You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
Southeast Asia
30,000 seek Thaksin pardon
2009-08-18
[Straits Times] AT LEAST 30,000 'Red Shirt' protesters rallied in Bangkok Monday to submit a petition seeking a royal pardon for Thailand's fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, police said.

Organisers say they have collected at least five million signatures in support of Thaksin, who was toppled in a military coup in 2006 and fled the kingdom last August to escape a two-year jail term for corruption.

'I would like to say thank you to my fellow Thais, who have a good attitude towards me and to Thailand,' Thaksin said in a speech broadcast live by video to the cheering crowd.

'We are here today to inform our father, the King of every Thai, that we want to see unity and reconciliation,' said Thaksin, wearing the trademark red shirt favoured by his backers.

Billionaire tycoon Thaksin, 60, then turned to a portrait of Thailand's widely revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej and the royal family and sang a traditional royal song.

The protest group would submit their petition to the royal offices in Bangkok's Grand Palace in the afternoon, organisers said. The petition was packed in 10 boxes wrapped in red cloth.

Police Major General Vichai Sangkapai confirmed that 30,000 people had joined the rally so far and that 1,500 uniformed officers had been deployed to secure the rally site. 'So far the situation is normal, the rally is peaceful,' he told AFP.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who took office in December, has warned Thaksin's supporters against signing the petition and said that only Thaksin or his family are allowed to submit it.

The Red Shirts launched the campaign last month following more than three years of sometimes violent confrontations between supporters and foes of Thaksin.

Thaksin's backers forced the cancellation of a major Asian summit in April and then rioted for two days in Bangkok before a crackdown by the army.

Rival royalist 'Yellow Shirts' shut down Bangkok's airports in late 2008, triggering the collapse of the previous, pro-Thaksin government and helping to bring Mr Abhisit to power.
Is anyone else reminded of the Blues, Greens, Reds, and Whites (I think those were the colours) of the supporters of the various chariot teams of the Byzantine Games? They were fond of rioting through the streets, too.
I keep an eye on this because I think Toxin wants to be the Hugo Chavez of Southeast Asia, with overtones of Corleone. Muong Thai has an unfortunate habit of throwing up [and I chose the words intentionally] people like him periodically.
A good thing Thailand has a revered king, then, who occasionally weighs in.
Posted by:Fred

00:00