Thailand's antigovernment red shirts gear up for elections

Thai antigovernment 'red shirt' protesters gather at Bangkok's shopping district, decorated in red colors on Jan. 9. The protesters marched across Bangkok on Sunday, in the first peaceful and symbolic demonstration since the government lifted an emergency rule in the capital. (Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters)

Tens of thousands of Thailand's antigovernment 'red-shirt' protesters took to Bangkok's streets over the weekend demanding democracy and promising to keep up the pressure as Thailand turns toward elections this year.

January 10, 2011

By Simon Montlake, Correspondent

The Christian Science Monitor

Bangkok - Tens of thousands of antigovernment “red-shirt” protesters rallied in Bangkok Sunday in their largest show of force since Thai troops violently broke up protests last May.

Rally leaders demanded justice for those killed in May and vowed to keep pressing the government.

The boisterous rally, which drew at least 30,000 people, came as Thailand braces for an election that must be called by the end of this year and will be bitterly contested. Last year's bloodshed, the worst in a generation, has left a highly-polarized political landscape and calls for national reconciliation have faltered.

A rival royalist group is preparing to rally on Jan. 25 and has stirred up tensions on the disputed Thai-Cambodia border, where seven Thais, including a ruling party lawmaker, were recently arrested for illegal entry. The group shut down Bangkok’s international airports in late 2008, helping to topple an elected government loyal to former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Please click here to read more...