Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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November 23, 2008

Thai Protesters Mass for Final Push to Topple Government
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=208CEA9:5F753BCA39991A3B9860EA2FED8F7465D937473925D9872C&
 
Leaders of the protest group, which calls itself the People's Alliance
for Democracy, hope for 100,000 demonstrators to turn out 
Thousands of anti-government protesters have gathered in the Thai
capital of Bangkok to prepare for what they say will be the "final
battle" in their push to topple the government. Anti-government
protesters set up a tent on the road during a rally outside Government
House in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, 23 Nov. 2008Supporters of the
People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) began massing Sunday outside the
prime minister's office compound. Leaders of the group say they hope
around 100,000 demonstrators will take part in a march on parliament
Monday morning to disrupt a scheduled session of lawmakers. Meanwhile,
police made their own preparations. Local television showed police
manning steel barricades and trucks with water cannons. At least 2,000
government troops are on standby in case street battles break out in
front of parliament. Several thousand government supporters held a
counter-protest Sunday at a temple on the outskirts of Bangkok. The PAD
has camped on the grounds of !
 Government House since August, demanding that Prime Minister Somchai
Wongsawat resign. The protesters accuse him of being a proxy for his
brother-in-law, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a
military coup in 2006 for alleged corruption. Eight of the protesters
were injured in a pre-dawn grenade attack Saturday outside the prime
minister's office compound. On Thursday, a grenade attack on the grounds
of the compound killed one protester and injured 23 others. No one has
claimed responsibility for the attacks, and protesters have refused to
allow police to enter the compound to investigate the incidents. 

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.


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