PM Abhisit attending cabinet meeting amid heavy security, red shirt demo скачать в хорошем качестве

PM Abhisit attending cabinet meeting amid heavy security, red shirt demo

(23 Mar 2010) Nonthaburi 1. Tilt up from a car entering the Public Health Ministry to soldier closing security fence 2. Close of line of soldiers 3. Wide of Thai soldiers with anti-riot gear behind wired fence in front of the ministry 4. Wide of the entrance of the ministry building with media and Thai soldiers outside 5. Tilt up of soldier 6. Wide of Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva arriving, walking through media scrum 7. Wide of Abhisit walking inside ministry Bangkok 8. Close of sticker reading (Thai) "Dissolve the Parliament," zoom out to protestor handing it to passing cars 9. Various of red shirt protesters handing out and pasting stickers onto vehicles STORYLINE: Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva held his weekly cabinet meeting outside the capital Bangkok at the Public Health Ministry in nearby Nonthaburi on Tuesday, amid tight security for fear of anti-government protestors. The Red Shirt protesters, formally known as the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship, consist of supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by a 2006 military coup for alleged corruption, and pro-democracy activists who opposed the army takeover. They have been protesting for a week in Bangkok, as part of their ongoing anti-government demonstration that they hope will lead to the downfall of the administration of Abhisit. Protest leaders had threatened to harass the prime minister wherever he went but decided to stay away on Tuesday, giving him a brief respite. In Bangkok, meanwhile, hundreds of Red Shirts on motorbikes fanned out in the streets, putting up stickers reiterating their demands for fresh elections. Abhisit had said on Sunday he would send representatives to hold talks with protesters who have been calling for him to step down, but his antagonists want to meet him personally. He has so far held firm against demands from the Red Shirt movement that he dissolve Parliament and call new elections, though he has said he is willing to consider the idea. The Red Shirts on Saturday showed their strength by having as many as 100-thousand protesters clog the capital''s streets with an all-day winding drive through its major thoroughfares. Despite causing huge traffic jams, they received an enthusiastic reception from unexpectedly large crowds of onlookers, but the mood soured on Saturday night when grenades were tossed at two government-linked targets. The anti-government protesters see their protest as part of an ongoing struggle between Thailand''s impoverished, mainly rural, masses and a Bangkok-based elite insensitive to their plight. Thailand has been in constant political turmoil since early 2006, when demonstrations accusing Thaksin of corruption and abuse of power began. In 2008, when Thaksin''s political allies came back to power for a year, his opponents occupied the prime minister''s office compound for three months and seized Bangkok''s two airports for a week. Thaksin''s allies were later forced out by court rulings. Abhisit''s Democrat Party then rallied the support of enough lawmakers to form a coalition government in December 2008. The Red Shirts believe Abhisit came to power illegitimately with the connivance of the military and other parts of the traditional ruling class and that only new elections can restore integrity to Thai democracy. The Red Shirts had billed their protest - which began a week ago - as a "million-man march," but at its peak, it attracted just over 100-thousand by most estimates. The crowd fell by as much as half during the work week. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...