BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand blocked opposition websites and TV channels on Thursday and the prime minister scrapped an overseas visit a day after a state of emergency was declared to quell nearly a month of mass protests.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva called off a one-day trip to Vietnam for a Southeast Asian leaders summit as tension remained high, with protesters scuffling with riot police outside a crucial satellite broadcast station and vowing defiance.
Despite the decree, the red-shirted supporters of ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra ignored orders to leave the capital’s main shopping district and promised their biggest rally yet on Friday after briefly storming parliament this week.
Nearly 1,000 protesters tried to push through anti-riot forces guarding Thaicom Pcl’s satellite earth station in northern Pathum Thani Province. The company, formerly owned by Thaksin, was used by the red shirts to broadcast programs before it was taken off air on Thursday.
The Washington Post
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