Democrats pleased with 'symbolic' fight against bill

The Democrats are happy with their symbolic anti-government challenge yesterday, although the rally was dispersed before noon, a Democrat source said.

According to a key Democrat member, the opposition party had accomplished its goal with a symbolic fight against the amnesty bill, confirming the number of supporters and alerting the community to keep a close eye on the deliberations.

Thousands of Democrat supporters who accompanied the MPs in the rally against the amnesty bill were told to go home yesterday after police refused to allow them into the Internal Security Act-imposed area near Parliament House.

They were blocked near the Rajavithi intersection and informed that anti-government protesters were not allowed to march to Parliament with Democrat MPs.

Democrat leaders, including Abhisit Vejjajiva, Chuan Leekpai and Suthep Thaugsuban, yesterday morning led thousands of protesters from the rally site near the Urupong intersection to Parliament to protest against the amnesty bill.

Former Democrat secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban told them this was not the final round. The Democrats had vowed to keep on fighting the amnesty bill and would step up activities when the bill was passed on the third reading.

He told supporters to look forward to the next "Reveal the Truth" rally.

"Now people can see how the government is trying very hard to block us when our supporters just want to send us off to Parliament. They now realise [the situation] and the pressure will increase. When the bill is passed on the third reading, the pressure will make them more than ready to fight," the source, a key person in the Democrats’ "Reveal the Truth" rally but did not want to be named, said.

He said the idea to lead supporters to Parliament came in a meeting of the party’s strategic team last week and was developed over the weekend.

"A key message that we have kept in mind is that, ‘whatever the Democrats do today [yesterday], will be recorded in history.’ Therefore, we cannot allow any violence," he said. He added there was an informal agreement that protesters from the People’s Army to Overthrow the Thaksin Regime, who have been rallying at Lumpini Park, should not join them.

Groups testing the water

Another reason the two anti-government groups acted separately yesterday was to test the water on how many people really support the Democrats, the source, who is a political analyst for the party, said.

He said the party’s surveys found the number of "Democrats hardcore" had increased by 10 per cent since the first "Reveal the Truth" rally last year. On the other hand, Pheu Thai’s hardcore support had decreased.

At the blockade line on Rajavithi Road yesterday, the Democrats’ argument that the protesters had no weapons and would leave the area after the Democrat MPs entered the Parliament compound failed to convince officials.

City police commander Pol Colonel Wisarn Panmanee told the Democrat leaders the order was issued by City Police Commissioner Pol Lt-General Camronwit Toopgrajank and was in line with enforcement of the ISA.

In the afternoon, some Democrat supporters stayed on around the blockade line on Rajavithi Road. Two female members ran and tried to break into the ISA-imposed area but one was blocked and seized, while the other fell over on the road and was knocked unconscious.

Meanwhile, anti-government activist Captain Songklod Chuen-chupol, aka, Captain Pookem, took a chance when police were providing first aid to the woman and got through the police line before being arrested in front of Dusit Zoo and taken into custody.

Songklod was among a dozen people who refused to stay at Lumpini Park and instead joined the Democrat-led rally to Parliament yesterday.