(Vatican Radio) The United Nations closed its main office in Bangkok today, and dozens
of schools were shut as stone-throwing protesters battled through clouds of tear
gas in renewed assaults on key government buildings in the Thai capital. The sounds
of tear gas rang through the streets of Bangkok again on Monday after a weekend of
protests. Protesters made their way to the Prime Minister’s compound clashing with
police who used water cannon and rubber bullets. The weekend of chaos has already
killed three people and left over 100 injured and shows no signs of abating. In
a nationally televised appeal, the prime minister’s deputy, called on protesters to
stop hurting Thailand's image and the economy. The protesters, who are mostly
middle-class Bangkok supporters of the opposition Democrat Party, want Prime Minister
Yingluck Shinawatra to step down, claiming she is a proxy for her brother, former
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The demonstrators, who call themselves the
People's Democratic Reform Committee, say their goal is to uproot the political machine
of Thaksin, who is accused of widespread corruption and abuse of power. With this
latest violence on Monday protesters have gone to the heart of power targeting key
institutions including Government House, the Parliament and Metropolitan Police Headquarters
. The protests have also caused widespread disruption to the capital. Dozens of
schools were forced to shut and the United Nations closed its main office in Bangkok.
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