Red-shirts step up their campaign

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By: BangkokPost.com

Published: 9/04/2009 at 12:17 PM

Red-shirt protest leaders are looking to step up their campaign, with possible rallies in Pattaya to disrupt the Asean+3 Summit and traffic chaos in Bangkok, after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva spurned their ultimatum that he resign by 4pm on Thursday.

In the afternoon taxi drivers began parking their vehicles at the intersections of all roads entering the Victory Monument roundabout, a major business area, bringing all traffic to a halt.

They vowed to continue their blockade if the prime minister does not resign and call a general election, reports said.

Police moved in about 3pm and began ordering them to disperse, They refused.

The parked taxis also blocked access to nearby major public and government hospitals.

Red-shirted protesters later largely abandoned their rally outside the residence of Privy Council president Gen Prem Tinsulanonda and occupied the Victory Monument and roundabout. They also rallied at the Constitution Court, Foreign Ministry and the prime minister's Democrat party headquarters.

Police warned they would use cranes and trucks to move the parked vehicles if the protesters remained obdurate.

Protest organises said up to 20,000 taxis would block major roads in the capital for the next three days unless the government resigns.

In an interview with TV Channel 7 on Thursday morning, Prime Minister Abhisit said he would definitely not step down, as the leaders of the pro-Thaksin United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship had demanded on Wednesday afternoon.

He said all demands except the demand for the restoration of democracy were unacceptable.

The prime minister said he believed most of the protesters were for democracy, but a handful were exploiting democracy to advance their own political agendas.

The demand for the resignation of Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda and two other privy councilors, Genl Surayud Chulanont and Charnchai Likhitjittha, has also been rejected.

Sources close to the UDD leadership said they might decide on new measures to put more pressure on the government to bow to their demands. This could include an attempt to disrupt the Asean+3 summit in Pattaya this Saturday.

Another possibility was for the protesters to scatter and reform in various places, including the Democrat party head office and the Constitution Court, withthe ntention of causing traffic chaos in the capital city.

The government is determined the summit will go ahead as scheduled. Assurances have been given to leaders of Asean and dialogue partners China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand that they will be safe during the meetings this weekend in Pattaya.

Early on Thursday morning there was a minor incident in front of the residence of Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda. A woman wearing a yellow shirt drove a Toyota saloon into a group of red-shirts camping out there, scattering the protesters and their temporary road barricade. One protester was slightly injured.

The driver, whose identify was not known, escaped by driving her car towards Suan Amporn park.

Police have asked that she report to police.