BANGKOK // The protracted battle between supporters and opponents of Thailand's toppled prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, is threatening to drag the country into political paralysis yet again. Thousands of anti-government demonstrators, wearing red shirts to signify their support for Thaksin, ousted in a military coup in 2006, have vowed to take their fight to the streets to force the new government from office.
More than 20,000 protesters have been amassing outside Government House for nearly a week, blocking ministers from attending meetings and the government from doing its job. The police have issued orders for the demonstrators to disperse, but so far have avoided using any force to remove them. The protest's leaders have threatened to cause chaos on the streets by parking taxis on roads across the capital. Taxi drivers in Bangkok are renowned for being staunch supporters of Thaksin, who came to power on his populist policies but was convicted in absentia in October for corruption.
"We will keep fighting until we get democracy back," Thaksin told his supporters by a video-link on Monday evening. "This government was installed by a silent coup. It is not a democratic government." Pro-Thaksin demonstrations were also held in a dozen cities and provincial centres throughout the country on Monday. Over the past week Thaksin has effectively declared war on the new government, urging his followers to continue their protests until fresh elections are held.
His opponents accuse him of trying to bring in a new government filled with his proxies so that he can return to Thailand without fear of jail. "The intention of the red shirt rally is clear, it is trying to provoke violence," said Suttep Thaungsuban, the deputy prime minister who is also in charge of security. "But the government will not fall into this trap. We will be patient." Last week pro-Thaksin supporters, the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), known universally as the red shirts - in contrast to their opponents the yellow shirts - renewed their street protests against the government led by the prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva.
The red shirts accuse Mr Abhisit of being a pawn of the military, which ousted Thaksin in a bloodless coup in Sept 2006. "I call on you to rise up throughout the country to join the red shirts and bring back democracy for our children," Thaksin urged the more than 30,000 supporters gathered on Saturday night in front of large television screens across the capital. "You don't have to come to Bangkok, just stage peaceful rallies all over the country," he said.
Thaksin's speeches were intended to breathe new life into the opposition, which has been flagging in recent weeks. "We will stay here as long as it takes to get Abhisit out of office," said Jatuporn Prompan, a leading red shirt and a member of parliament for the pro-Thaksin Puea Thai opposition party. "If the police use force against us here, red-clad groups in each province will surround the provincial halls," he said.
The UDD seems to have adopted similar tactics used by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), the yellow shirts, which seized Government House last August, forcing the then-government, led by the pro-Thaksin People's Power Party, out of power. The demonstrators almost brought the country to a standstill in December, when they seized Bangkok's main airport effectively cutting the country off from the rest of the world.
The protests ended when the Constitutional Court disbanded the PPP for electoral fraud and banned a dozen of its top leaders from politics for five years, including the then prime minister, Somchai Wongsawat, who is Thaksin's brother-in-law. The opposition Democrat party, led by Mr Abhisit, then won the subsequent vote in parliament and formed a coalition government, with the support of some of Thaksin's former allies.
Mr Abhisit's administration easily survived a no-confidence vote in parliament more than a week ago. And although its popularity appears to be waning, there is little danger of the coalition government falling. Nor does the renewed red shirt campaign pose a serious threat to the three-month-old government, according to most analysts. But there is a danger that it will distract the policy makers from their primary goal of reviving an economy increasingly hit by the global downturn as well as Thailand's long-running political crisis.
"This is a kind of politics I've never seen before - politicians who lose a vote in parliament taking to the streets and mobilising people to remove the government, regardless of the consequences," said Thongbai Thongpao, a human rights lawyer and political analyst. "This is not about tearing each other to shreds without rules," Thaksin said by phone last week. "We must begin with sure-footed steps and build prosperity ? Today the way out of the impasse is to start anew as if nothing has ever happened."
Mr Abhisit has dismissed opposition calls to stand down. He claims the government was elected legitimately and has a mandate to serve out its remaining three years. "What is more important - if no solution is found to ease the polarisation - it's only a matter of time until the situation escalates into a full-blown confrontation," said Mr Thongbai. ljagan@thenational.ae