Thousands of Thailand's "Red Shirts" gathered in Bangkok Sunday to mark seven months since a deadly military crackdown on their anti-government protest.
Wearing their signature colour, the demonstrators chanted "There were dead people here!" and released red balloons in the latest in a series of rallies in the Thai capital to commemorate those killed during unrest in April and May.
The Reds' two-month rally, which attracted 100,000 people at its peak in support of their demands for snap elections, was brought to a bloody end on May 19 with an army assault on the group's base.
The demonstration saw street battles between protesters and troops in violence that left more than 90 people dead and nearly 1,900 injured.
Around 10,000 people attended Sunday's rally, according to an AFP reporter at the scene.
Jatuporn Prompan, one of the few senior Reds not detained by authorities, called for the release of 19 leaders currently being held on terrorism charges, awaiting possible trial.
"Those who are in jail should be released as innocent people and the charges against them dismissed," he told reporters.
He said fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra had sent an email expressing his deep sorrow for the families of the dead and wounded.
Many of the mainly poor and working class Reds support the controversial ex-premier, who was ousted in a coup in 2006 and is hated by the urban elite.
The Red Shirts' new leader, Thida Thavornseth, whose husband Weng Tojirakarn is one of the leaders detained on terrorism charges, sought to distance herself from Thaksin in a recent interview with AFP.
She has also said the Reds would step up the campaign to secure the release of their leaders with gatherings twice a month in Bangkok.
The group has already staged several rallies in the capital despite a state of emergency that bans gatherings of more than five people.
Thousands took to the streets of Bangkok on December 10, eight months after deadly clashes in the city's historic district.
AFP /ls
