Pickets disrupt Thai Cabinet meeting

BANGKOK, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- Protesters picketed Thailand's governing body Monday to disrupt the weekly meeting and express dismay with the current administration, demonstrators said.

People's Alliance for Democracy members Somsak Kosaisuk and Somkiat Pongpaiboon said protesters rallied in front of Don Mueang airport and the Suvarnabhumi airport against Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, in Peru for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and returning to Thailand Friday, the Bangkok Post reported.

PAD leaders said the group claimed success in pressuring House Speaker Chai Chidchob to delay a parliamentary meeting Monday and would protest in front of a government facility at Don Mueang airport.

The protesters claim Somchai and his administration are proxies of Thaksin Shinawatra, a telecommunications magnate and former prime minister toppled by a military coup in 2006 amid accusations of corruption and cronyism, the Financial Times reported.

Thousands of people, most of them dressed in yellow to show loyalty to the king, rattled hand-clappers in appreciation of the speeches, witnesses told the British newspaper.