Thai protest movement surrenders

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=126964§ionid=351020406


Leaders of Thailand's anti-government protest movement have decided to surrender amid fears that escalating violence would claim more lives in the country.

At least four Red Shirt leaders turned themselves in on Wednesday, shortly after the military staged a crackdown on the protesters, AFP reported.

Earlier in the day, government troops backed by armored vehicles punched through the barricades of a protest camp in Bangkok's shopping district, where the protesters had gathered for six weeks.

The attack triggered gun battles which led to the deaths of at least five people, including an Italian journalist, and left many others injured.

Following the incident, the protest leaders asked thousands of supporters in the camp to leave and relocate to an area where government buses would help them depart the capital.

"I ask everyone to go home," senior Reds figure Nattawut Saikuar said in a television interview from the National Police Office where he was held in custody.

"There will be police guarding the road and providing security for you. I hope that you return home safely," he said.

The surrender came after hundreds of elite Thai troops were deployed in the protest-hit capital. The police had also issued permits for the troops to immediately shoot on sight those who were believed to incite unrest.

Shortly after Wednesday's eviction operation, Senator Lertrat Rattanavanich -- involved in the failed mediation efforts -- said that senior Reds including Jatuporn Prompan would turn themselves in to the police at 1 p.m. (0600 GMT).