Bangkok ( AsiaNews / Agencies) - Tens of thousands of people took to the streets today in Bangkok, for the third consecutive day , in an escalation of protests aimed at obtaining the resignation of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and the fall of the government. The protesters are headed toward 13 different sensitive areas of the Thai capital , including the headquarters of the army and police , as well as five TV stations controlled by the military or by the executive. According to the protesters Yingluck 's brother , Thaksin Shinawatra , the billionaire who chose exile to escape a prison sentence for corruption, is the real leader of the current leadership.
The - the anti-government - "Yellow Shirts " protests against the Shinawatra siblings is the most impressive since the crisis of 2010, when the kingdom was shaken by a series of events that ended with a bloodbath and the deaths of 90 civilians . "We are fed up with the Thaksin power system ," said the deputy leader of the opposition Suthep Thaugsuban , addressing the crowd . The protesters responded by singing the song " Thaksin get out , and welcome the army ," an implicit call for military intervention in a nation that has experienced 18 coups or attempted overthrows of power since 1932 , when it became a constitutional monarchy.
Fears remain of a repeat of the
street violence of the past between the military and demonstrators , with more
victims and serious repercussions on the economy of the country. Moreover,
since 2006 , with the fall of the executive led by Thaksin , the country has
been plagued by cyclical protests and demonstrations that help fuel the social
and political instability .
For
the Government of Prime Minister Yingluck it is the most critical time since coming
to power in 2011. Also
yesterday, 50 thousand "Red Shirts " - the government's supporters -
gathered in a soccer field in the capital, to develop strategies to support the
executive, its leader and her brother Thaksin .
For
weeks the capital of Thailand has been the scene of demonstrations promoted by
the opposition, enraged by a government amnesty bill , which would (among
others things) grant the opportunity to Thaksin Shinawatra to return from exile
. The
proposal , which was rejected recently by the Upper House of Parliament (the
Senate ) , has also angered the supporters of the executive, because it pardons
those responsible for the massacres of 2010.
The
current opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva , former head of the government at
the time of the violence , and his deputy Suthep are charged with murder, for
coordinating the military operation that ended in bloodshed . During
the most critical phases, soldiers used live ammunition to disperse the crowd
of " Red Shirts " , with the support of armored vehicles and tanks .
Last
week , the government suffered another setback with the vote in the Senate :
the Constitutional Court in fact rejected a proposal for an elaborate reform of
the Senate including the direct election of all representatives of the Upper
House . At
this time the Democratic Party is considering proposed a motion of no
confidence in the government and the prime minister Yingluck , the goal is to vote
tomorrow at the latest, even if the ruling party dominates the House of
Representatives by a wide margin and it is
very unlikely that the motion will be successful .