Anti-government protesters confront riot police at one of the barricades near the Government House in central Bangkok on February 14, 2014
Thousands of Thai riot police today reclaimed a key protest site around government headquarters here, besieged for months by the anti-government demonstrators bent on toppling beleaguered premier Yingluck Shinawatra.
There were no violent clashes after more than 1,500 police officers, donning helmets and carrying protective shields, dismantled the sprawling protest camp near the prime minister's office compound, known as Government House.
The police today launched "Operation Valentine" to clear public areas, marking a shift from earlier government policy as so far Yingluck had not taken any action, allowing protesters to take over state buildings, major intersections and set up tents on the road.
Two persons, including a journalist, were injured when a suspected giant firecracker was thrown towards a group of reporters and demonstrators, prompting police to retreat from the area. But the police said more areas will be reclaimed in days to come.
Director of the Centre for Maintaining of Peace and Order (CMPO) Chalerm Yubamrung and National Security Council (NSC) chief Lt Gen Paradorn Pattanatabut said they were satisfied with the operation today.
Almost a 1,000 policemen had to retreat from another rally site in the capital after a stand-off with demonstrators as protest leader Luang Pu Buddha Issara, a monk, refused to move from the area and vowed to get more supporters.
"Another attempt to reclaim the area near the government complex will begin tomorrow," the CMPO chief said.
Today is a national holiday in the country. Police said 500 more officers will be deployed to reclaim Chaeng Wattana intersection in Bangkok if negotiations to convince the monk to abandon the site fails.
"The prime minister asked us to deal with the protesters gently. We are telling the protesters to go home. If they do not listen, we will push more," Chalerm told reporters at a press conference held inside Government House for the first time since December.
Anti-government demonstrators have occupied major intersections in Bangkok and blocked several government ministries to pressure Yingluck to make way for an unelected "People's Council" to carry out reforms aimed at curbing the dominance of the Shinawatra clan.
The protesters accuse Yingluck of acting as a puppet for her brother Thaksin Shinawatra who was ousted in a coup in 2006. He lives in self-imposed exile in Dubai to escape a jail term for graft.