Anti-government rally in Bangkok, PM says Asia summit on

By Kittipong Soonprasert

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva insisted on Wednesday that an Asian summit, postponed once already, would go ahead in Thailand this week despite a mass rally in Bangkok by demonstrators intent on toppling him.

By late afternoon, police said around 50,000 red-shirted demonstrators, supporters of ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, were at Government House and the nearby Royal Plaza, nowhere near the 300,000 expected by the organizers.

No clashes were reported, although protesters vandalized several vehicles belonging to television news stations they said had given too low turnout figures for the rally.

Thaksin was toppled in a coup in 2006 and is in self-imposed exile, but his absence has not healed the divisions between the royalist and business elite, who accused him of corruption, and the poor who benefited from his populist policies.

The pro-Thaksin United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) has besieged Abhisit's office at Government House since March 26. The protest has been peaceful, but security was tightened on Wednesday because of the mass rally.

"There's a group of people wanting to create chaos, but the government will do everything to restrain them," Abhisit told Channel 3 television. "If there's rioting, we will have to do something. I can affirm there will be no violence starting from the government's side."

On Tuesday his car was attacked by Thaksin supporters after a cabinet meeting in the resort town of Pattaya, which will host a summit of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other Asian countries from Friday.

Abhisit insisted there was no threat to the summit.

"There won't be anything like what happened with my motorcade ... Every spot will have strict security. As for yesterday's chaos, it's because I wanted to travel normally, without disturbing people," he said.

The ASEAN summit was postponed late last year because of a previous bout of political unrest, when a pro-Thaksin government was in power, and Abhisit's administration has billed the re-scheduled event as a sign Thailand was getting back to normal.

FLASHPOINT

The prospect of renewed violence has added to the concerns of the stock market, which has fallen 1.4 percent this year while many other Asian markets have recovered, but the index ended higher after the Bank of Thailand cut interest rates.

One flashpoint could be the home of Prem Tinsulanonda, 88-year-old chief adviser to King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Thaksin has accused Prem of playing an active role in the 2006 coup, an allegation the former army general and prime minister denies.

A group of at least 1,000 demonstrators marched from Government House to Prem's nearby home, which was guarded by riot police. A Reuters reporter said there was no confrontation and UDD leaders had told the demonstrators to stay calm.

"I came here to drive Prem out and stay until he quits," said red-clad protester Paiboon, a food vendor. "He led the coup that caused our country a lot of damage and drove a good person like Thaksin out of the country."

One UDD leader, Chatuporn Prompan, said the demonstrators would stay there until Prem and Abhisit stepped down. Other UDD leaders have said the rally would last until the weekend. The country celebrates a big holiday, Songkran, from April 13-15.

The UDD says the army engineered Abhisit's election as prime minister by parliament in December with the help of defectors from the previous pro-Thaksin government.

Abhisit has kept away from his office for the past two weeks, part of it spent in London representing ASEAN at the G20 summit.

Thaksin moves around, popping up recently in Dubai and Hong Kong. He was convicted on conflict of interest charges last year.

Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said several members of Thaksin's immediate family had left the county in the past few days, possibly out of fear of their safety.

"It might also create public misunderstanding that a deteriorating situation has forced them out," Panitan told Reuters.

(Additional reporting by Arada Therdthammakun, Vithoon Amorn and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Writing by Alan Raybould; Editing by Paul Tait)

Terra/Reuters