Tens of thousands join red rally

Tens of thousands join red rally

Tens of thousands of people from across the country joined a pro-government rally on Saturday where leaders warned that the courts were trying to "take over power without elections".

UDD supporters gather on both sides of the canal that divides Aksa Road. (Photo by Sithikorn Wongwudthianun)

Crowds built throughout the day along Aksa Road in Bangkok's Thawi Watthana district, where the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) intends to mass until Monday.

The event has been billed as a last-gasp attempt to save the government of caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, whose future appears likely to be decided by the courts within a few weeks.

Jatuporn: "The Thai people have reached the point of no hope." (Post Today Photo)

As the red-shirts gathered, anti-government protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban was rallying supporters 20 kilometres to the east in Lumpini Park for a "final battle" - an expression he has used on several occasions since his movement began last November.

Mr Suthep said the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) was ready to step in as soon as the judicial axe falls on the current cabinet.

"Once we become the sovereign, we'll seize the assets of the Shinawatra family members. We won't allow them to go abroad. They will need to report to us," he declared.

"We will appoint the prime minister of the people and submit the name to His Majesty, to be countersigned by me."

The propaganda war, meanwhile, has grown more intense. Crudely Photoshopped pictures surfaced on the internet yesterday of red-shirted marchers wearing traditional Burmese lungyi, with the suggestion that "foreigners" were backing the pro-government side. That prompted red-shirt supporters to flash their Thai ID cards for the cameras.

A UDD supporter holds up a picture of caretaker Premier Yingluck Shinawatra. (Post Today Photo)

The movements led by Mr Suthep and UDD chairman Jatuporn Promphan have also been obsessed with the number of people each side can attract. One image tweeted widely on Saturday showed what appeared to be hundreds of thousands of people flanking the canal that divides Aksa Road for about three kilometres. The actual crowd as of late Saturday afternoon was estimated at about 80,000.

In any case, Mr Jatuporn said, the event was just a dress rehearsal for the "real rally", which would begin after Songkran.

On the Aksa Road stage, he told the crowd that the PDRC and judicial institutions were attempting "to take over power without elections. .... We will fight if the country becomes undemocratic."

"The Thai people have reached the point of no hope, because we are now aware of the repeated deceptions," Mr Jatuporn told reporters afterward.

"What we are most concerned about, what we want to warn all sides against, is a civil war, which we do not want to happen. ... It will happen if there is a coup and democracy is stolen."

Mr Jatuporn was joined on the stage by other UDD heavyweights including caretaker deputy commerce minister Nattawut Saikuar, former UDD chairwoman Tida Thawornseth, Korkaew Pikuklthong and Veerakarn Musikapong.

Fans of the caretaker premier display their ID cards to show that they are real Thais to counter rivals' claims that "foreigners" are backing the red-shirt movement. (Post Today Photo)

"We're not looking for a confrontation with the anti-government crowd," Mr Jatuporn told Reuters. "This is about showing our strength and to warn the elite that we will not accept it if Yingluck is removed by the courts."

Red shirt leaders expect more than 500,000 to show up but others gave a more conservative estimate.

"More than 100,000 protesters are at the site now. It's highly unlikely 500,000 will show up but red shirts are still trickling in," said Paradorn Pattanatabut, a security adviser to the prime minister.

A case involving Mr Paradorn's replacement as National Security Council (NSC) chief, Thawil Pliensri, is now the one posing the biggest legal threat to the government.

The Administrative Court ruled that Mr Thawil's 2011 ouster from the NSC had no credible grounds and ordered him reinstated to his old position. His exit paved the way, after a shuffle of some other positions, for the brother-in-law of ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra to become police chief.

Now the Constitutional Court is preparing to impeach Ms Yingluck for transferring Mr Thawil unlawfully. If it finds against her, by law she and her entire cabinet must resign. The premier has been given until April 17 to prepare a defence.

Government supporters, including monks, join a red-shirt rally on Saturday. (Photos by Pattarachai Preechapanich)

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT (69)