Supporters of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra gather on a road during a Bangkok rally, Mar. 27, 2010. "Red Shirt" protesters raised tensions on Sat. with threats to expel thousands of troops guarding PM Abhisit Vejjajiva (Reuters/Kerek Wongsa).
BANGKOK (AP) – Protesters in Thailand claimed a symbolic victory Saturday after forcing soldiers to retreat from parts of Bangkok's historic district, raising tensions in what so far has been a nonviolent bid to bring down the government.
Riding motorcycles and piled into pickup trucks, more than 60,000 red-shirted protesters clogged traffic and traveled in a noisy parade to the Bangkok Zoo, Buddhist temples, and a half dozen other locations being used by soldiers as temporary camps.
"We will storm the places where soldiers camp out. We'll shake the fence. We'll cut the barbed wire. We'll march through the barricades. We'll march for democracy!" a leader of the "Red Shirt" protesters, Nattawut Saikua, shouted to the crowd. "This is where we'll end military suppression. This is where we'll create democracy." More>>
