Thai activists move in on more ministries
euters housands of hai demonstrators marched yesterday toward a government office complex they planned to shut down as part of efforts to cripple the government and oust rime inister Yingluck Shinawatra.
aving forced the closure of five ministries in the past two days, about ,000 demonstrators rallying against ingluck and her influential brother, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, aimed to surround the complex in northern Bangkok while smaller groups readied to target six other ministries.
The demonstrations are familiar in Thailand, which has seen eight years of on-off turmoil, from crippling street protests to controversial udicial rulings and military intervention, each time with Thaksin at the center of the disputes.
The demonstrations have been going on for weeks but are gaining momentum. n response to a rousing speech by protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban screened on cable television late on Tuesday, demonstrators in 10 southern provinces massed in front of government offices, according to police.
Despite fleeing into exile to dodge a ail sentence for abuse of power in 200 , billionaire former telecommunications mogul Thaksin has loomed large over Thai politics.
e won the support of the rural poor who voted him twice into office, in 2001 and 200 , before he was ousted in a 200 military coup. is supporters remain fiercely loyal to him and the parties he backs.
is opponents are fewer in number but hold considerable power and influence, among them wealthy conservatives, top generals, bureaucrats and royalists with sway over the urban middle class.