Marchers demand Thai PM step down

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Thousands of supporters of ousted Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra have taken to the streets of the capital, Bangkok, to call for the government to resign.

The red-shirted demonstrators, who say current ministers are stooges of the army, are threatening to blockade Government House for three days.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has moved his cabinet meetings to the southern resort of Hua Hin.

The protests come as Thailand prepares to host a regional political summit.

Leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) will gather for a three-day meeting in Hua Hin on Friday.

Barbed-wire cordons

The protesters - calling themselves the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) - say Mr Abhisit has no right to rule the country.

He came to power after a legal ruling barred many Thaksin supporters from parliament.

"The leaders of this government have toured many countries to try to win foreign recognition, but they have learned that this is a dictatorship in disguise," UDD leader Jakrapop Penkhair said in a speech from a makeshift stage.

The protesters then marched to Government House, cutting through barbed-wire cordons while chanting "we don't want this government".

They were greeted by lines of hundreds of riot police, deployed to protect the prime minister's office.

The army said about 2,000 troops were on stand-by.

The authorities estimated between 7,000 and 10,000 people had joined the march, with more expected over the coming days.

Correspondents at the protest described the mood as peaceful, and there have been no reports of arrests.

Continuing turmoil

The country has been wracked by political instability since Mr Thaksin was ousted in a coup in 2006.

After a year of army rule, elections were held in which Mr Thaksin's supporters won the most votes and formed a coalition government.

But a vehemently anti-Thaksin lobby group known as the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) then launched a series of large-scale protests which helped to bring the government down.

At one stage late last year yellow-shirted PAD protesters occupied Bangkok's airports and government buildings, bringing the country to a stand-still for days.

Mr Abhisit then formed a government after some coalition lawmakers defected.

The latest protests by the UDD are not yet on the same scale as the PAD's campaign, and analysts say they do not have the same organisation or backing as the PAD.