Wisdom Quarterly; Papitchaya Boonngok (AP via news.yahoo.com, Dec. 26, 2013)
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| Billionaire brother and former Thai PM is thought to control his sister, the current PM |
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| Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra |
BANGKOK - [Armed and dangerous police attacked protesters who only had rocks to throw. Protesters are trying to halt preparations for new elections, but police are fighting them in the Thai] capital on Thursday [Dec. 26th] as they escalate their campaign to topple the country's beleaguered and untrustworthy government.
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| Buddhist flags flying in Thailand (WQ) |
At least 48 people were wounded, most of them unarmed protesters, three of them armed police officers, authorities said. Security authorities fired [deadly] rubber [coated] bullets and tear gas toward the demonstrators, who were attempting to force their way into a sports stadium being used [by] candidates to draw lots for their position on polling papers. [Protesters do not want rigged elections that simply promote the status quo.]
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| Protesters throw back tear gas canisters shot at them by police (Sakchai Lalit/AP/MORE) |
The protesters failed to halt the proceedings inside the stadium, where representatives from 27 parties drew lots. But four election commissioners had to be evacuated from facility by helicopter because of the fighting outside. Police Col. Anucha Romyanan urged the demonstrators to assemble peacefully and said "attempts are being made to escalate the political situation by causing violence."
The clashes were contained to the area around the stadium but stretched into the morning. It was the first violent incident in nearly two weeks of daily protests on the streets of Bangkok.
The protesters have been demanding that
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra step down since mid-October [because she is felt to be a puppet controlled by her corrupt brother, the former PM
billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra, who is in exile outside of Thailand to avoid arrest as she attempts to pardon him and allow him reentry] and street unrest has occasionally broken out. They oppose the polls scheduled for Feb. 2 because Yingluck is seen as sure to win them.
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