Thai riot police clear anti-gov’t protest sites
BANGKOK — Thousands of riot police were deployed in the Thai capital yester to clear areas occupied for weeks by opposition protesters, reclaiming the besieged government headquarters with no resistance.
The operation marked an unexpected shift in tactics by the embattled government, which has allowed the protesters to camp out at locations around Bangkok for several months in their bid to force Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra from office.
Security forces easily retook areas around Government House, which Yingluck had been unable to use for about two months, according to AFP reporters. Most protesters appeared to have left the area already.
"Officials will return to work at Government House on Monday," Labor Minister Chalerm Yubamrung, who oversaw the operation, told reporters as he inspected the building.
Yingluck and her cabinet have been forced to work from undisclosed locations around the city for weeks due to the demonstrations.
The operation was focused on the government district rather than major intersections in the commercial center that have become the main focus of the rallies in recent weeks as part of what protesters have described as the "Bangkok shutdown".
So far the authorities have not announced any plan to clear those intersections, where hundreds of protesters are gathered. The leaders of the anti- government movement had called for a big two-day rally starting on Friday.