Bangkok- Hundreds of anti-government protestors marched on the seat of the Thai government Wednesday to demand the re-opening of DStation satellite television, which was closed last month for being used to incite violence.

About 1,000 supporters of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), wearing their signature red shirts, gathered outside Goverment House where they smashed TV sets in protest and handed over a petition to reopen DStation.

DStation, which is the main media outlet for the UDD, was closed down by authorities last month after UDD followers forced the government to cancel a regional summit by raiding the event's venue in the beach resort town Pattaya and thereafter rioted in Bangkok, burning buses and clashing with soldiers and civilians.

The government shut down DStation for inciting insurrection by encouraging protestors to break the law.

The UDD have accused the government of applying double standards as it has not shut down ASTV, a satellite station that was the main media outlet for the yellow-shirted People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), UDD's rival movement that was responsible for closing down Bangkok's two airports last year.

Thailand has been rocked by street protests for the past year, as the parliamentary process has failed to resolve a deep divide in Thai society, split over support or opposition to fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

Thaskin, who faces a two-year jail term in Thailand on an abuse-of-power charge, won broad support from the urban and rural poor during his two-term premiership between 2001-06. (dpa)