VOA标准英语 Tens of Thousands Rally Against Thai PM

Massive protests in Bangkok backed by exiled Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra have so far gone peacefully. But fears remain that violence may still be triggered as protesters seek to force the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to resign.
　
Anti-government protesters take up the street near the home of King Bhumibol Adulyadej's top adviser¹, Prem Tinsulanonda, during a protest in Bangkok, Thailand, 08 Apr 2009

Tens of thousands of supporters of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra gathered in Bangkok Wednesday to push the government to stand down and call elections.

But Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, remains² adamant³ he will not dissolve Parliament and warns protesters, known as Red Shirts, against any violence.

So far the protests, while heated, have been free from bloodshed.

A leading member of protest movement, Jakrapob Penkair warns the Thai military against intervention⁴.

"We are not willing to exchange people's lives for a better cause of the Red Shirts. We don't want to do that - we are not asking for trouble. But the point is if it has to happen we will be ready for it but let me remind them that anything that they try to do - especially militarily would result in more Red Shirt support around the country beyond their control," said Jakrapob.
　
Thai protesters are seen as former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra speaks from undisclosed location abroad to addresses to his supporters outside government house in Bangkok, Thailand, 27 Mar⁵ 2009

Since late March, the protesters have surrounded the main government office building. Mr. Thaksin, who was ousted⁶ in a coup⁷ in 2006 and now lives in exile, has regularly addressed supporters by video conference.

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University, says the coming days will be crucial for Thailand.

"Over 100,000 people massing in Bangkok from the countryside with a lot of grievances⁸ and in a vengeful mode is very dangerous because it takes on a dynamic of its own and becomes more uncontrollable and unpredictable. The government will have to be measured. The army will also have to be tempered otherwise the situation can spiral out of control," said Thitinan.

Kraisak Choonhavan, a member of the governing Democrat⁹ Party, fears there will be violence.

"Attacks will be pretty violent against individual members of the government and that there will be an inability to contain it. My feelings are that the police should be outnumbered, if my figures are right and they won't be able to contain the attacks," said Kraisak.

Kraisak said if the government should fall "the only alternative" was military intervention and declaration of emergency powers.

Last year anti-Thaksin protesters, wearing yellow, held similar protests for months, pushing to have a Thaksin-backed government removed.

Thailand's faces deep social divisions that have pitted Mr. Thaksin's supporters, especially the urban and rural poor, against those who accused Thaksin of corruption¹⁰ and abuse of power as well as seeking to undermine the Thai monarchy¹¹.

Despite the protests, Prime Minister Abhisit says the summit meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and their key partner states will go on as scheduled. The meeting begins on Friday.

1 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 adamant   

adj.坚硬的，固执的

参考例句：

• We are adamant on the building of a well-off society.在建设小康社会这一点上，我们是坚定不移的。
• Veronica was quite adamant that they should stay on.维罗妮卡坚信他们必须继续留下去。

4 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

5 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

6 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

7 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

8 grievances   

n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚

参考例句：

• The trade union leader spoke about the grievances of the workers. 工会领袖述说工人们的苦情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He gave air to his grievances. 他申诉了他的冤情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

10 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

11 monarchy   

n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国

参考例句：

• The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture.英格兰的君主政体在英国文化中起重要作用。
• The power of the monarchy in Britain today is more symbolical than real.今日英国君主的权力多为象徵性的，无甚实际意义。