Thailand - Red Shirt leader escapes hotel raid

A senior leader in Thailand's anti-government red shirt protest movement has made a dramatic escape from a Bangkok hotel after it was surrounded by Thai security forces. Footage shown on Thai TV on Friday showed Arisman Pongruangrong climbing down a rope from a window in the SC Park hotel as hundreds of police and special forces attempted to lay siege to the hotel. Later, speaking to cheering supporters, Arisman said he had escaped an assassination attempt. "He wanted to kill me. The policeman tried to kill me," he said, speaking through a loud hailer. Arisman's escape came as Thailand's deputy prime minister said the government had ordered security forces to move against what he said were "terrorists" inside the hotel.