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Riot police cleared anti-government protesters from a major boulevard in the Thai capital in a small victory yesterday as they try to reclaim areas that have been closed during a three-month push to unseat Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
Hundreds of helmeted police with riot shields met no resistance as they dismantled a sprawling protest camp in Bangkok's historic quarter near the prime minister's office compound, known as Government House. The office has been closed since December by protesters camped nearby.
Anxious to avoid violence, police retreated from another protest venue after hundreds of demonstrators refused to leave.
The operation, which came on a national holiday when offices were closed, marked the first time in three months that police have successfully entered and cleared a protest area.

	We are telling the protesters to go home. If they do not listen, we will push more

	DEPUTY PM CHALERM YUBUMRUNG
But the significance of reclaiming one street was not immediately clear given the protesters' continued occupation of several areas in central Bangkok.
Police moved in as the total number of full-time protesters dwindled sharply to about 5,000 from more than 150,000 late last year, according to the estimate of police.
"The prime minister asked us to deal with the protesters gently," said Chalerm Yubumrung, the deputy premier who is in charge of the command centre set up to oversee security. He called yesterday's operation "an example" of what authorities plan to do at other protest sites.
"We are telling the protesters to go home. If they do not listen, we will push more," he told reporters at a news conference held inside Government House for the first time since December.
The protesters are demanding that Yingluck's administration be replaced by a non-elected "people's council", which would implement reforms they say are needed to end corruption and money politics. They have battled police on several occasions, and have been targeted in several attacks for which no one has been apprehended.
As police entered the protest zone near Government House, they called for co-operation through a megaphone: "It is necessary for the police to clear this area. ... For your own safety please strictly follow police instructions." There was no resistance from protesters, who had abandoned the site and regrouped elsewhere before police arrived.
The riot squads tore down a sandbagged barrier that had closed a major boulevard to traffic. They dismantled tents where the protests had camped out overnight and searched for weapons.
Authorities said they confiscated slingshots, firecrackers and a variety of materials they said could be used for explosives, including a small bag of urea , metal objects and other items.


Thai police clear anti-government protesters from major Bangkok road

Thousands of Thai riot police yesterday were deployed to seize protest sites. Photo: Reuters

An anti-government protester (bottom right) gestures towards a group of police officers during a protest near the Government House building in Bangkok on Friday. Photo: AFP

Anti-government protesters prepare to hurl tyres at police during a protest near the Government House building in Bangkok on Friday. Photo: AFP

A riot policeman removes a woman from her tent as police retake a stretch of a road occupied by anti-government protesters in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday. Photo: AP

Thai court rejects opposition request to annul election 

Anti-government protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban speaks to his supporters at an intersection protesters are occupying in central  Bangkok. Photo: Reuters

Thai police arrest 'second most important' protest figure

Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban shakes hands with supporters in Bangkok. Thai police made their first arrest of a senior leader of anti-government protests on Monday. Photo: Xinhua

Six wounded in explosion at Bangkok protest site

An anti-government protester cleans a street during a rally outside the Interior Ministry in Bangkok on Monday. Photo: Reuters

US warns against military coup in Thailand, voices fears over tensions

A Thai voter (centre) argues with anti-government protesters blowing whistles as they block a polling station during advance voting in Bangkok. Photo: EPA

US State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki 

Jen Psaki

Thai protests drive tourists from capital Bangkok

Foreign tourists walk past an anti-government protesters camp at a protest site outside a shopping complex in Bangkok. Photo: EPA

A tourist walks past a display of t-shirts printed with slogans related to the anti-government protests. Photo: EPA

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Hundreds of riot police dismantle camp in Bangkok in effort to reclaim occupied areas


Thai police clear anti-government protesters from major Bangkok road

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Hundreds of riot police dismantle camp in Bangkok in effort to reclaim occupied areas

Hundreds of riot police dismantle camp in Bangkok in effort to reclaim occupied areas