Thousands Demand New Thai Leadership

Protest Threatens Young Government

BANGKOK, April 8 -- Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through Bangkok on Wednesday, demanding the prime minister's resignation in a protest that threatened to set off a new round of political instability.

About 80,000 largely peaceful protesters gathered in the heart of the government district. They wore red shirts, listened to speeches and chanted slogans against Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who came to power in a parliamentary vote in December.

In Thailand's recent history, governments repeatedly have been brought down by public protests. Abhisit was ushered into power after months of demonstrations paralyzed the previous administration.

Some business leaders fear that the demonstrations could further poison the investment climate and hamper the government's efforts to implement a three-year, $44 billion stimulus plan it unveiled last month.

Wednesday's protest followed days of smaller demonstrations that seem to have rattled the government. Last week, Abhisit offered to hold talks with former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the de facto leader of the opposition. But protesters rejected the offer.

"The situation now is beyond negotiation," said Jatuporn Prompan, one of the protest leaders. "Our objective is to remove them. Why would we talk to them?"

Thaksin and his allies have sought to pitch the standoff as a campaign by democrats against a privileged and unaccountable elite. His opponents have pointed to the corruption and assaults on free speech that dogged Thaksin's government, casting the conflict as one pitting ethics against shady self-interest.

In recent days, Thaksin, who is living in exile to avoid a two-year jail sentence for violating conflict-of-interest laws, has raised the stakes. He has focused his attacks on Prem Tinsulanond, the closest adviser to the country's revered king. Thaksin charges that Prem, a former prime minister and retired army general, was behind the military coup that removed Thaksin from power in 2006, an accusation that Prem, 88, denies.

The charge that Prem has interfered in the political sphere has particular resonance in Thailand, where the king and his advisers are supposed to be above the political fray. Thaksin's accusations seem to have struck a chord with disaffected Thais.

"I can't stand Prem anymore. He's always meddling in the government," said Surangratana, 62, a neatly dressed former government official who joined the protest Wednesday. She declined to provide her full name, fearing retaliation.

Thailand's political divide has long been cast as a battle between the urban middle class, which forms the core of the current government's support, and the rural poor, who back Thaksin.