BANGKOK, Dec 28: Tens of thousands of supporters of ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra rallied against new leader Abhisit Vejjajiva Sunday, threatening to engulf the troubled kingdom in a fresh wave of unrest.

The red-clad protesters massed a day before Abhisit was due to give his maiden policy speech to parliament, saying they would not give up until the government that came to power two weeks ago holds fresh elections.

Most of the protesters gathered at a central Bangkok parade ground and organisers said they would move to parliament overnight. An advance guard of several hundred had already blocked a key road outside the legislature.

“Our demand is for Abhisit to dissolve parliament because he has no legitimacy,” said Jatuporn Prompan, a core leader of the pro-Thaksin movement.

“We will march tonight,” he said, drawing chants of support from the crowd.

Police said more than 20,000 protesters had gathered while organisers said the figure was 50,000. More than 3,000 unarmed riot police were on duty, handing out leaflets urging peaceful protests.

A huge stage at the parade ground near the royal palace was backed with a red banner saying “No confidence in Abhisit Vejjajiva”, while protesters waved signs saying “We Love Thaksin” and shook plastic foot-shaped clappers.

“Today the fight is not only for Thaksin but also for justice and democracy,” former foreign minister Noppadon Pattama told the crowd.

Thaksin was ousted in a military coup in 2006 and remains in exile to avoid a jail sentence for corruption. Organisers said he might make a telephone address to the rally.

The demonstrations bring Thai politics full circle after a year of turmoil, with Thaksin loyalists now using the same tactics that helped rival protesters to bring down a government led by the tycoon’s allies.

Oxford-educated Abhisit, the head of the Democrat Party, won a parliamentary vote to become prime minister on December 15, less than two weeks after a court dissolved the former ruling People Power Party that was loyal to Thaksin.

That verdict followed months of protests by the royalist People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), a yellow-clad, Thaksin-hating group that blockaded Bangkok’s airports earlier this month, causing huge damage to the economy.

The 44-year-old Abhisit —Thailand’s third premier in four months — said he would give his policy statement as planned on Monday and Tuesday.

“We will not fight with anyone. After the next two days everything will be fine,” Abhisit told reporters.

Pro-Thaksin protest organiser Nattawut Saikuar said he could “confirm that we will not seal off parliament tomorrow”, but there were tensions when about 1,000 demonstrators set up a second stage outside parliament house on Sunday.

Abhisit said on Friday he had ordered police to avoid a repeat of clashes at parliament on Oct 7, when the PAD tried to stop then-premier Somchai Wongsawat, Thaksin’s brother-in-law, delivering his policy speech.

The violence left two people dead and 500 wounded.

“Police will not use violence against the protesters,” said national police chief General Patcharawat Wongsuwan.

The protests come as Abhisit faces a raft of problems, ranging from Thailand’s stuttering economy to the enormous divide between pro- and anti-Thaksin forces.

He has vowed a “grand plan of reconciliation” and a 300 billion baht (8.6 billion dollar) economic stimulus package, but caused controversy by appointing a vocal supporter of the PAD’s airport blockade as his foreign minister.—AFP