Thailand's deposed PM appears before crowd via video

Updated November 3, 2008 13:07:34

Thailand's deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has appeared by a video link in front of 90 thousand people in Bangkok with many wearing red T shirts to show their support for the controversial leader.

Presenter: Liam Cochrane
Speaker: Giles Ji Ungpakorn, Thai political analyst

LIAM COCHRANE: He may be in exile but Thaksin Shinawatra can still pull a crowd. A sea of red shirts filled the stadium for five hours of music and speeches, culminating in an address by Mr Thaksin via video link. It was a well-organised and impressive show of strength for Mr Thaksin, who was ousted by a military coup two years ago and remains in exile after being convicted in absentia for conflict-of-interest charges. Giles Ji Ungpakorn from the Faculty of Political Science at Chulalongkorn University says the main message was to prepare for the prospect of yet another military coup.

GILES JI UNGPAKORN: I think that was a very strong message. There were probably 90,000 to 100,000 people present and they agreed also that if ever there was a coup d'etat they would all assemble in the centre of Bangkok.

LIAM COCHRANE: Does that suggest that his supporters think we are getting closer to a coup in Thailand?

GILES JI UNGPAKORN: I think all of us are worried about a coup d'etat. After all, the head of the army has been saying if the government doesn't behave there will be another coup d'etat.

LIAM COCHRANE: During his speech, Thaksin Shinawatra suggested that a royal pardon could allow him to return. Do you think this is a request from the former prime minister to the king?

GILES JI UNGPAKORN: Yes, I suppose you can see it that way. But he also said that another way would be that the people of Thailand actually did something about it. He wasn't just relying on the royal pardon, he's also relying on his supporters actually putting pressure.

LIAM COCHRANE: And a lot of supporters came in from a long way away, from the north, and, as you mentioned, a huge number of them gathered. What does that say about the organisational capacity of the people around Thaksin, the people who support him?

GILES JI UNGPAKORN: If you go back to the 2006 coup d'etat the supporters of the Thai Rak Thai were not organised at all. I mean they were organised only insofar as they should go out and vote for the government. But now it seems that people are starting to get organised enough to actually attend rallies and that, I think, is a new development and may well balance the power of the anti-government PAD.

LIAM COCHRANE: After such a strong showing by this side of politics, the red-shirt-wearing supporters of Thaksin Shinawatra, is there a worry that there might be clashes, more political violence with the opponents, their opponents, the yellow-shirt-wearing PAD?

GILES JI UNGPAKORN: At the moment I don't think there is a very high risk of that. I mean, the red shirts deliberately organised their rally far away from the PAD's rally. They're not armed. The PAD are actually armed and they've even received - I think they're in the process of getting licences to carry guns and stuff and the PAD have shown that they're prepared to cause chaos and engage in violent clashes. I don't think the red shirts are in the mood for that kind of thing at the moment. I think the major risk is some kind of extra-constitutional change of government.