Thai Protest Leaders Dodge Dragnet

Red-shirt leaders flee hotel as police move in
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 16, 2010 1:25 AM CDT
Thai Protest Leaders Dodge Dragnet
Anti-government leader Arisman Pongruanrong, in red, is helped by others as he flees arrest at a hotel in downtown Bangkok.   (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

The leaders of Thailand's anti-government protests made a dramatic getaway from a Bangkok hotel as riot police closed in today. One of the red-shirt protest chiefs slid down a rope from a balcony to escape, while others were rescued by a mob of protesters, Reuters reports. Government leaders have vowed to crack down on those they label as "terrorists." Thousands of protesters have camped in Bangkok's central business district after storming Parliament in their battle to force the government to hold new elections. (More Arisman Pongruanrong stories.)

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