Hundreds of anti-government protestors on Thursday petitioned the United Nations to send a peace-keeping force to Bangkok to prevent the government from using violence against them, according to dpa. An estimated 2,000 members of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) drove to the UN headquarters on Ratchadamnoen Nok Avenue, in the old part of Bangkok, where they handed over the petition to the head of security. The UN office pledged to pass on the petition to "the appropriate authorities." "I want the presence of a UN peace-keeping force to prevent Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva from sending soldiers to kill the red shirts who are unarmed," UDD co-leader Weng Tojirakarn said, referring to the protestors' trademark colour clothing. The UN generally does not consider deploying peace-keeping forces in a country unless the matter is raised by several member states. The UDD red shirts have been staging daily protests in the capital since March 12, demanding Abhisit dissolve parliament and call new elections. The demonstrations were initially centred at the Phan Fa Bridge on Ratchadamnoen Avenue, down the road from the UN office, but they have since moved their focus to Ratchaprasong Avenue, an upmarket commercial district in the heart of modern Bangkok. The government sent thousands of troops to disperse the red shirts at Phan Fa on April 10, but they ran up against tough resistance from the protestors, leading to a bloody confrontation that left 25 dead, including five soldiers, and more than 800 injured. Thousands of UDD followers have been occupying Ratchaprasong intersection since April 3, essentially closing down one of the capital's main shopping and hotel districts to business. Authorities have threatened to clear the red shirts from Ratchaprasong, although no deadline has been set. The red shirts have set up barricades of rubber tyres and sharpened bamboo sticks at the mouth of Ratchadamri Road, which leads to Ratchaprasong, in anticipation of an attack. The UDD is calling for the dissolution of parliament to hand power back to the people through new polls, which they presume would be won by the Puea Thai opposition party - an ally of the red shirt movement and fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra. Thaksin, who was prime minister from 2001 to 2006 before being toppled by a coup, introduced populist policies during his two terms in office that won him a mass following among the rural and urban poor. His policies are said to have awakened a sense of political entitlement among the poor, which has been driving the red shirt movement to disrupt the capital. UDD leaders claim Abhisit came to power through a parliamentary vote orchestrated by the military and "bureaucratic elite." "If they dissolve parliament at 10 am, at noon we will go back home," Weng said. Abhisit has thus far refused to meet the UDD's demand, arguing that a dissolution of parliament and new elections would not solve Thailand's deep political problems. The country remains divided between the establishment - comprising the monarchy, military and Bangkok elite - and the Puea Thai, red shirts and a broad swathe of society disgruntled with the status quo.
