Thailand

Yellow Shirts rally on protest anniversary

Article published on the 2009-10-07 Latest update 2009-10-07 11:10 TU

Protestors in Thailand on 7 October 2008
(Photo: adaptorplug)

Protestors took to the streets of Bangkok on Wednesday to mark the first anniversary of violent clashes with police that killed two people and left many injured.

The day after forming the New Politics Party, about 5,000 people, led Sondhi Limthongkul, PAD’s leader, crowded into the capital’s Royal Plaza to pay homage to people who were killed or injured at a protest last year.

In October last year police fired tear gas into a gathering of protesters from the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) as they marched on parliament. Members of PAD then retaliated with gunfire.

Sondhi described the victims as “heroes” and said they would “not allow your fight to be a waste”. He added that they would continue to search for justice.

The Yellow Shirts brought air travel to a standstill last year when they seized two airports in Bangkok.