Thai demonstrators curse Jacques Chirac<\/p>\n
BANGKOK (AFP): More than 100 demonstrators marched on the
\nFrench embassy here yesterday to call for an end to nuclear
\nweapons and a boycott of French products, and to place a curse on
\nFrench president Jacques Chirac.<\/p>\n
About 50 policemen barred the way to the embassy gates as the
\ncrowd approached with banners and slogans before proceeding with
\nan old-fashioned black magic cursing ceremony.<\/p>\n
A large picture of Chirac was burned and the ashes placed in a
\nclay pot with herbs, incense and a candle. The French president's
\nsoul was said to be captured inside, and the clay top was secured
\nwith cloth, prayers and signs.<\/p>\n
Led by university student unions and a group of artists, the
\ndemonstrators represented associations of small farmers,
\nlaborers, slum dwellers and villagers displaced by dams, as well
\nas women and business people.<\/p>\n
The Rights Protection Center, a group of business people
\nformed after riots in May 1992 brought down a military-led
\ngovernment installed by a coup d'etat, brandished a poster
\ncalling for a boycott of French products.<\/p>\n
Statements by the Student Federation of Thailand and non-
\ngovernmental organizations denounced the French government for
\ngoing ahead with the testing \"in the face of a global hunger for
\nworld peace and a healthy environment.\"<\/p>\n
They called on the government of Thai Prime Minister Banharn
\nSilpa-archa to take a clear stand against the French government's
\nactions, and offered their moral support to Greenpeace and those
\nfighting to halt the tests.<\/p>\n
The statements asked the Thai people to stop buying French
\nproducts until the government of France canceled its nuclear
\ntesting program.<\/p>\n
A group of artists chanted anti-nuclear and anti-Chirac poetry
\nwhile they laid home-made French flags on the ground and set them
\nablaze.<\/p>\n
The artists also spray-painted warnings of danger from
\nradiation and nuclear bombs on the quiet side street leading to
\nthe embassy.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/thai-demonstrators-curse-jacques-chirac-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}