Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's supporters today announced plans for a prolonged street protest beginning in late November and lasting until the government steps down and calls elections.
It would be the first protracted demonstration by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) since their protests in April turned violent and were forcibly ended by the army.
"The government is incompetent with only a self-serving agenda. We want the government to return power to the people and we will not stop until we finish the job," Jatuporn Phrompan, one of the key protest leaders said, adding that the plan is still tentative and is subject to discussion with other members.
He insisted the rally would be peaceful and that protesters would not break into government buildings.
He said the "red shirts", as the UDD are also known, would suspend the rally from December 2nd to December 5th as the country celebrates the birthday of revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Thailand's sole unifying figure.
The UDD has held brief mass rallies on several occasions since a military crackdown in April, when Thaksin supporters gathered outside the prime minister's office and riots erupted in downtown Bangkok that left two dead and more than 120 injured.
After winning two landslide elections, Mr Thaksin was ousted in a military coup in 2006. He remains at the centre of a bitter political struggle in Thailand despite living in exile after fleeing ahead of a two-year prison sentence for graft.
He faces corruption charges but has long maintained he is the victim of politically motivated attacks by his opponents in Thailand's aristocracy and powerful military. Mr Thaksin's rural supporters, who benefited from his welfare policies, say he is their legitimate ruler.
Reuters