Thailand's 'yellow-shirts' vow not to move rally site
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The nationalistic "yellow-shirt" movement on Saturday reiterated that its members, who are now holding a rally and encamping on Bangkok's Rajdamnoen Nok Avenue nearby the Government House, will not disperse even under police's request.
Bangkok metropolitan police have demanded the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), known as "yellow-shirts," to move out from the area as it is needed to hold an annual Red Cross Fair.
PAD core-leader, retired Maj Gen Chamlong Srimuang, said the police were trying to use legal means to intimidate PAD members so that they could leave the area before March 15. The fair, of which most of the shops were private businesses, could be relocated, Chamlong added.
Police should think twice before taking any drastic action against the demonstrators, he said.
In defiance against the imposition of the Internal Security Act (ISA) by the government, the "yellow-shirt' movement has continued their rally in the area since Jan. 25 in order to demand the ouster of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his government. They attributed the country's possibility to lose territory around the contentious Preah Vihear temple to its neighboring Cambodia to the government's mishandling of the issue.
Meanwhile, PAD spokesman Panthep Puapongphan said his group rally would not affect plans to organize the Red Cross Fair and that his group had in 2006 held a demonstration which coincided with the fair and that it went smoothly then. He said his group would retaliate against the government from next Monday on the imposition of the ISA.
The Cabinet meeting had firstly enacted ISA on Feb. 9 in seven districts of Bangkok in order to cope with several rallies held by different political groups -- mainly the "yellow-shirts" and " red-shirts."
Chapter 2 of the Act bans protests in certain areas and allows detaining of people for up to 30 days.
