BANGKOK, March 27 (Xinhua) — The red-shirted anti-government protesters march in capital Bangkok are still under control as the government is confident to be able to further maintain law and order, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thuagsuban said on Saturday.
\”The situation is still under control,\” the deputy premier in charge of security affairs said.
Speaking at a press conference Saturday afternoon, Suthep said that security officers have let the anti-government protesters to move to their targeted places smoothly to avoid confrontation.
Suthep said, \”both police and army officers are performing their duty patiently to deal with the protesters.\”
The government\’s peace-keeping center (PKC) is closely monitoring the situation to further ensure security for the general public and state places, Suthep said, adding that the government will also adjust security forces to be deployed in a bid to prevent any ill-intended people to inclite violence.
The anti-government protesters Saturday were marching to eight important places aiming to pressure the Army to withdraw its forces stationed at several important places in capital Bangkok.
As the march not yet completely ended by 15:30 p.m. local time, some red shirted protesters already returned to their main rally site Phan Fah Bridge in the center of capital Bangkok.
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Thai red shirts marching to pressure army forces to withdraw from Bangkok
BANGKOK, March 27 (Xinhua) — Thailand\’s anti-government protestors Saturday are marching in Thailand\’s capital Bangkok as they have announced that they will march to at least eight important places, Thai News Agency reported.
The red-shirted protestors announced that their march is aimed at pressuring the army to withdraw their forces, which have been deployed at several important places in capital Bangkok.? Full story
Thai gov\’t to do every means to bring Thailand out of crisis: PM
BANGKOK, March 27 (Xinhua) — Thailand\’s coalition government will do every means in an attempt to bring the country out of the crisis, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said here on Saturday.
The premier\’s statement was made as the anti-government protesters are marching to eight important places in capital Bangkok to pressure the Army to withdraw troops having been deployed on standby, Thai News Agency reported.? Full story
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SEOUL, March 27 (Xinhua) — Eight South Korean government officials, including seven from the agriculture ministry, were confirmed dead in a car accident in the southern part of the country after attending a workshop Friday night, the government said on Saturday.
According to the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the crash happened at around 11:00 p.m. Friday in the southern city of Taean, about 150 km from Seoul, as the van that were carrying all eight officials ran into a beachside rock.
\”We deeply regret the death of our officials and will do our best to complete the investigation with no flaws,\” the ministry said in a statement.
The officials were part of a group that attended workshops involving sight visits and policy research projects in Taean, the ministry added.
The police said that they were still investigating the exact cause of the crash, as the driver might have lost sight of the rock as heavy fog caused dangerous road conditions Friday night or it could be related to drunk driving.
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A South Korean naval ship, the Cheonan, sinks near South Korea\’s Baeknyeong Island, close to DPRK, in the western waters on Saturday, March 27, 2010. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
SEOUL, March 27 (Xinhua) — Chances seem low that the Democratic People\’s Republic of Korea is involved in its warship sinking, said South Korean officials at the presidential office on Saturday.
\”It is hard to say for sure now, but chances appear to be slim that North (DPRK) was related,\” a senior official told Yonhap on condition of anonymity.
\”Given the investigations by government ministries so far, it is the government\’s judgment that the incident was not caused by North Korea, although the reason for the accident has not been determined yet,\” a senior government official was quoted.
\”An unidentified reason caused a hole in the ship, which led to its sinking. Rescue efforts are under way,\” the Defense Ministry said.
\”The ship fired a warning shot at an unidentified object, and the object was later suspected to have been a flock of birds. But we are checking,\” it said.
Cheong Wa Dae said that there has been no \”unusual move\” by Pyongyang so far despite initial media reports that the DPRK \”might be to blame for the incident\” that happened Friday night near the disputed western sea border between the two sides.
Initial media reports said the incident might be caused by a possible torpedo attack from an unidentified DPRK vessel, citing military sources.
The Democratic People\’s Republic of Korea has not responded to the incident.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak called an emergency security meeting and ordered a \”quick and thorough\” investigation Saturday into the caused of the sinking, and investigators are asked to keep in mind \”all possibilities\”, his office said.
He also urged the military to make \”all-out efforts\” to rescue as many survivors as possible.
He had instructed his government to update other members of the six-party nuclear talks with the development of the incident, while urging government agencies to take measures to reassure the public, Presidential Office spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye said at a press briefing after the meeting.
Rescue operation to search for the 46 missing sailors is still underway Saturday, Yonhap News Agency reported.
\”Many of the missing people might have been trapped inside the sunken ship,\” JCS (the Joint Chief of Staff) spokesman Lee Ki-Sik told a parliament committee.
So far, 58 out of the 104 crew members aboard the 1,200-ton ship that sank off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula have been rescued, with two of them hospitalized for minor cerebral hemorrhage, the agency said.
The ship \”Cheonan\” went down off the South Korean island of Baekryeongdo off the west coast around 21:45 p.m. Friday local time (12:45 GMT Friday), with an explosion in the back of the ship, and another South Korean naval vessel fired at an unspecified target toward the north in response.
BANGKOK, March 26 (Xinhua) — Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva Friday expressed his concern over the red-shirted march around the capital Bangkok on Saturday, Thai News Agency reported.
Meanwhile, the premier assured the coalition government has no policy to disperse the ongoing red shirt gathering.
However, it is worrying since by now it is still unknown yet how the march will be organized, while the red shirts have kept changing their march\’s plan, Abhisit said.
It will be better if the red-shirts declare the plan since it will be helpful for the government to operate security measures and for the public to avoid any difficulty to occur during the march, the prime minister said.
The red-shirted march will be organized as the 122 Inter- Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly and Related Meetings will also start from this Saturday.
The meeting will be hosted at Centara Grand hotel at Ratchaprasong Intersection in the center of Bangkok as over 2,000 people from 153 countries will participate in.
Hence, Thai Interior Minister Chavarat Charnvirakul said that if the red shirts will not scatter their march on Saturday, it will be good for the country\’s image, the National News Bureau of Thailand (ANT) under the government\’s Public Relations Department reported.
In a related development, Public Health Minister Jurin Laksanawisit said the national emergency center together with hospitals in eight provinces nearby Bangkok are ready to deal with the red-shirted march.
After the rally debut, it is recorded that some 185 red shirts were sick and 176 of the total already recovered as only nine persons are still being healed at hospitals, he said.
The red-shirted main rally site is now at the Phan Fah Bridge in the center of capital Bangkok.
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