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Thai Protesters Send Convoy to Suburban Market

   VOA News 28 April 2010
   'Red  Shirt' anti-government protesters, holding portraits of the Thai
   king  and  queen,  leave their fortified camp in central Bangkok for a
   rally in the outskirts of the capital, 28 Apr 2010

Photo: AFP

   'Red  Shirt' anti-government protesters, holding portraits of the Thai
   king  and  queen,  leave their fortified camp in central Bangkok for a
   rally in the outskirts of the capital, 28 Apr 2010

   Thai  troops  have fired into the air near a convoy of anti-government
   protesters in a effort to block their efforts to take their protest to
   a suburban Bangkok market.
   Several  thousand Red Shirt protesters left their fortified encampment
   in  Bangkok's  downtown  commercial  district  in  pickup  trucks  and
   motorcycles  Wednesday  to  move their seven-week campaign outside the
   city.
   The  government  has  vowed  to keep the Red Shirts from spreading the
   protest outside their encampment. Â
   The  convoy is traveling on a road where a group of Red Shirts briefly
   set  up a blockade earlier this week to block additional Thai security
   forces from heading into the city.
   The  anti-government  forces  have  virtually  brought  Bangkok  to  a
   standstill in their drive to force Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to
   call new elections.
   The  Red  Shirts  placed tires along Bangkok's elevated railway system
   Tuesday,  shutting  down the system for several hours.  The activists
   said  they  were  worried  that  Thai  troops might use the station to
   attack them from above.
   The  protests  have  turned bloody, with at least 26 people killed and
   nearly 1,000 wounded during clashes with Thai security forces. Â
   The  Red  Shirts  are  supporters  of  former  Prime  Minister Thaksin
   Shinawatra,  who  was  ousted in 2006 on allegations of corruption. Â
   They say Mr. Abhisit was installed in office illegally.
   The  Thai  government  has  accused  Red  Shirt leaders of plotting to
   overthrow Thailand's revered monarchy, a charge the movement denies.
   But  Mr.  Abhisit  said  earlier  this week his government will try to
   enforce  the  law  with  "minimum  losses,"  as  he  put it.  He also
   promised  to  try to find a political resolution to the crisis, and he
   pleaded for "patience and cooperation."

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

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