Bangkok red-shirt protesters defy eviction order Skip to main content

Bangkok red-shirt protesters defy eviction order

Anti-government protesters occupy the streets of a busy shopping district in Bangkok, 5 April 2010
The red-shirts have threatened to step up their protests
Anti-government protesters have spent another night in the centre of the Thai capital Bangkok, despite a court ruling allowing the government to evict them.
The protesters, known as the red-shirts, are calling for the government to step down and hold fresh elections.
They had demonstrated in Bangkok for almost a month before moving their protest to its commercial hub.

On Monday they shut down Bangkok's shopping district for a third day and stormed election commission offices.
The red-shirts accuse the commission of bias towards the main governing party.
They dispersed after being given an assurance that the case would be addressed later this month.
No violence was reported but the move raised fears that the protests - which have been peaceful so far - could turn ugly.
Resignation demand
More than three years after the army deposed Thaksin Shinawatra as Thailand's prime minister, instability continues to grip the country.
The red-shirts are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Abhusit Vejjajiva, who came to power after a military backed coup.
They say they will not move until their demands are met and, says the BBC's South East Asia correspondent Rachel Harvey, their tactics are becoming increasingly bold and provocative.
Many of the protesters have been sleeping on mats outside five-star hotels and shopping centres, forcing businesses to close and lose money.
The government has declared the rally in the commercial district illegal. Under special security laws, the protesters have also been barred from entering or blocking 11 major routes which run through Bangkok.
A Bangkok court says that the government has the power to evict them; our correspondent says that the question, then, is when and how the authorities might choose to exercise that power.

BBC NEWS
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