Thai government demands arrest of protest leaders

The Thai government on January 16 asked police to arrest protest leaders who threatened to arrest the Prime Minister and Cabinet members.

Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban faces an arrest warrant for his role in the crackdown on anti-government protesters in 2010, and police are tasked with enforcing it, the Thai government has said.

Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban. Photo: AP

Thai police estimated that about 7,000 protesters remained on the streets of Bangkok today (16 January), down from more than 20,000 last night. The number of protesters could shrink further as many people return to the south for work.

On the same day, protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban announced that all government offices would be blockaded this week. According to Mr. Suthep, after the blockade, the government offices will become the private homes of each Cabinet member.

The protesters' "shutdown of Bangkok" campaign is expected to last about 20 days, with the main goal of preventing the general election on February 2.

According to VOV