Thai Monks Pray for Peace

May 17, 2010

Author: Staff Writer

Source: The Buddhist Channel

Wire Service: AFP

http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=52,9173,0,0,1,0

At a monument to a conflict that took place decades ago, hundreds of Buddhist monks prayed for an end to the modern urban warfare being waged around them in the Thai capital.

The Buddhist association that invited the monks to Bangkok's Victory Monument had a message for Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva - stop the army killing "innocent people".

An emergency vehicle raced past, siren wailing, as about 400 monks clad in orange and brown robes gathered at the city landmark on the edge of the Ratchaprarop district on Sunday evening.

The district has been one of the flashpoint zones in the capital which has seen three days of clashes between troops and "Red Shirt" protesters that have left 35 people dead and 244 wounded.

Adisak Wanasin, president of the Buddhism Relation Association in Bangkok, said he invited the monks from temples in the city and surrounding provinces to ask for peace.