Members of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), dubbed Red Shirt movement, will travel from their villages in the North and Northeast on Wednesday evening to visit their detained key leader Arisman Pongruangrong and demand his release on Thursday.
"Some 5,000 reds in the North and other 5,000 in the Northeast are planning to rally for Arisman," said Anont Saennan, leader of the group in Udon Thani, Red Shirts' stronghold. Spearheaded by Anont, thousands of Red Shirts' villages have been set up throughout the northern and northeastern provinces.
Arisman was among other 19 Red Shirt leaders, charged with terrorism for their alleged roles in instigating the crowd to stage violent protests against the then Abhisit Vejjajiva government during March-May, 2010. Arisman had fled the rally site before it was called off on May 19 when the government eventually resorted to the military forces for the forceful dispersal which resulted in 91 deaths and some 1,900 injuries.
He finally turned himself in to the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) early December after over one and a half years ' on the run, but the Criminal Court turned down his bail bids twice in a row.
