Thailand's anti-government protesters to launch two-day final battle

BANGKOK, May 17 (TNA) - The anti-government People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) plans to hold a two-day mass rally, starting on May 25, in a bid to oust the remaining 24 caretaker minsiters and carry out a national reform. PDRC Secretary-General Suthep Thaugsuban announced the plan on Saturday afternoon, vowing if his group did not win in the battle by May 26, he would announce an end to the more-than-six month PDRC political protests and surrender to police on May 27. Suthep insisted that, under the current circumstance, the Thai Senate has authority to find out and appoint a “neutral” interim prime minister in conjuction with Article 7 of the Constitution. Suthep declared, as the Senate has not been able to fix an exact date on when an interim prime minister would be appointed, it is now the duty of his people to proceed with the job. (TNA)