Poor caravan rolls into Chatuchak Park
the Caravan of the poor stages an opening ceremony yesterday at their temporary site at Chatuchak Park.
|
|
The Caravan of the Poor, supporters of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, yesterday held an opening ceremony for their temporary village at Chatuchak Park, while its opponents, the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), resisted an order to move from its current protest site.
Thaksin supporters backed the order, as it was issued to give authorities better control of crowd movements and to prevent disturbances, said Caravan of the Poor leader Khamta Kanbunchan. Strict rules, including a ban on alcohol, were put in place to keep the protesters under control, he said, adding that his group would not move to confront anti-Thaksin protesters at Government House because it wanted to avoid violence. Police have asked the PAD to move its anti-Thaksin protest out of the Miksakawan Intersection to an open space nearby which has been set aside to house the upcoming Red Cross trade fair. However, PAD leader Chamlong Srimuang said they would not move their stage but would make some adjustments to it. The Red Cross is scheduled to hold its annual fair by the end of this month. Khamta said his group not only wanted to show support for Thaksin but to express their desire for an urgent solution to end the political deadlock. He urged eligible voters to cast a ballot in the April 2 snap poll. He thanked Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin for providing his group with necessary public facilities including water, medical units and mobile toilets. The group is running out of food supplies and medicine, however, Khamta said. Some 30,000 pro-Thaksin demonstrators have been at the park for three days, and 3,000 more from a farmers' network in the Northeast were reportedly travelling from Ubon Ratchathani to join the group.
|
