23 Feb 2007

Thailand rally against Singapore increases tensions

I wish that a lot of these reports would refrain from refering to Singapore. The problem that led to the ousting of Thaksin was created by the People's Action Party and Temasek not the people of Singapore. The people of Singapore have no prospect of exercising any rights of protest either in agreement with the People's Alliance for Democracy or against them.


Last Updated 23/02/2007, 22:30:32
Radio Australia, Australia

Around 200 people have rallied against Singapore in northeastern Thailand in a protest outside Bangkok, as tensions continue between the two countries.

The protest was organised by the People's Alliance for Democracy, the pressure group behind last year's street demonstrations, which led to the ousting of premier Thaksin Shinawatra in a September coup.

The demonstrators marched to a military airfield in Udon Thani province, northeast of Bangkok, demanding that the air force review a Thaksin-era pact allowing Singapore's military to use the site.

It's the first anti-Singapore protest outside the capital Bangkok amid mounting tensions between the countries after Mr Thaksin, who has been living in exile since the coup, visited the city-state last month.

Bilateral ties had already been strained when Mr Thaksin's family sold a 49-percent stake in Thai telecom giant Shin Corp - founded by the ex-premier - tax-free to Singapore's state-linked investment firm Temasek in 2006.


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