Ousted Thai prime minister decries violence, calls for reconciliation

BANGKOK - Ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra joined his political rivals in calling yesterday for reconciliation after the mob violence that bloodied Bangkok's streets, but some of his supporters refused to give up their struggle to topple Thailand's government.

Thaksin decried the violence that swept through the Thai capital this week, when his followers and their allies clashed with soldiers, police and some city residents, leaving at least two people dead and more than 130 hurt.

Thaksin spoke to the Associated Press in Dubai, where he is in self-imposed exile, just a few hours after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva also called on Thais to peacefully resolve their differences.

"War will never end by war, it has to end by negotiation," said Thaksin, who earlier had called on his supporters to stage a "revolution" for democracy.

"If the government wants to reconcile, I will encourage the 'red shirts' to participate," Thaksin said, referring to the garb his supporters wear to distinguish themselves from his critics, who wear yellow.

He said he wanted 81-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej to help mend the country's political fractures.

"I humbly urge his majesty to intervene . . . that's the only solution," Thaksin said during a 20-minute interview.

The long-simmering conflict was set off by a 2006 coup that removed Thaksin from power. His supporters largely come from rural areas, while their "yellow shirt" foes are a mix of the middle-class and ruling elite royalists, academics and retired military.

The urban forces contend the rural poor are not educated enough to vote responsibly.

Early today, the founder of the "yellow shirt" movement was reported wounded by two gunmen. Sondhi Limthongkul was shot in the shoulder and grazed by another bullet when two assailants in a pickup truck sprayed his vehicle with automatic-weapon fire, police said.

Thaksin's supporters accuse Abhisit's four-month-old government of taking power through parliamentary trickery and want new elections. Some were in no mood to give up their demands.

"Thaksin is just a symbol . . . I admire him but if he comes back and does bad things, we will get rid of him too," said Surasak Chaiyanond, 36, one of 200 people who went to the Bangkok Criminal Court to lend moral support to red shirt leaders under arrest.