Thousands demand ouster of latest Thai premier

BANGKOK, Thailand - Supporters of former leader Thaksin Shinawatra surrounded the government's main office yesterday to demand its dissolution, drawing tens of thousands to a boisterous rally and clearing police barricades with construction cranes.

The new burst of political turmoil, which plagued Thailand throughout most of last year, came as the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva grappled with the worst economic crisis in a decade.

The rally by 30,000 red-shirted Thaksin loyalists started soon after the government began giving 2,000-baht ($55) checks to millions of low-income Thais to boost a battered, export-dependent economy.

While recipients gladly scooped up the checks and rushed off to department stores or savings banks, the protesters derided the handouts as a poor imitation of Thaksin's populist policies.

Is Abhisit "trying to buy us off?" said a protest leader, Nattawut Sai-kua. "It is not going to work."

The demonstrators vowed to remain for at least two more days around Government House, which includes the prime minister's offices. They say Abhisit's government came to power through illegal means and are demanding fresh elections.

As dusk approached, their numbers swelled, Interior Minister Chavarat Chanweerakul said. About 10,000 police and soldiers were deployed to quell any violence.

Singing folk songs and dancing, the demonstrators had traveled on the city's main roads to convene outside the offices, pushing through a police cordon. Police put sand-filled cargo containers across one street to block access, but protesters drove to the site with two yellow cranes and used them to pick up the containers and toss them into a canal, to the exuberant cheers of fellow protesters.

The "red shirts," as they are known, say Abhisit rose to power by illegal means - after courts, backed by the powerful military, removed two previous pro-Thaksin administrations last year. Thaksin was ousted in a 2006 military coup for alleged corruption and abuse of power.

The court action ended months of protests by Thaksin opponents who brought the government to a virtual standstill and buffeted Thailand's vital tourist industry by occupying the prime minister's office compound and the capital's two airports.