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Deputy Thai premier warns red shirt-clad protesters

Xinhua, October 26, 2015 Adjust font size:

Deputy Thai Premier Prawit Wongsuwan advised on Monday against members of the public intending to wear red shirts on the upcoming Sunday to express sympathy for deposed premier Yingluck Shinawatra.

His comments followed speculation that a large number of people will put on red shirts, especially those loyal to Red Shirt movement since the last several years, to signify their support for the former lady leader who has been legally embattled with corruption charges involving the previous government's rice subsidy program.

Gen Prawit said legal action will be strictly taken against any possible gathering of red shirt-wearing demonstrators at public places on Sunday.

"The authorities are not afraid of people wearing red shirts. But such action will only be useless," commented the deputy premier, who is concurrently defense minister.

The military-led government will not tolerate the planned gathering en masse of red shirt-clad protesters on Sunday or any other day and will take action against any leaders of those protesters, according to Gen Prawit.

Yingluck, sister of former Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra, invariably dismissed all corruption charges filed against her by the National Anti-Corruption Commmission pertaining to the rice subsidy program under which farmers had been given an average of 500 U.S. dollars for a ton of their rice.

The anti-graft agency had charged that as much as 17 billion U.S. dollars in loss of the taxpayer's money had incurred under the populist program. Enditem