Queen Will Attend Funeral of Crackdown Casualty

Thai queen to attend funeral for anti-government protester: palace

AFP


Thailand's Queen Sirikit is expected to attend the funeral Monday of a female demonstrator who died last week in a clash between police and anti-government protesters, palace officials told AFP.

Thousands of anti-government protesters are also expected to attend the evening cremation of the 28-year-old woman at a temple on the outskirts of Bangkok.

The woman and a 39-year-old guard died while more than 400 people were injured in the confrontation last Tuesday.

Violence flared when People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) supporters descended on parliament to try to stop lawmakers from meeting, prompting police to fire tear gas on the rowdy crowd.

The PAD called off plans to march on police headquarters Monday to focus on the cremation rites instead, said protest leader Pibhop Dhongchai.

"We decided to call off the rally today and tomorrow because we want the cremation for our two people to be big. If we still held the rally, some may not go for cremation on time," Pibhop told AFP.

The PAD have occupied the prime minister's offices since late August, claiming that the ruling People Power Party is a puppet of ousted premier Thaksin Shinwatra, whom they accuse of corruption and nepotism.

I wonder if the Queen will attend the funerals of the police who were intentionally gunned down and stabbed by PAD thugs.

I have noticed that Thai media seems to conveniently forget all the murders committed by the PAD.