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BANGKOK - About 2,000 anti-government protesters marched past Bangkok's upmarket shopping malls on Monday accusing police of brutality, upping pressure on the increasingly-isolated prime minister.
In a repeat of a similar rally on Friday, supporters of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) handed out leaflets and CDs showing graphic images of protesters injured in a deadly clash with police earlier this month.
"The police try to distort the truth. I insist that what we bring is the whole truth," Somsak Kosaisuk, one of the PAD leaders, told crowds of people dressed in yellow shirts, which shows loyalty to the revered Thai king.
Two people were killed and nearly 500 injured on October 7 when police fired tear gas to prevent thousands of PAD supporters from blocking parliament, prompting some protesters to fight back.
A police officer at the scene early Monday estimated that about 1,300 protesters had turned out, and crowds later swelled, blocking traffic on normally-busy roads. About 300 police officers stood on the sidelines.
Protesters carried placards emblazoned with the word "Murderer" underneath photos of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat and the national police chief.
The PAD are trying to bring down the democratically-elected People Power Party (PPP) government, accusing it of running the country on behalf of ousted and exiled premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who they accuse of corruption.
Their rally ended soon after midday, while a group of about 150 pro-government demonstrators also briefly gathered at the National Police Headquarters to submit a letter to the police chief.
"We will ask police to come and fight back if the army stages a coup ... and we want to give moral support to police," said Somyos Prueksakasemsuk, a pro-government activist.
"We just want to keep our democratic system."
There had been fears of clashes between PAD and the pro-government group, but both rallies ended without incident.
Thailand's powerful army chief on Thursday strongly hinted that Somchai should step down and dissolve parliament to take responsibility for this month's clashes.
Remarks by the army chief are taken very seriously in Thailand, which has seen 18 coups since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932, one of which removed Thaksin from his post in September 2006.
Somchai -- Thaksin's brother-in-law -- has been prime minister for just a month after a court decision removed his predecessor Samak Sundaravej, and has insisted he will carry on in his role for the time being. -- AFP
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