Thai ex-PM Thaksin pushes for charter rewrite amid mass rally

Thailand's fugitive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra made a high-profile speech to his red- clad supporters Sunday night and called for continued effort to amend the constitution, which he said would bring "true democracy" to the country. Thaksin, speaking on Skype broadcast on giant open-air screens at Bangkok's core business zone, told the mass Red-shirt gathering that the Constitutional Court should not interfere with the legal process conducted by lawmakers in the parliament, which stands for "people's will"to rewrite the constitution. He said many Thais would live a hard life if the country cannot have "true democracy and freedom". The constitutional amendment bills, sponsored by the ruling Pheu Thai Party and currently being in the revision stages, have sailed through the initial stage of approval in the House of Representatives. But the Constitutional Court accepted petitions lodged by two senators asking for withholding the bids at parliament. Earlier this month, a few thousands of Red-shirt activists and other pro-government demonstrators rallied in front of the parliament and the Constitutional Court, demanding the removal of nine judges of the court. Thaksin, disputably the defacto-leader of the Pheu Thai Party, also defended his sister Yingluck and lashed out against Thai Spring website which was newly established as a venue to air opposition to the lady prime minister and her government. The self-exiled ex-leader said the government's controversial amnesty bill was intended to restore freedom to innocent people and not just for him to return. "You asked me if I wanna come home? I want it every minute of my life. But if my country cannot have democracy and freedom, I won't come home, but I will keep on fighting for it,"said Thaksin, wrapping up his one-hour-long speech. At least 20,000 supporters of the United Front for Democracy against the Dictatorship (UDD), or the Red shirts, joined a mass movement in Bangkok on Sunday to commemorate the third anniversary of the military crackdown on the anti-government protesters. The capital city's core business area, the Ratchaprason intersection, was blocked due to the demonstration. The nearby CentralWorld shopping mall, which was badly damaged in the protests three years ago, closed at 1 p.m. At least 700 police were deployed to keep the rally in check and to strictly screen demonstrators. However, the turnout falls short of the group's target of 100, 000 people. From March to May 2010, several thousands Red shirts gathered in Bangkok and urged the Abhisit Vejjajiva administration to dissolve the parliament. After the Red shirts seized the heart of Bangkok's business zone for more than a month, the military and riot police were ordered on May 19, 2010 to disperse the protesters from the Ratchaprasong intersection. The crackdown resulted in the deaths of almost 100 people and the injuries of more than 2,000 others. Robert Amsterdam, a lawyer for Thaksin, took the stage to call for the release of all political prisoners and those serving time for violations of the lese majeste law. Last week, former Prime Minister Abhisit and his deputy Suthep Thaugsuban appeared at the Department of Special Investigation ( DSI) to hear more murder charges which stemmed from the 2010 anti- government protest. The Democrat duos allegedly collaborated in suppression of anti- government Red shirt protesters which led to the death of a 14- year-old boy and the injury of a truck driver. Last December, they were charged with similar offenses which allegedly resulted in the death of a taxi driver. They denied all the charges.