Bangkok - Thailand's anti-government Red Shirt movement is
ready for six months of countrywide protests to force a new election
and defeat their critics, Jakrapob Penkair, a leader of political
group loyal to fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra,
said Thursday.
Jakrapob's group - the National United Front of Democracy Against
Dictatorship - is now focused on a creating a huge show of popular
anger against an 'illegitimate government' next Wednesday, he said.
The Red Shirts want to unseat the current government of Prime
Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and force from the political scene
powerful old officials they claim were behind the 2006 coup that
bright down Thaksin.
Thailand has been in almost constant political turmoil since the
coup with the country polarized between self-styled royalists and the
supporters of the former prime minister, who is in self-imposed
exile.
'We can go on half a year, six months. Our system should be
capable of rallying that long. Of course we would hope that the
situation would be brought to a conclusion much earlier,' he said,
speaking behind the stage that now blocks the road in front of
Government House, the Thai government's official seat.
The Red Shirt street rally began a week ago with other protests
scattered around the north and the north-east of the country where
Thaksin remains very popular thanks to his populist economic policies
and reputation as a rich man who cares for the poor.
Abhisit will return from the G20 meeting in London on Friday,
earlier than planned. Analysts say his Democrat Party's would most
likely do very little in the hope the protests will blow over.
Most independent observers say the Red Shirts have shown Thaksin
to be still popular with many Thais, but will find it hard to unseat
a government supported by the powerful military establishment that,
with an older elite, mostly distrusts Thaksin.
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