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Warrants for Thai protest leaders Warrants for Thai protest leaders
(20 minutes later)
Thai authorities have issued arrest warrants for 13 protest leaders and the man the protesters support, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.Thai authorities have issued arrest warrants for 13 protest leaders and the man the protesters support, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
A police spokesman said the group had been charged with inciting a public disturbance and illegal assembly. The group had been charged with inciting a public disturbance and illegal assembly, the warrant said.
The protests have shut down large parts of the capital, Bangkok, for the last three weeks. The protests have shut down large parts of the capital, Bangkok, for the last three weeks. Clashes on Monday left two people dead and dozens of others hurt.
Clashes on Monday left two people dead and dozens of others hurt. On Tuesday the protesters called off their action. But on Tuesday, as troops massed, the protesters called off their action.
Their decision came after the army hemmed in the several thousand activists around Government House overnight. Overnight the army hemmed in several thousand activists around Government House.
More soldiers then moved in, prompting the protest leaders to call on their followers to go home to avoid further bloodshed. More soldiers then moved in, prompting the protest leaders to call on their remaining followers to go home to avoid further bloodshed.
The protesters say the current government under Prime Minster Abhisit Vejjajiva is illegal. They want him to step down and fresh elections to be held. The protesters support former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by the military in a 2006 coup.
They want the current government under Prime Minster Abhisit Vejjajiva to step down and fresh elections to be called.
Mr Thaksin has been living in overseas exile for much of the last three years. Last year a Thai court convicted him in absentia of corruption.
'To save lives'
The Thai court named the ousted prime minister in its warrant.
"Thaksin and his allies were charged by the court for illegal assembly of more than 10 people, threatening acts of violence and breach of the peace," the warrant said.
The charges were punishable by five years in jail, it added.
The warrants were issued shortly after protest leaders called an end to the stand-off.
Speaking to the BBC from hiding, one protest leader called the retreat "an honourable decision to save lives", but vowed that the movement would continue.
Last week the protests forced the cancellation of an Asian summit, as crowds of demonstrators swarmed the summit venue.
Clashes then erupted in Bangkok, culminating in a day of violence on Monday that left more than 120 people injured.