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| Southeast Asia |
| Thousands mourn slain Red Shirt gen. |
| 2010-06-23 |
| Over tens of thousands of mourners have attended the cremation ceremony of a Thai Red Shirt general, who was assassinated at the height of demonstrations in Bangkok. Major General Khattiya Sawasdiphol, who was an unofficial security adviser to the Red Shirts, was shot in the head while being interviewed by a foreign reporter earlier in May. The ceremony provided an opportunity for the first gathering of the Red Shirts, since the Thai government quashed their protests in May. "The funeral is a time for mourning, but it's also a time to show solidarity," AFP quoted a protest leader as saying. Bangkok is currently under emergency law, which prohibits public gatherings of more than five people. However, the 800 police officers supervising the ceremony did not try to stop the crowd from paying their respect. Thai opposition has called for an international group to investigate deadly clashes which took place last month between troops and Red Shirt protesters. At least 89 people were killed and close to 1,900 were injured. The Red Shirts had been campaigning for new elections, hoping to push the current government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva out. The opposition mainly consists of supporters of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a military coup in 2006. Thaksin is currently living in exile in order to avoid detention. However, the former Thai prime minister remains popular among the rural poor. |
| Posted by:Fred |