Red shirts to protest in Bangkok

Police on standby as sixty thousand are expected at first anti-government protest since state of emergency was lifted.

Hundreds of police are on standby in the Thai capital Bangkok in anticipation of an anti-government rally to be staged by the 'red shirts' on Sunday.
A bomb explosion on Saturday in the political heartland of the opposition, meanwhile, has been termed an attempt to "incite political violence" by a government intelligence official.
Sixty thousand opposition supporters are expected on Sunday to take to the streets for the first time since the government lifted emergency rule in December. They will demand the release of protesters jailed after an army crackdown on their demonstrations.

Bomb explodes
Meanwhile, a bomb is reported to have exploded on Saturday in the Thai northeast, the heart of the opposition movement, ahead of the rally, according to an intelligence official.
No injuries were reported after the early morning explosion in Khom Kaen province.
The bomb damaged the library at a school named after General Prem Tinsulanonda, the head of the king's privy council and a former prime minister who the red shirts believe masterminded a coup that deposed Thaksin Shinawatra in 2006.

A government intelligence official in Khon Kaen said the home-made bomb was likely a "symbolic" attack, as it destroyed a sign bearing the general's name.
"The preliminary assumption is that it was to incite political unrest," the official, who requested anonymity, told the AFP news agency.

Months of violence
Last year's state of emergency had been imposed after the country suffered its worst political violence in 18 years, following red shirt clashes with the military from March to May 2010.
The protesters at the time had demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, and later accepted an offer from the PM for fresh elections in December.
"This is just the latest in a long line of red shirt protests," Al Jazeera's Wayne Hay reported from Bangkok.
"It is the first one in Bangkok since the state of emergency was lifted, but really, after that violence we saw last the red shirts did fade away from the spotlight ... for some time. They have been back for the last few months, staging regular rallies.
"There have been brief ... and peaceful ones. So far they really are all over by about 8pm local time and certainly that is what they are saying will happen again today for this [rally]."
The earlier round of protests in 2010 had led to the deaths of at least 27 people. About 1,000 people also suffered injuries in the clashes between protesters and government forces.
Businesses in the capital's main commercial areas and the crucial tourism sector both suffered during the protests.
The state of emergency was declared on 7 April, 2010, giving the army broad powers to quell the growing protest movement. It was lifted on 21 December, 2010.