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Thousands of Protesters Arrive in Bangkok

   VOA News 13 March 2010
   Thai  anti-government  demonstrators converge at a check point in Wang
   Noi, Thailand, 13 Mar 2010

Photo: AP

   Thai  anti-government  demonstrators converge at a check point in Wang
   Noi, Thailand, 13 Mar 2010

   Thousands  of  protesters  from  rural  northern  Thailand  have begun
   arriving  in  Bangkok  for a rally aimed at toppling the government of
   Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajhiva.
   Trucks  and  other  vehicles  filled  highways  into  the capital city
   Saturday  as  security  forces  searched  them,  ahead  of  a  protest
   scheduled   for  Sunday  to  restore  ousted  Prime  Minister  Thaksin
   Shinawatra to power.
   Protest  organizers  say between 600,000 and 700,000 supporters of the
   United  Front  for  Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) will march in
   Bangkok.
   About   50,000   police,  military  and  other  security  forces  were
   patrolling  Bangkok.   The government has enacted an internal security
   law that allows the military to impose curfews and restrict freedom of
   movement.
   Protest organizers say the rally will be peaceful.  The demonstrators,
   distinguished by their red shirts, are seeking to force Mr. Abhisit to
   resign from power and call new elections.
   A military coup ousted Mr. Thaksin from office in 2006.  The last time
   his supporters protested, in April 2009, riots resulted and two people
   died.
   Most  of Mr. Thaksin's supporters in the UDD are rural and poor, while
   Mr.  Abhisit  is  backed  by  members of Thailand's elite known as the
   "Yellow Shirts."
   Mr.  Thaksin currently lives in Dubai, avoiding a 2-year jail sentence
   on  corruption  charges.   The  French  news  agency  says he has been
   encouraging his supporters via text messages and his Twitter page.

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

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