Tens of thousands rally against Thai prime minister

By Ed Cropley and Trisanat Kongkhunthian

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Buddhist monks and nuns of the “Dharma
Army” led 30,000 Thais in a mass rally against embattled Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Sunday as opposition parties
failed to agree on a joint boycott of snap elections.

“Give our country back” and “Ethics first” the protesters
chanted against Thaksin, a former telecoms tycoon accused of
undermining the checks and balances of the constitution and
tailoring policy to suit his family’s business.

A carnival atmosphere prevailed at the rally in front of
the glittering spires of Bangkok’s Grand Palace, despite fears
of violence sparked by the attendance of Chamlong Srimuang, a
retired general who shepherded Thaksin into politics before
turning against him a week ago.

The ascetic 70-year-old Chamlong, leader of a successful
but bloody “people’s power” revolt against a military-led
government in 1992, began the rally with 3,000 members of his
“Dharma Army” protesters clad in the dark blue shirts of
farmers.

“This unit is specially trained. Eat less, use less,” said
Chamlong, also dressed in a simple blue shirt and sandals,
before vowing a prolonged campaign against his one-time
political protege. “They will sleep here tonight. They won’t go
anywhere.”

Many protesters, dressed in yellow bandanas, held banners
to denounce Thaksin, whose Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais)
Party won a second consecutive landslide victory only 12 months
ago.

“Don’t be deceived by his glittering gold,” one poster
read, in reference to Thaksin’s huge wealth. Others depicted
him as Adolf Hitler, with a small toothbrush mustache.

Despite the vitriol, the rally, expected to continue until
dawn, was good-natured. Police maintained a low-key presence.

REFORM DEMAND

Earlier in the day, the opposition Democrat, Chart Thai and
Mahachon parties failed to agree on the Democrats’ call for a
boycott of snap elections Thaksin called on April 2.

They agreed only to ask him to sign a pact on Monday to
form a neutral body to recommend amendments to the
constitution.

“The best solution for the current political crisis is to
amend the constitution to pave the way for political reform,”
said Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva. He did not say what the
parties would do if Thaksin turned down the demand.

The three opposition parties agreed on Saturday to work
together against Thaksin, who called the April 2 election three
years early in a bid to use his rural support base to
neutralize the revolt by the mainly Bangkok-based middle
classes.

A boycott would reinforce the campaign against Thaksin and
risk pushing political turmoil onto the streets of a country
with a long and relatively recent history of military coups.

The organizers of the rally, a coalition of groups outside
parliament, had hoped to draw 100,000 people to Sunday’s rally,
although police said Thaksin decision to call elections
probably reduced the number of would-be protesters.

The anti-Thaksin campaign run by the People’s Alliance for
Democracy (PAD) has caught fire since his relatives sold their
stake in Shin Corp, the telecommunications empire he founded,
to a Singapore state firm for a tax-free $1.9 billion last
month.

The PAD has taken up Chamlong’s call for Sunday to be the
start of a protest that should continue until Thaksin quits.

“Trust me, this is the right way,” Chamlong told Reuters
Television. “The important thing is people need to come to the
rally. The greater the number of people either on February 26,
27 or 28, the higher chance we have of winning.”

(Additional reporting by Prapan Chankaew and Panarat
Thepgumpanat)