ID :
16419
Wed, 08/20/2008 - 00:41
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Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/16419
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Thousands rally at British embassy demanding Thaksin extradition
BANGKOK, Aug 19 (TNA) - Thousands of demonstrators marched through part of Bangkok's central business district Tuesday to rally at the British embassy, urging the United Kingdom to extradite former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to stand trial in Thailand on alleged corruption and malfeasance charges.
Several thousands yellow-clad protesters gathered at Central World Plaza at Rajprasong intersection, in the heart of the Thai capital and processedwith hundreds of placards carrying police mug shots of the deposed Mr.
Thaksin and his wife Pojaman, and handed out flyers to shoppers and bystanders calling for the arrest of the former premier as his wife as'enemies of the kingdom'.
Traffic police halted traffic at one of the capital's main intersections to allow the flow of demonstrators passage to the embassy while hundreds of onlookers watched from above, packing the walkways linking Bangkok'sshopping centres.
About 500 anti-riot police stood behind iron barricades erected in frontof the embassy's main entrance.
All five core leaders of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), a coalition of anti-Thaksin groups who say they are protesting for the restoration of democracy, led their supporters in the march from the Rajaprasong intersection to the embassy, causing heavy traffic snarls andconfusion along the route.
At the embassy the marchers submitted a letter to a representative of British ambassador Quinton Quayle, demanding that the British government return Mr. Thaksin, now officially a fugitive, to face the musicinThailand.
"Thaksin is not a political refugee but a criminal evading an arrestwarrant," one of the banners read.
The ex-premier and his wife Pojaman failed to appear last Monday at the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions to defend themselves against charges related to the Bangkok land purchase at a significantly lower-than-market price in 2003 while Mr. Thaksin was inpower.
Toppled in a bloodless coup in September 2006, multi-billionaire Thaksin and his wife were in Beijing for the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, with the permission of the Thai authorities, but chose to ignore their court date in Bangkok, and flew directly to London rather than return forthe scheduled legal proceedings.
By opting to bypass Bangkok, and the established procedures of justice, Mr. Thaksin and his wife seemed to many to be admitting both their guilt and their unwillingness to accept punishment. (TNA)
Several thousands yellow-clad protesters gathered at Central World Plaza at Rajprasong intersection, in the heart of the Thai capital and processedwith hundreds of placards carrying police mug shots of the deposed Mr.
Thaksin and his wife Pojaman, and handed out flyers to shoppers and bystanders calling for the arrest of the former premier as his wife as'enemies of the kingdom'.
Traffic police halted traffic at one of the capital's main intersections to allow the flow of demonstrators passage to the embassy while hundreds of onlookers watched from above, packing the walkways linking Bangkok'sshopping centres.
About 500 anti-riot police stood behind iron barricades erected in frontof the embassy's main entrance.
All five core leaders of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), a coalition of anti-Thaksin groups who say they are protesting for the restoration of democracy, led their supporters in the march from the Rajaprasong intersection to the embassy, causing heavy traffic snarls andconfusion along the route.
At the embassy the marchers submitted a letter to a representative of British ambassador Quinton Quayle, demanding that the British government return Mr. Thaksin, now officially a fugitive, to face the musicinThailand.
"Thaksin is not a political refugee but a criminal evading an arrestwarrant," one of the banners read.
The ex-premier and his wife Pojaman failed to appear last Monday at the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions to defend themselves against charges related to the Bangkok land purchase at a significantly lower-than-market price in 2003 while Mr. Thaksin was inpower.
Toppled in a bloodless coup in September 2006, multi-billionaire Thaksin and his wife were in Beijing for the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, with the permission of the Thai authorities, but chose to ignore their court date in Bangkok, and flew directly to London rather than return forthe scheduled legal proceedings.
By opting to bypass Bangkok, and the established procedures of justice, Mr. Thaksin and his wife seemed to many to be admitting both their guilt and their unwillingness to accept punishment. (TNA)
