Anti-government demos in Thailand
A supported of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra during a protest in Bangkok
Saturday March 13 2010
Thousands of red-shirted, anti-government demonstrators have converged on the Thai capital from the north and northeast, vowing to oust the government in a mass display of muscle.
Although protest leaders stressed they would not resort to violence, many businesses closed down, social events were cancelled and Bangkok's normally chaotic traffic was unusually light on Saturday
The "million man march", which is set to climax Sunday, is regarded by some as the last chance for ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to return to Thailand.
The Red Shirts, formally known as the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship, are made up of followers of Thaksin, along with other people who oppose the 2006 military coup that toppled him.
Forcing the government out of power, Thaksin loyalists say, could pave the way for his pardon and return. Thaksin, who resides in Dubai, faces criminal charges for abuse of power.
Several thousand protesters started gathering peacefully in Bangkok on Friday. On Saturday morning, far larger numbers were seen on the outskirts of the sprawling city arriving in trucks, buses and motorcycles from the Thaksin heartland - the impoverished, rural northeast and the north, where the fugitive leader was born.
The demonstrators seek to have Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva call a new election, which they believe will allow their political allies to regain power.
They believe that Abhisit came to power illegitimately with the connivance of the military and other parts of the traditional Thai ruling class, who were jealous and fearful of Thaksin's popularity while in office in 2001-2006.
Recent independent polls in Bangkok have indicated that a large segment of the population, irrespective of their political beliefs, is fed up with the protests, which have battered the economy in general and the lucrative tourism industry in particular.
Thailand has been in a state of constant political turmoil since early 2006, when demonstrations accusing Thaksin of corruption and abuse of power were launched. In 2008, when Thaksin's political allies came back to power for a year, his opponents occupied the prime minister's office compound for three months and seized Bangkok's two airports for a week.
