Thai Red Shirts rally to mark 2006 coup, May crackdown

Authorities were not expecting violence but kept security tight, with army-led command centers in both cities monitoring events and several thousand police deployed in Bangkok near the heart of April and May's deadly rallies.

Red leaders expected 10,000 protesters to join the demonstration in Chiang Mai — the former stronghold of the fugitive former prime minister who was toppled from power in 2006 — compared to an official estimate of 1,000.

AFP saw thousands peacefully marching through the city by mid-afternoon, some waving banners calling for the dissolution of parliament.

In the Thai capital police said 2,500 Reds had gathered at Ratchaprasong intersection, the focus of their two-month rally calling for snap elections, during which 91 people were killed and nearly 1,900 were injured.

The Bangkok protesters, expected to swell further in number by the evening, were set to release 10,000 red balloons in remembrance of those who died or were injured on May 19, when the army brought a bloody end to the unrest.

“I came here in memory of my dead Red friends who fought with us during the protest,” said a 68-year-old retired demonstrator who gave only his first name, Sunai. “The Red Shirts will never die,” he added.

The Reds' hero Thaksin, who lives abroad to avoid a jail term for corruption, called on his followers via Twitter to avoid further violence ahead of the double anniversary.

“I want everyone to look to the future. I want to see the healing of people who suffered from the conflict. I want to see people forgive each other,” he said, adding that he was currently in Lebanon.

Sunday's demonstrations cap a series of events held by the Red Shirts over the weekend.

Thaksin, a telecommunications billionaire, drew wide support from Thailand's rural poor during office but was deposed by a military coup in 2006 and faces allegations of corruption and abuse of power.

He has been in self-imposed exile but still commands the loyalty of thousands of supporters.

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