Thailand protestors donate blood to throw at govt offices

Protesters in Thailand today donated blood they plan to splatter at the Thai government headquarters in Bangkok in a symbolic sacrifice if their demands for new elections are not met.

Red-shirted demonstrators queued to have their blood drawn by nurses after their leaders vowed they would collect “one million cubic centimetres” of blood – the equivalent of 1,000 standard soft drink bottles – to spill at Government House by tonight.

As many as 100,000 Red Shirt protesters converged on Sunday on the Thai capital to demand that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva agree to dissolve parliament by midday yesterday.

Abhisit refused and blanketed the capital in security, but said his government was open to listening to what else the protesters have to say.

When the frustrated protest leaders announced the ``blood sacrifice,'' the tactic was slammed by the Red Cross as wasteful and unhygienic.

Weng Tojirakarn, a protest leader and doctor, said the plan would test Abhisit’s conscience.

“This blood belongs to fighters for democracy. What is its colour? Red!” an announcer shouted as Weng and other leaders were having their blood drawn on a stage near a white tent where queues of blood donors formed.

Several orange-robed Buddhist monks, who are forbidden by law from taking part in political activities, were among the first at the front of the queue with one proudly showing off a syringe filled with his blood.

The Red Shirts include supporters of former Prime Minister and one-time Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra and other activists who oppose the 2006 military coup that ousted him for alleged corruption and abuse of power.

They believe Abhisit came to power illegitimately with the connivance of the army and other parts of the traditional ruling class who were alarmed by Thaksin’s popularity.

For a second day in a row, Thaksin spoke to the demonstrators by video, urging them to continue their struggle in a non-violent fashion.

Thaksin is a billionaire businessman who fled Thailand in 2008 ahead of a conviction on a conflict of interest charge for which he was sentenced to two years in jail.