Thai government prepares buses to take protesters home

BANGKOK, November 24 (TNA) - Thai Deputy Interior Minister Pracha Prasobdee said on Saturday afternoon that the government has prepared passenger buses to take protesters home, just hours before the leader of the anti-government Pitak Siam group declared end of the one-day mass rally at the Royal Plaza in Bangkok. Pracha told reporters that the buses will be parked at areas near the Royal Plaza as of Saturday evening, urging the protesters to end their rally. Retired General Boonlert Kaewprasit, leader of the Pitak Siam group, later announced the end of the anti-protest to ensure safety of the demonstrators, after anti-riot police fired tear gas at the protesters at the Makhawan Rangsan Bridge twice, one in the morning and the other at around 2pm, as the anti-government demonstrators were trying to march to the main rally site. Earlier, General Boonlert said that the anti-government protest, led by his group, would last for two days, from November 24-25, which should be enough to oust the incumbent Puea Thai Party-led coalition government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. Meanwhile, Permanent Secretary for Public Health Dr. Narong Sahamethapat publicly reported in an updated statement that 18 people were slightly injured in the two-time clashes between the police and the protesters, 11 civilians and seven police officers, who were all treated at nearby hospitals.(TNA)