.
The UDD group has not yet scheduled the timing for the next three more rallies.
Jatuporn said the UDD group will evaluate several factors, including of the political situation, prior to setting the date for each anti-government rally.
However, Jatuporn said that during the second protest the UDD- led protesters will attempt further to bring down the government, if the government does not follow the red-shirted demand of the House dissolution during this first rally.
Meanwhile, Jatuporn said that the red-shirted people will not stage a rally in a southern province of Phuket in mid-July, when the ASEAN Foreign Ministerial meeting will be organized.
(Xinhua News Agency June 28, 2009)
