Tens of thousands of supporters packed into the old national stadium in downtown Bangkok were disappointed on Saturday when a scheduled speech by fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra was cancelled at the last minute.The former premier, living in exile to escape corruption charges, was to phone in to the rally at the stadium Saturday evening, after his allies in government were forced out by a court ruling that has splintered their coalition.He was expected to use his speech to accuse the army of meddling in Thai politics. Instead, in a pre-recorded address, he urged unity. At Supachalasai stadium, where supporters of United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) gathered to listen to ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra's phone-in speech, on Saturday afternoon, an explosion was heard.
According to initial report, police believed a giant fire-cracker was thrown into the venue. No one was injured.More than 20,000 UDD members already gathered there. About 1,000 police were deployed there to tighten security. In the morning, a group of vocational students clashed with UDD members. There were no injuries.
source:bangkok post
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