Pro-government red-shirts hold mass rally in Ayutthaya

AYUTTHAYA, THAILAND, March 15 (TNA) - Supporters of the pro-government red-clad United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD)are gathering at a sport stadium in the central Ayutthaya Province, Thailand’s old capital, as their leaders are scheduled to deliver speeches on Saturday evening, amid tight security provided by more than 1,000 police officers. Travelling by more than 200 boats, while many rode elephants and horses to drum up the mass rally, the red-shirt people's huge gathering was organised three days after Bangkok's Constitution Court gave its unanimous ruling that a plan by the caretaker government of Yingluck Shinawatra to borrow 2.2 trillion baht to fund new infrastructure development projects, mainly in the transport sector, was unconstitutional, reasoning that the whole drafting process of the bill was unlawful. Local police have set up checkpoints on roads leading to the stadium, while many of them have even been deployed on four high-rise buildings near the rallying venue to prevent violence. So far, there has been no announcement from UDD leaders whether the red-shirt demonstrators will proceed to Bangkok, where anti-government protesters have been holding rallies since last October. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Consular Department announced that it will resume its passport issuance service as of March 18, 2014, from 9am-2:30pm, after a group of anti-government protesters has agreed to let the department's officials to enter the building to work as usual as of early next week. (TNA)