Anti-govt protesters rally across Thai capital

[Lite Beer]

Anti-govt protesters rally across Thai capital
By English News

BANGKOK, Dec 22 - The protesters of anti-government movement, the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC), today marched across the Thai capital in an intensified mass rally to pressure caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to resign from her post.

PDRC leader Suthep Thaugsuban turned up at the Monument of King Taksin the Great in Wongwienyai area, calling on the public to join the demonstrations.

Mr Suthep led crowds from Wongwienyai, marching to Lumpini Park. He was scheduled to visit all the main rally stages organised by the PDRC today, before delivering a speech at Democracy Monument in the evening.

The PDRC earlier announced that five main rally stages have been set up at Victory Monument, Pathumwan intersection, Lumpini Park, Ratchaprasong intersection and Asok intersection.

The activities at each site is set to start from 1pm.

An additional ten small rally stages have been set up across Bangkok.

Meanwhile, a group of female and ladyboy protesters today also gathered outside the residence of the caretaker premier in Soi Yothinpattana 3.

Their leaders, Anchalee Paireeraka and Seri Wongmontha, read a PDRC statement, urging Ms Yingluck to resign from her caretaker premiership to allow the country's reform process to move forward. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2013-12-22

[Nibbles48]

Old Suthep is being handed cash every second almost... watching it on BSTV.

Up yours DSI....lol

[SaamBaht]

Doesn't Suthep think it odd that only Bangkok folks are protesting, and only a fraction of the numbers he reports? It's amazing how little support this guy has.

[LadPhrao1]

The sound of bleating sheep heard round the world...

[citizen33]

Was a bit worried that I needed to fly out of Suvarnabhumi today, but actually had a clear run in the taxi. All normal here at the airport.

[backtonormal]

Regardless of the numbers attending it will only equate to about 1% of the electorate that voted in this democratically elected government. So Suthep is not talking for the people...hes talking for his people

[Nibbles48]

Doesn't Suthep think it odd that only Bangkok folks are protesting, and only a fraction of the numbers he reports? It's amazing how little support this guy has.

You clearly are not watching what I am watching.... but then again, I predicted this chiming in about the numbers on another thread before this one was opened, and here you all are.

Hilarious.

[Nibbles48]

Was a bit worried that I needed to fly out of Suvarnabhumi today, but actually had a clear run in the taxi. All normal here at the airport.

Last I looked, the airport was on the outskirts of BKK far away from the protests via a network of expressways.

[Finkelstein]

Doesn't Suthep think it odd that only Bangkok folks are protesting, and only a fraction of the numbers he reports? It's amazing how little support this guy has.

I am pretty sure You were not at Rama II yesterday afternoon, even on a sunday, after a long weekend with peoples returning home from Hua Hin and Cha Am I have not seen a que this long... And yesterday was as, You may know - saturday - the day traffic is normally the other way, going out of Bangkok...

From the 25 km mark until I turned onto Kanchanapietsaek (11 km mark) took me 2 hours... Cars, pickup trucks, busses and minivans with thai flags - and peoples obviously going to join todays rallies - was seen, in thousands...

Suthep has support from a large number of the population, even from what is known as red shirt strongholds I know people going to Bangkok...

The amnesty law tripped the scale, as far as I can see...

Edited December 22, 2013 by Finkelstein

[Ozybear]

Nibbles, go back to your protest or get a real job

[dddave]

Have the shopping malls in the Siam area (MBK, Discovery, Paragon, Central World) opened for business today?

[taff33]

How is this 'mad man' allowed to cause all this trouble in Bangkok,why doesn't he go out into the rest country and see what support he has from others, instead of bangkokians and the southeners that he can blind with bullshit.

[Lite Beer]

Thai opposition protesters gear up for fresh mass rally

BANGKOK, December 22, 2013 (AFP) - Thousands of Thai anti-government protesters massed ahead of a major rally Sunday aimed at suspending democracy, paralysing parts of central Bangkok a day after the main opposition party declared a boycott of snap polls.

At least 1,000 people -- mainly women -- also gathered early Sunday outside Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's suburban house amid tight security, according to an AFP reporter at the scene, with thousands more expected.

The premier, who was forced to dissolve the house in early December after the Democrat Party resigned en masse from parliament, is in the north-east of the country, the heartland of her ruling party.

Demonstrators want to rid Thailand of Yingluck and the influence of her Dubai-based brother Thaksin -- an ousted billionaire ex-premier who is despised by a coalition of the southern Thai poor, Bangkok middle classes and elite.

Firebrand protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban, who has vowed to destroy the "Thaksin regime", dismisses Yingluck's call for an election on February 2, saying it will install another Thaksin-allied government.

Instead the self-proclaimed People's Democratic Reform Committee is calling for an unelected "people's council" to be installed to oversee sweeping reforms before new elections in a year to 18 months.

His movement was bolstered Saturday by the Democrats' announcement of a poll boycott.

The move dismayed the prime minister who said elections must take place to secure Thailand's fragile democracy.

"If we don't hold on to the democratic system, what should we hold on to?" she told reporters Sunday.

"If you don't accept this government, please accept the system," she said, adding elections will allow protesters to be heard at the ballot box.

Suthep began a march to the commercial heart of Bangkok joined by several thousand followers, many blowing whistles -- the symbol of the weeks-long protests -- and waving Thai flags.

Opposition protesters are expected to converge for a major rally in central Bangkok around 1100 GMT. Previous such rallies have attracted at least 150,000 people.

Demonstrators blocked traffic at several points in the capital, including at a symbolic intersection occupied by rival "Red Shirts" in 2010 pro-Thaksin rallies which ended in bloodshed.

Suthep, then deputy prime minister for the Democrat Party, faces murder charges over the crackdown which left scores dead.

Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva -- who has also been indicted for murder over the crackdown -- on Saturday said his party would boycott February polls.
The Democrats have not won an elected majority in some two decades.

Their party previously boycotted elections in 2006, helping to create the political vacuum which heralded a military coup that ousted Thaksin.

Analysts say the current boycott could engineer a similar outcome, but also carries major risk for the country's oldest political party which could face a wipe out if the polls go ahead.

The PDRC has appealed for the support of the army to upend the government -- which is holding out despite enormous pressure on the streets.

But the military has indicated it will not step in directly at this stage.

Thailand has seen 18 successful or attempted coups since 1932.

Thaksin is adored among rural communities and the working class, particularly in the north and northeast, but the billionaire tycoon-turned-politician is reviled by the elite, who see him as corrupt and a threat to the monarchy.

Pro-Thaksin parties have won every election since 2001, most recently with a landslide victory under Yingluck two years ago.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2013-12-22

[Scamper]

For those that have eyes to see, this is a movement, and if it is dependent on one man, it's certainly not Suthep. It's Thaksin ! Just ask anyone on the street. Thaksin has acted as a glue for all these demonstrations. There's no doubt about that. People are fed up with the corruption, and they know the source of it, and they want an end to it. And for those that see so few people on the streets, two observations. One - get glasses. Two - evidently, the numbers have been sufficient to get the government's attention. The parliament's been dissolved. There have been an almost daily flurry of statements and proposals from the government, and each day some form of retreat or backtracking.

[backtonormal]

Doesn't Suthep think it odd that only Bangkok folks are protesting, and only a fraction of the numbers he reports? It's amazing how little support this guy has.

I am pretty sure You were not at Rama II yesterday afternoon, even on a sunday, after a long weekend with peoples returning home from Hua Hin and Cha Am I have not seen a que this long... And yesterday was as, You may know - saturday - the day traffic is normally the other way, going out of Bangkok...

From the 25 km mark until I turned onto Kanchanapietsaek (11 km mark) took me 2 hours... Cars, pickup trucks, busses and minivans with thai flags - and peoples obviously going to join todays rallies - was seen, in thousands...

Suthep has support from a large number of the population, even from what is known as red shirt strongholds I know people going to Bangkok...

The amnesty law tripped the scale, as far as I can see...

If this Suthep has so much support why not run in the election and win some seats...then we can have reform the democratic way

[backtonormal]

If I understand this correctly, there's 200,000 Thai people who want to give up their right to vote, with no guarantee when the right will ever be returned. Allow the country to be run by 'friends of friends' to change the constitution, the law and anything else that will ensure they remain feasting at the top table. Thaksins corrupt...let me think about it

[edwardandtubs]

The anecdotal reports of Suthep's groupies are worthless. The photos show very small numbers of people. His "movement" has clearly fizzled out.

[Prbkk]

Have the shopping malls in the Siam area (MBK, Discovery, Paragon, Central World) opened for business today?

They are all open. MBK is crowded with shoppers. The protest crowd outside is TINY ( maybe 500-1000). All other mall are open

[backtonormal]

The anecdotal reports of Suthep's groupies are worthless. The photos show very small numbers of people. His "movement" has clearly fizzled out.

but will he hand himself in tomorrow...loser and a coward are words some may use

[backtonormal]

Have the shopping malls in the Siam area (MBK, Discovery, Paragon, Central World) opened for business today?

They are all open. MBK is crowded with shoppers. The protest crowd outside is TINY ( maybe 500-1000). All other mall are open

lets do away with democracy, support is snowballing

[backtonormal]

Have the shopping malls in the Siam area (MBK, Discovery, Paragon, Central World) opened for business today?

They are all open. MBK is crowded with shoppers. The protest crowd outside is TINY ( maybe 500-1000). All other mall are open

If this protest had been an injured dog (some may say it is) it would have been put out of its misery now

[kurtgruen]

All one has to do, is to go to blueskychannel.tv to see how many protesters are out there, today Five main stages and at least 10 smaller ones, in Bangkok. Lots of people, lots of fun and excitment. (and some very cute singer, a little while ago, who had everybody dancing.

Little Miss Noluck, seems to be on her way out.

[backtonormal]

All one has to do, is to go to blueskychannel.tv to see how many protesters are out there, today Five main stages and at least 10 smaller ones, in Bangkok. Lots of people, lots of fun and excitment. (and some very cute singer, a little while ago, who had everybody dancing.

Little Miss Noluck, seems to be on her way out.

Why not create a political party with all that support and run in the election...oh sorry thats democratic and the Peoples Council don do democracy

[Ron CM]

It's interesting to read everyone's comments, some well written, some erroneous, whilst others seem to forget that corruption leads the country, the problem is not democracy it is the way people bend it to their own means, who cares how many people are in the rallies, but the point is their are rallies and masses of them over a long period, doesn't that show their is a problem with the current Government? elections answer what the people want, but governments must be transparent, and until that happens this country will never settle. (just my opinion)

[backtonormal]

How is this 'mad man' allowed to cause all this trouble in Bangkok,why doesn't he go out into the rest country and see what support he has from others, instead of bangkokians and the southeners that he can blind with bullshit.

He wouldn't make it much north of Ayutthaya without being put out of his misery.

If Suthep held a rally any further North of Bangkok he could hold it in a phone box

[bkkfaranguy]

To all the hardcore supporters of Benito Sutheppi and his brownshirts among the posters here please answer a few questions:

If YL agrees to step down as caretaker PM, what will happen next?

A "peoples council" where the elite take care of business on behalf of their stupid and poor countrymen?

Will the votingright be returned this century or the next?

Does the sheeps following their Dear Leader really understand, that they are in reality supporting the really powerfull amart families, who not even now get their hands dirty.?

Is social justice in Thailand just a dream?

Is setting the clock 50 years back, what you call progress?

As for the stupid comments from Nibbles and his groupies here about my support for the PTP, my postinghistory will tell you something else. But I do not believe in a corrupt government being replaced by a neo-facist one!!

I think you mean a elected corrupt government being replaced by a more corrupt neo- facist dictator!

Edited December 22, 2013 by bkkfaranguy

[FangFerang]

The Shins have gone too far, and the Bangkok people, most on their weekend, now rally. "Let's rally, grab a bite to eat, and go home so we are still at work on Monday". The protesters pattern is following this critique quite closely.

That's funny. A convenient protest. Easy to orchestrate with the population in BKK.

But they have a point. They have a very valid point. The Thai BSometer is at the top....let's all hope it doesn't pop.

Edited December 22, 2013 by FangFerang

[Bluespunk]

"PDRC leader Suthep Thaugsuban turned up at the Monument of King Taksin the Great"

Seriously? This is where he chose to meet? He may be a fascist loon, but seems that also has a sense of humour. Who knew?

[FangFerang]

"Meanwhile, a group of female and ladyboy protesters today also gathered outside the residence of the caretaker premier in Soi Yothinpattana 3."

This will absolutely make YL resign. According to international standards, any elected Prime Ministers must immediately bow to pressure from transgender people.

It's a rule. Look it up, Yingluck.

Edited December 22, 2013 by FangFerang

[Nibbles48]

The anecdotal reports of Suthep's groupies are worthless. The photos show very small numbers of people. His "movement" has clearly fizzled out.

Sorry to p**s on your box of fireworks but ....

Just on of the 16 sites (including YL house)

I think you may have actually been looking at the pictures of YL at Udon and Nong Khai.....lol

These are just from this morning building up.. More people joining by the minute.