Word: thailand
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Tens of thousands of demonstrators surged the Thai capital on Sunday, pushing Thailand towards a tense political standoff as leaders of an anti-government protest movement threatened to paralyze Bangkok unless Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva resigns within 24 hours and calls for a new election. (See photos of last year's protests in Thailand...
...Protest leaders have said that if the government refuses its ultimatum by Monday, they will set the demonstrators loose around the city, blocking traffic and surrounding key government buildings in an effort to force the Prime Minister to dissolve the House of Representatives and call a new election. (See "Thailand Braces For Anti-Government Protest...
...Thailand has been locked in a vicious cycle of pro- and anti-Thaksin demonstrations since late 2005. Thaksin's opponents say he was authoritarian and corrupt; his supporters say he was the first prime minister to address the problems of the nation's poor. The September 2006 coup failed to resolve the conflict. "The coup made the divisions even deeper. Now they are an abyss," said Weng Tojirakan, a red shirt leader...
...Thaksin, who spoke to the protesters by video Saturday evening, is in Switzerland. He has been based in Dubai for the past two years, but Thailand's Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that the United Arab Emirates government had asked Thaksin to leave because he was using their country to foment political unrest in Thailand. Thaksin initially denied he had been expelled, but told followers in his video that he was now in Switzerland because the government had been "whining" to the UAE. (See pictures of people protesting Iran's election...
...seriously consider restoring relations" and that he was pleased by the recent "serious efforts from the Thai government." Still, with the statute of limitations expiring, pressure falls on the upcoming trial to reveal the secrets behind the Blue Diamond Affair. Saudi Arabia will have to decide soon if Thailand's last-minute show of effort is enough, or if the curse of the blue diamond will haunt Thai foreign relations for years to come...