"Academic gathering" worsens the ties

However, this time authorities appeared to be better prepared.

Police set up barriers on the pavements outside of Thammasat University, where the PAD gathering took place, and on one edge of Sanam Luang, just across a twolane road from the university.

It was there that hundreds of a proamendment crowd gathered and shouted expletives at PAD leaders and their alleged bid to bring down an elected government for the sake of a "dictatorial constitution".

Supporters of the PAD gathering on Thammasat side showed their anger and some even cursed back.

As the confrontation grew tense, police brought in four buses used for transporting police detainees. Patriotic songs were then played repeatedly, including "Rak Kan Wai Therd" (Let's Love One Another).

The sound volume was raised until the blare submerged the noise from the proamendment demonstrators' amplifying system. The protesters then cursed the police, saying they were siding with "thugs who robbed the country". They also threatened to storm into the university to "make it the last PAD gathering this time around".

Police installed 20 closedcircuit television cameras in front of the university and on the opposite side. About 500 officers were deployed to keep law and order.

Shortly after 7 pm, two catapult shots were propelled into the university and hit a wall of its Main Auditorium, where the PAD gathering was taking place.

Later, a man aged in his early 20s threw a stone from inside the university to the protesters at Sanam Luang. He then was overpowered by PAD supporters nearby and handed over to police.

Shortly before 8 pm, the number of Sanam Luang protesters dwindled to less than 50 due to a heavy rain.

Inside the university, thousands of people gathered to hear the PAD leaders and other panel speakers, in addition to stage performances.

Prasong Soonsiri, who headed the Constitution Drafting Committee, said he believed the perceived constitutional problems were not caused by the charter itself. "They're rather problems for certain politicians," he said.

"After several crises in the past, it's time now for us to face another difficulty. It's time to fight till an end. We have to rely on ourselves. And I believe the military is not siding with bad politicians. It's time we rise to fight those bad politicians," Prasong told the audience.

The antiamendment PAD held its previous gathering late last month, also at the university's Main Auditorium. Like this time, the previous event also drew much ire from supporters to the amendment bid. Hundreds of them gathered at the same place to shout curse words against PAD leaders.