By Pracha Hariraksapitak
BANGKOK, March 20 (Reuters) - Thousands of opposition activists paraded through Thailand's sprawling capital on Saturday in a bid to win over of Bangkok's middle classes to their anti-government campaign.
The red-shirted supporters of ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra moved around the city of 15 million people in a 13-km (8-mile) convoy, handing out leaflets saying 'We love Bangkokians' and calling on urban sympathisers to join their push for new elections.
Shaking their trademark clappers and waving flags, they moved at a snail's pace along the 46-km route in a convoy of thousands of motorcycles, taxis and overloaded pickup trucks, cheering, singing songs and honking horns.
'We want to invite Bangkok residents to oust aristocrats and the government,' one of the red-shirted leaders said.
The week-long rally, which drew up to 150,000 people last Sunday, has so far been peaceful, boosting investor sentiment and helping to lift Thai stocks to a 20-month high.
Foreign investors have in the last month pumped 35.5 billion baht ($1.09 billion) into the bourse, one of Asia's cheapest, much of that based on confidence that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's government will ride out the storm.
Blocked from his office and parliament and steering clear of his home for security reasons, Abhisit spent another day at his heavily fortified military compound. He has refused to bow to protesters' demands for a new election, insisting the country is too divided to go to the polls.
Abhisit said he was willing to hold talks with the protesters to end the deadlock but insisted Thaksin should play no part.
'My question is: What is the standpoint of the 'red shirts'? -- Democracy or Thaksin? If answer is democracy, we can talk,' Abhisit told Channel 3 television.
The self-exiled Thaksin, who was ousted in a coup and convicted of graft, is assumed to be the de facto leader of the movement and has called the campaign a 'class war'.
SYMPATHY VOTE
Although fatigue and the sizzling sun has persuaded many protesters to return to their rural provinces, tens of thousands have remained in the capital for a rally leaders said would continue for at least another two weeks.
Analysts said the 'red shirts' had earned many sympathisers in their seven days of rallies but face an uphill struggle to bring the politically powerful middle classes fully on board.
Many in the capital remain staunchly opposed to Thaksin, a former telecommunications tycoon derided by opponents as a corrupt autocrat who abused power to enrich his family business.
Pitch Pongsawat, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University, said many residents sympathised with the movement, but chafed at the prospect of being labelled a Thaksin supporter.
'They have many followers in Bangkok, but these people are ambivalent because of the stigma of Thaksin,' he said.
'The Thai media is their obstacle, it portrays the 'red shirts' as blind followers of Thaksin, which means if you join them, you approve of Thaksin.'
Thaksin lives mostly in Dubai and has delivered rousing video-link addresses to the 'red shirts', who are among the millions of Thais who brought him two landslide election wins and remain loyal because of his populist policies while in office.
The 'red shirts' say big businessmen, aristocrats, army generals and judges have colluded to undermine elected governments -- which were led or backed by Thaksin -- and want Bangkok residents to help return power to the people.
Protesters say Oxford-educated Abhisit, who is backed by an influential establishment elite and a politically potent military, is an illegitimate 'puppet' who should step down.
The 'red shirts' believe that by broadening their support base, the mostly grassroots movement will earn legitimacy and credibility and stand a better chance of prolonging the rally and bringing down the government.
(Writing by Martin Petty and Khettiya Jittapong; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)
((Bangkok Newsroom; +66 2 637 5610)) Keywords: THAILAND POLITICS/ (If you have a query or comment on this story, e-mail to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
BANGKOK, March 20 (Reuters) - Thousands of opposition activists paraded through Thailand's sprawling capital on Saturday in a bid to win over of Bangkok's middle classes to their anti-government campaign.
The red-shirted supporters of ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra moved around the city of 15 million people in a 13-km (8-mile) convoy, handing out leaflets saying 'We love Bangkokians' and calling on urban sympathisers to join their push for new elections.
Shaking their trademark clappers and waving flags, they moved at a snail's pace along the 46-km route in a convoy of thousands of motorcycles, taxis and overloaded pickup trucks, cheering, singing songs and honking horns.
'We want to invite Bangkok residents to oust aristocrats and the government,' one of the red-shirted leaders said.
The week-long rally, which drew up to 150,000 people last Sunday, has so far been peaceful, boosting investor sentiment and helping to lift Thai stocks to a 20-month high.
Foreign investors have in the last month pumped 35.5 billion baht ($1.09 billion) into the bourse, one of Asia's cheapest, much of that based on confidence that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's government will ride out the storm.
Blocked from his office and parliament and steering clear of his home for security reasons, Abhisit spent another day at his heavily fortified military compound. He has refused to bow to protesters' demands for a new election, insisting the country is too divided to go to the polls.
Abhisit said he was willing to hold talks with the protesters to end the deadlock but insisted Thaksin should play no part.
'My question is: What is the standpoint of the 'red shirts'? -- Democracy or Thaksin? If answer is democracy, we can talk,' Abhisit told Channel 3 television.
The self-exiled Thaksin, who was ousted in a coup and convicted of graft, is assumed to be the de facto leader of the movement and has called the campaign a 'class war'.
SYMPATHY VOTE
Although fatigue and the sizzling sun has persuaded many protesters to return to their rural provinces, tens of thousands have remained in the capital for a rally leaders said would continue for at least another two weeks.
Analysts said the 'red shirts' had earned many sympathisers in their seven days of rallies but face an uphill struggle to bring the politically powerful middle classes fully on board.
Many in the capital remain staunchly opposed to Thaksin, a former telecommunications tycoon derided by opponents as a corrupt autocrat who abused power to enrich his family business.
Pitch Pongsawat, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University, said many residents sympathised with the movement, but chafed at the prospect of being labelled a Thaksin supporter.
'They have many followers in Bangkok, but these people are ambivalent because of the stigma of Thaksin,' he said.
'The Thai media is their obstacle, it portrays the 'red shirts' as blind followers of Thaksin, which means if you join them, you approve of Thaksin.'
Thaksin lives mostly in Dubai and has delivered rousing video-link addresses to the 'red shirts', who are among the millions of Thais who brought him two landslide election wins and remain loyal because of his populist policies while in office.
The 'red shirts' say big businessmen, aristocrats, army generals and judges have colluded to undermine elected governments -- which were led or backed by Thaksin -- and want Bangkok residents to help return power to the people.
Protesters say Oxford-educated Abhisit, who is backed by an influential establishment elite and a politically potent military, is an illegitimate 'puppet' who should step down.
The 'red shirts' believe that by broadening their support base, the mostly grassroots movement will earn legitimacy and credibility and stand a better chance of prolonging the rally and bringing down the government.
(Writing by Martin Petty and Khettiya Jittapong; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)
((Bangkok Newsroom; +66 2 637 5610)) Keywords: THAILAND POLITICS/ (If you have a query or comment on this story, e-mail to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.