Thaksin calls for new elections in Thailand

BANGKOK: Thailand's ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra urged the military government on Friday to press ahead with new elections, in a videotaped address shown to thousands of his supporters at an anti-coup rally.   

"Please speed up the new elections and turn the country back to democracy," Thaksin said in his speech to Bangkok crowds estimated by police at 15,000.   

While Thaksin appealed for unity after 18 months of political turmoil, he also vowed to wage a court battle to clear his name of corruption charges that led authorities this week to freeze 1.5 billion dollars of his assets.   

"I will fight to get my dignity back, and to restore the credibility of Thailand's legal system," he said in remarks recorded in London, where he has lived in exile since the coup last September.   

"I will fight within the rule of law," he added, appearing calm and wearing a business suit in the video shown on a giant screen in a plaza near the golden spires of the Grand Palace.   

Thaksin's speech was only the second time that his voice has been heard in his home country since the coup, and came amid heightened political tensions in the kingdom.   

The billionaire tycoon has suffered crushing legal blows over the last three weeks.   

A court last month disbanded his party and barred him from running for political office for five years, while anti-corruption authorities this week froze many of his assets.   

The legal action prompted his supporters to stage nightly rallies over the last two weeks, joining a diverse group of democracy advocates and anti-poverty campaigners who had already been holding small protests against the junta.   

Thousands of Buddhist monks also staged their own protest this week to demand that their faith be named the state religion. Despite fears that the rally on Friday could turn violent, Thaksin spoke in a measured voice while the protesters watched attentively.   

Thaksin insisted that the latest moves against him and his now-disbanded Thai Rak Thai party were simply political efforts to prevent his allies from winning a new election, tentatively set for December.   

"The government and the (junta) seized my assets because they want to discredit me and to prevent Thai Rak Thai from winning in new elections. That's not democracy," he said.   

"I haven't done anything wrong," he said in the 30-minute speech.   

"I repeat that I have already given up politics," he added.   

Organisers had earlier said that Thaksin would speak on a live satellite link from London, but at the last minute decided to play a recorded version of the speech instead.   

The government had promised not to block the satellite transmission, and organisers gave no reason for the change of plan. They estimated the crowd at more than 50,000.   

About 900 police were deployed at the protest, and Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont earlier insisted that security forces would not be armed.   

He also sought to quash rumours swirling around Bangkok that the government could declare a state of emergency to prevent any unrest, saying such a move would be a last resort.   

But he said: "If the situation constitutes an emergency, the government will not hesitate to do so."   

Protesters still plan another rally for Saturday, which they say will be the largest yet. The military said it will deploy 13,000 soldiers for the event.   

Thaksin has only spoken once before to the Thai people since his ouster, antagonising the military by phoning a radio talk show from abroad.   

In the weeks after the coup, the military blocked international news broadcasts showing Thaksin and banned community radio stations supportive of him.   

The generals have also warned Thai television stations against reporting about the ex-premier.