Red-shirt leader Arisman arrested

Red-shirt leader Arisman arrested

By: BangkokPost.com

Published: 12/04/2009 at 11:16 AM

Authorities on Sunday morning announced the arrest of senior red-shirt leader Arisman Pongruangrong.

The former Thai Rak Thai politician was apparently detained for his actions in leading supporters of the the United Front of Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD)in the assault on the Asean summit on Saturday.

Mr Arisman was the most prominent red-shirt protester when the mob forced its way into the venue of the summit on Friday to present a petition to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

He was also in the forefront of Saturday's assaults which locked many international leaders in their hotels and forced the cancellation of the summit.

The arrest came virtually at the same time as a speech to the nation by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva promising legal action against the leaders of the weekend summit debacle.

"It is important over the next three or four days for the government to prove it can bring peace to the nation," he said on his weekly show on government TV.

"What I have to do is to bring peace to the country, bring back governance and have a process of political reform."

On Saturday evening, after calling off the summit and fleeing by Blackhawk helicopter, Mr Vejjajiva declared the red-shirts to be "enemies of the nation" after they declared a victory.

"We have to restore law and order," he told the media.

At Government House, the red shirts were regrouping on Sunday morning, possible for renewed civil disobedience in Bangkok. Last Thursday they brought the capital to a standstill by causing strategic traffic jams.

In a speech to his supporters at the protest site on Saturday night, fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra told the crowd to be ready for more anti-government action.

"Our people in Bangkok and the provinces can unite to change the country," Thaksin said.