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Thai protesters abandon malls

Young Thai protesters dance as they march to the Election Commission in Bangkok yesterday. As the rallies have grown in size they have taken on a festive spirit, offering a place to get a free massage and sing and dance while trying to bring down the government. PHOTO: AP

Leaders of a campaign to oust Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra cut short their protest at Bangkok's biggest shopping mall yesterday as signs grew the public was growing weary of weeks of street protests.

The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), the ad hoc coalition bent on driving the telecoms billionaire from office, shifted its protest to the nearby Election Commission after a Wednesday night rally drew 50,000 people to Siam Paragon mall.

It demanded the commission disqualify Thaksin from Sunday's election, which he called three years early in the hope of ending the political crisis, saying he broke campaign rules, or resign.

The PAD accused Thaksin of breaking laws by promising development projects and handing out money to voters in return for their support, charges he denies.

The PAD had hoped to stop the election, which is being boycotted by the three main opposition parties, from taking place.

It now appears to admit it will go ahead, although the boycott means the poll is unlikely to meet the constitutional requirement that all 500 seats be filled for a new government to be named. A constitutional crisis is almost certain.

Post-election plan

"We expect a larger rally after the elections, which won't solve the political deadlock," PAD leader Chamlong Srimuang, the man who brought Thaksin into politics, told reporters.

"We'll see how we can help find a solution to the crisis," he said before leading 3,000 protesters, who camped outside Siam Paragon and two malls alongside it overnight, to march two blocks to the Election Commission.

Chamlong, an ascetic 70-year-old veteran of the Vietnam War who was twice governor of Bangkok, said the protesters had left the streets outside Bangkok's glitziest malls because they proved a poor place to hold rallies.

He conceded the rallies outside the malls, which closed in anticipation of disruption of business, were unpopular.

"If the rally continued, it would worsen the traffic," said Chamlong, who had said earlier a few days of gridlock was nothing compared to freeing Thailand from the grip of a "tyrant."

Meanwhile, in its latest ABAC poll, conducted on Monday, Assumption University said only 20 percent of 1,116 respondents in and around the capital supported rallies against Thaksin, whom critics accuse of corruption, cronyism and abuse of power.

Only 26 percent of people in Bangkok thought Thaksin should quit, compared with 27 percent two days previously and 48 percent three weeks earlier.

About 42 percent of respondents said Thaksin should stay, compared with a low of 26 percent on March 6.

`Square-faced man'

Meanwhile, demonstrators are also dancing to a new tune -- literally. A song mocking alleged corrupt deals and failed policies is even making the karaoke rounds.

Square-Faced Man proved an instant hit when it premiered at a protest rally last weekend and the demand for CD versions, which include caricatures of the prime minister and his allies, has far outstripped supply.

The song title refers to the shape of Thaksin's face, but also to the prime minister's alleged many-sided deviousness.
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