Protesters becoming one group; Reject new negotiations with government

BANGKOK, April 14 (TNA) — After demonstrating for a month on Ratchadamnoen Avenue in a bid to oust the coalition government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, Thailand’s ‘Red Shirt’ protesters plan to move all their activists from the site to join with their compatriots now occupying Ratchaprasong intersection, Bangkok’s prime business area later Wednesday.

Natthawut Saikua, a key leader of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), told a press conference that the protesters will leave Phan Fa Bridge on Ratchadamnoen Avenue later Wednesday and join their fellow protesters at Ratchaprasong intersection. They will rally again after Songkran, the traditional New Year, ends Thursday.

UDD protesters have occupied Phan Fah Bridge since March 14. The plan to move from this site comes after bloody clashes between combined government forces and the protesters last Saturday.

The number of protesters at Ratchaprasong intersection is expected to grow to as far as Lumpini Park or beyond that, traffic around Silom Road, considered as Thailand’s Wall Street.

Police are optimistic that protesters will completely vacate Ratchadamnoen Avenue by midnight and the authorities will inspect whether any dangerous material is left at the site.

Municipal cleanup teams will be assigned to clean the roads after the protesters leave, police said. Traffic is expected to return to normal Thursday evening.

Insisting that UDD key leaders will not negotiate with the government for a third time, Mr Natthawut said Prime Minister Abhisit must dissolve the House first. If and when that happens, he said, Red Shirt leaders with arrest warrants will surrender to police afterward.

Top UDD leaders held two rounds of talks with the government on March 28 and 29 without resolving the impasse. The Red Shirts insisted that Mr Abhisit must dissolve the House within 15 days while the prime minister proposed a nine month time frame.

During the press conference, Mr Natthawut introduced a 47-year-old UDD security guard identified as Manop Charnchungthong to the media. He said Mr Manop was the same person described as the ‘terrorist’ who shot soldiers and protesters last Saturday. His picture was shown in the media.

Defending the UDD guard, Mr Nutthawut said that in the picture shown to the media, Mr Manop was standing in front of the rally site at Phan Fa bridge, not at the Khok Wua intersection where the clash occurred.

The Red Shirt leader said Mr Manop carried a military weapon he collected from the clash site and was about to display it to protesters on the stage at Phan Fa Bridge. (TNA)