Thai protest leaders say they will surrender

Treason charges against the leaders of Thailand's anti-government protest movement have been dropped.

Thai demonstrators listen to speeches condemning the Bangkok Police on Oct 9 2008, as they illegally occupy Government House.

Thailand's Court of Appeals watered down charges against nine leaders of an anti-government street campaign today, saying there was no way they had committed treason, a capital offence. However, in an unprecedented ruling, the court said the nine People's Alliance for Democracy (Pad) leaders, two of whom are already in custody, might have committed public order offences carrying up to seven years in prison, and issued new warrants. The protest leader Sondhi Limthongkul said he and other leaders of the People's Alliance for Democracy will give ourselves up to police later today. The original arrest orders were issued on Aug 27, a day after Pad protesters armed with golf clubs, stakes and machetes stormed a state television station, broke into several ministries and overran the prime minister's official compound. They have been in Government House ever since, making it the heart of a long-running anti-government campaign that spilled over into running battles with riot police on Tuesday in which two people died and 400 were injured. Several police officers were shot, one was skewered with a flag pole and another was run over by a truck. Amid public anger at what was seen as police brutality - at least six protesters had limbs blown off - 500 black-clad doctors and nurses marched on the national police headquarters today, demanding that the government stand down. "We condemn the barbaric act of a tyrannical government," one protest leader shouted, lambasting the prime minister Somchai Wongsawat, who is accused of being a puppet of the ousted leader Thaksin Shinawatra, his brother-in-law. "Somchai the Murderer. Somchai, Get Out," one placard read. Police have denied Pad claims that they fired explosives into the crowd, insisting they only used teargas. Several doctors at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok's top medical school, have launched a campaign to deny medical services to police or politicians involved in Tuesday's clashes, the worst street violence in Thailand in 16 years. The unrest has hit investor confidence and distracted policymakers when they should be focused on slowing economic growth and the fallout from the global credit crisis, analysts say. Tuesday's violence appalled many Thais, including two Thai Airways pilots who refused to let three members of parliament from government parties board their planes for domestic flights, Thai television reported. *Reuters / AP