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Hundreds of "Red-Shirt" supporters of ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra hold a poster of him during a rally in Bangkok Oct. 17, 2009. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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BANGKOK, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's government is confident that security authorities will be able to control the anti-government rally near the Government House, the Thai Army Spokesman told Xinhua Saturday night.
In a related development, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the protestors have rights to stage the rally, however, he called on them to hold the rally peacefully.
The prime minister has urged the protestors not to use violence since it will make trouble for the country, Thai News Agency quoted Abhisit as saying on Saturday during a provincial trip near Bangkok.
"The government is confident to be able to control the rally," said Army Spokesman Col Sansern Kaewkamnerd.
However, there was no report that there would be a third hand attempting to incite violence at the rally site, the Army Spokesman said.
The number of the red-shirted protestors from the United front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) was up to 7,000, said ColSansern.
The rally started at about 13 p.m., local time, at Cha-mi Ma-richet bridge in front of the Government House in a bid to demand a progress report concerning the royal pardon sought for ousted former Premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
Thaksin, ousted by the military coup in September, 2006, was accused of corruption, has been in exile since then.
Thaksin returned to Thailand in February, 2008 to face corruption charges, but he later went to exile again and was convicted in absentia. He has been perceived as the real leader of the UDD people.
As the number of the protestors grew, at about 16.30 p.m. the UDD core leaders asked for extending the rally area, the Army Spokesman said.
After having assessed the situation, security authorities allowed them to do so in a bid to avoid confrontation, said Col Sansern.
Later the red-shirted protestors moved in to occupy a road beside the Government House's fence along the Prem Prachakorn Cannel.
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A "Red-Shirt" supporter of ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra holds a poster of him during a rally in Bangkok Oct. 17, 2009. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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About 6,600 security men have been deployed at the Prime Minister's Office compound and other key state buildings as they have also laid blockages and barbed-wire around the Government House.
Before today's rally, the government imposed the Internal Security Act (ISA) from Oct. 15-25 in Dusit district in order to keep peace and order at the mass rally site.
UDD core leader Jatuporn Phrompan earlier said the protestors will disperse at midnight after demanding the government to speed up legal procedure on a royal pardon for ousted former Premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
"Today, we just want to signal to the government to speed up (the royal pardon process), while we will disperse at 24.00 p.m.," said Jatuporn.
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Hundreds of "Red-Shirt" supporters of ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra hold a rally in Bangkok Oct. 17, 2009. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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On August 17, the red-shirted people submitted the appeal to a representative of the Office of His Majesty's Principal Private Secretary, which was later forwarded to the government for further consideration.
Meanwhile, the UDD group plans to stage a rally at the ASEAN Summit's venues to demand the government to conduct a referendum to seek public opinion on the 1997 and 2007 constitution.
The rally at the ASEAN Summit will be peaceful and will not prolong, Arisman Pongreungrong, a UDD core leader, said at the anti-government rally site.
However, in a bid to maintain security, the Internal Security Act has been imposed by the Thai government from Oct. 12 until 27 at the venues of the Summit and related meetings.
The ISA law has prohibited any protest inside or in areas surrounding the ASEAN Summit and related venues.
The 14th ASEAN summit and its related summits in Pattaya in April were forced to cancel due to thousands of pro-Thaksin red shirt protestors stormed in the meeting venues.
