Bangkok, April 09: Tear gas was fired by the Thai military on Red Shirt protesters today as they tried to break into the Thaicom building in Bangkok, where the anti-government channel People TV was based until the government shut it down yesterday.
The military also used water cannons against around 12,000 anti-government protesters who descended on the broadcaster, furious at the closure of their campaign’s channel.
Reports said some protesters successfully penetrated the broadcaster’s barbed-wire fence, sparking the response from a Thai security force amassed to restore order in Bangkok.
The anger came after Thai authorities pulled the plug on the television channel for inciting unrest in an ongoing campaign to oust the current government. A state of emergency was also declared.
Reacting furiously to the closure of the channel, Kanyapak Maneejak, an angry local protest leader in northern Chiang Mai — a stronghold of the demonstrators — said: “We have black screens, so please rush to your provincial hall and seize it. If you can, then burn it!”
—Agencies