Thai Protesters Try to Overthrow Caretaker Government | WPN World People News

Thousands of anti-government protesters are fanning out in Thailand's capital of Bangkok in an attempt to bring down a caretaker government after a court ordered Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to step down and an anti-graft agency charged her with negligence.

Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban, speaking to supporters in a city park on Friday, urged them to rally outside parliament, the prime minister's offices and five television stations, to prevent them from being used by the government.

The Thai Constitutional Court on Wednesday removed Yingluck and nine of her cabinet members from power in a separate case involving the reassigning of a senior civil servant.

She was replaced as caretaker prime minister by Commerce Minister Niwatthamrong Boonsongphaisan, who is a close ally of Yingluck and her influential brother, ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Despite the rulings, many protesters are not satisfied, since much of Yingluck's government remains in place. They called for a "final offensive" in the form of Friday's mass protest.

Thailand's Anti-Corruption Commission added to Yingluck's woes on Thursday, ruling that there is enough evidence to indict Yingluck in a controversial rice subsidy program that her critics say was riddled with corruption and wasted billions of dollars.

The case will now proceed to the Senate, where Yingluck will face an impeachment vote that could see her receive a five-year ban from politics.

The decisions send Thailand deeper into a prolonged political deadlock that pits the mostly rural ad poor supporters of Thaksin and Yingluck against the mostly middle class opposition.

For six months, opposition protesters have tried to force Yingluck's government from power, saying she is corrupt and a puppet of her brother Thaksin Shinawatra, a divisive figure in Thai politics.

Supporters of Yingluck and Thaksin have also called for a large rally Saturday to protest the ruling, which they said was politically motivated.

More two dozen people have died since the protests broke out late last year. There are fears that this week's rallies could result in more violence. Thai police say a grenade was thrown early Thursday at the home of one of the judges of the country's Constitutional Court.

Police say no one was injured in the early morning attack, though the grenade did cause minor damage to a roof and a vehicle at the judge's Bangkok home. A bank and hospital were also damaged by grenades overnight.

Source: Voice of America