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Red Shirts battle for station
[Straits Times] ANTI-GOVERNMENT protesters on Friday battled past water cannons, tear gas and riot troops, then climbed over rolls of razor wire to occupy the grounds of Thailand's communications nerve centre.

The move forced the government to allow their People's Television (PTV) station back on the air.

Later in the day, 'red shirts' stormed a police building at the upscale Ratchaprasong intersection - their main rally site in the Thai capital - to warn off forces there reportedly preparing to disperse them.

Friday's riot at Thaicom, a private firm that is the country's communications office, in Pathum Thani, north of Bangkok, was the first real clash between red shirts and security forces in nearly four weeks of protests.

It came after the government invoked a state of emergency in Bangkok and its surroundings on Wednesday.

Soldiers first used a water cannon truck to hold off protesters, but police switched to tear gas after they swarmed around the truck.
Posted by: Fred 2010-04-10
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=294345