Red shirts vow to bring a million to Bangkok

Leaders of the Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship yesterday repeated their vow to amass a million red-shirted demonstrators to oust the government, which they accused of trying to portray the pro-Thaksin Shinawatra movement in a bad light to the public.

Jatuporn Promphan told a press conference at the People Channel TV station in Lat Phrao that the red shirts had been instructed to walk or push their way through all road checkpoints on their way to Bangkok.

The soldiers and police manning the checkpoints would be violating the law if they only stopped red-shirted protesters coming to the capital to demonstrate their constitutional rights against the government, regardless of whether violence was employed, he said.

The red shirts did not attempt to blow up gas tankers and use violence against Bangkok residents during the April mayhem last year, he said.

"The government is using this as propaganda to turn Bangkok residents against the red-shirt rally," he said.