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| Southeast Asia | |
| Thai protesters rally ahead of PM's policy speech | |
| 2008-12-29 | |
Red-shirted supporters of Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a coup in 2006, massed near parliament, which elected Abhisit prime minister two weeks ago. Many of the protesters slept overnight outside the building, and hundreds more arrived by bus early on Monday. Protesters carried pictures of Thaksin and others waved placards that read "Abhisit get out, this is a prostitute's government" and "We are ready to protect Thaksin". A senior member of Abhisit's Democrat Party told Thai television they were negotiating with protesters to allow MPs access to the building, and they would delay the sitting if necessary. Under the constitution, a new Thai government cannot start work officially until it delivers its policy statement to a joint sitting of the House of Representatives and Senate. Abhisit is due to deliver his speech at 9:30 a.m. (0230 GMT). The previous government, led by Thaksin's brother-in-law, had to step down after three parties in the ruling coalition were disbanded by the courts, which said they had committed vote fraud in a general election a year ago. Since that election, pro-Thaksin governments were undermined by a series of court cases and street protests led by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), a group that includes members of parliament in Abhisit's Democrat Party. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #2 Nutin. |
| Posted by: Bangkok Billy 2008-12-29 17:49 |
| #1 Any of you knowledgeable RBers able to tell me what, if anything, this has to do with the Muzzie terrorists in the south? |
| Posted by: AlanC 2008-12-29 14:05 |