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Thai 'Yellow Shirts' Stage Counter-Protests in Bangkok

   VOA News 29 April 2010
   Pro-government   supporters   carry   Thai  national  flags  and  sing
   nationalistic songs in Bangkok, Thailand, 29 Apr 2010

Photo: AP

   Pro-government   supporters   carry   Thai  national  flags  and  sing
   nationalistic songs in Bangkok, Thailand, 29 Apr 2010

   Thailand's pro-government activists staged a rally Thursday at an army
   base  in  Bangkok, demanding a government crackdown on their political
   opponents' nearly two-month old protest in the capital.
   The  so-called  Yellow  Shirts rallied in front of the army base where
   Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has been living and working since the
   Red Shirts began their demonstrations last month.   They presented a
   petition  to one of Mr. Abhisit's aides, calling on the prime minister
   to declare martial law and dispatch troops.  They say the Red Shirts'
   protest  is "illegal activity" that has damaged Thailand's economy and
   society.
   The  Yellow  Shirts  claim to have staged rallies at 40 other military
   bases across the nation.
   The  political  crisis  took  another deadly turn Wednesday, when Thai
   security  forces shot at a large group of Red Shirts heading towards a
   suburban market on pickup trucks and motorcycles.
   One  soldier  was shot and killed during the confrontation, apparently
   by friendly fire, while 18 others were injured. Â
   At least 27 people have been killed and nearly 1,000 wounded since the
   Red   Shirts  began  demonstrating   in  Bangkok  last  month.   The
   protesters  have  brought the capital to a virtual standstill in their
   drive to force Mr. Abhisit to call new elections.
   The  Red  Shirts,  made  up mostly of the rural poor and urban working
   class,  support  former  Prime  Minister  Thaksin  Shinawatra, who was
   ousted  in  2006  on allegations of corruption.  They say Mr. Abhisit
   was installed in office illegally.
   The  United  States  has  urged  all  of  its  citizens  to  avoid all
   non-essential  travel  to  Thailand  because  of the ongoing political
   crisis. Â

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

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