Thailand anti-government protesters continue to shutdown the capital

Eurasia News

BANGKOK: The anti-government protesters in Thailand on Tuesday continued to shutdown the capital Bangkok and blocked key intersections, bridges and roads around ministries to prevent government officials from going to work.

On Tuesday, thousands of demonstrators marched peacefully from their seven big protest camps to ministries including the customs office‚ the planning agency and other state bodies to paralyze the workings of government.

The move by the protesters led by Suthep Thaugsuban was aimed at derailing the election scheduled for February 2, as well as forcing Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to resign and be replaced by an unelected people’s council. The protesters said that they will remain on the streets until their demands are met.

Meanwhile, thousands of security forces have been deployed in the capital.

The anti-government protesters accuse Yingluck Shinawatra-led government of being a proxy of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, the elder brother of current PM Shinawatra.

The government came under more criticism when it tried to pass an amnesty bill last month which would pave the way for the Thaksin Shinawatra, ousted in 2006 by the military and in self-exile in Dubai, to return without facing any trial.