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©AFP / Pornchai Kittiwongsakul

The Reds are calling for the government under Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to step down and hold fresh elections

BANGKOK (AFP) - Red-clad protesters loyal to deposed Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra vowed Sunday to march on military barracks housing the government as they stepped up their campaign amid tight security.

At least 80,000 so-called "Red Shirts" converged on rally grounds near the government's offices in Bangkok, giving Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva an ultimatum to dissolve parliament or face further demonstrations.

"We will leave here to listen to the government's answer at the 11th Infantry Unit where the government is," Red Shirt leader Nattawut Saikuar told reporters behind the rally stage.

"If they fail to answer our demands we will announce our next step," he said.

The Red Shirts, who stem largely from the country's poor and support the populist Thaksin, had predicted a "million man march" but said more than 100,000 protesters turned up Sunday, while police said there were 80,000.

Related article: Thaksin's rural Red Shirts swarm Bangkok.

Nattawut said most of the rally crowd would travel by bus, car and on foot at 9am (0200 GMT) Monday, to the barracks on Bangkok's northern outskirts, where the government has mounted a security operation with soldiers and police.

An army spokesman said security had been beefed up with hundreds of extra troops at the barracks, where Abhisit and other key ministers along with the country's top brass were staying during the protests.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, in charge of the country's security, said the protesters would be permitted to approach the barracks.

"Protesters can circle the barracks but they must not obstruct traffic or intrude into the barracks or they will be arrested," Suthep told reporters.

He said it was too early to say if emergency rule would be invoked to crackdown on the rally.

"We have to see how the situation develops but I reaffirm that we will act reasonably and appropriately," he added.

©AFP/Graphic

Thaksin remains popular with the poor for his populist policies but he is loathed by Bangkok's establishment

Authorities have deployed a 50,000-strong security force across Bangkok and surrounds to oversee the rallies, and invoked a strict security law that allows them to call out troops, ban gatherings and impose curfews.

The rallies come two weeks after Thailand's top court confiscated 1.4 billion dollars of Thaksin's assets, and are the latest chapter in political turmoil that began when he was toppled in a 2006 coup.

Facts: Key dates in saga of Thailand's Thaksin

Twice-elected Thaksin, who has been living mostly in Dubai to escape a two-year jail term for corruption at home, is now in Europe and was due to address the rally crowd by video link late Sunday.

He has been egging on his supporters for months via text message and on his Twitter page.

Protesters arrived by road and river throughout the day at Bangkok's historic quarter, where the crowd remained in jubilant spirits, waving red flags and foot-shaped clappers.

©AFP / Pornchai Kittiwongsakul

Thaksin has been living mostly in Dubai to escape a two-year jail term for corruption at home

Some, wearing red cowboy hats as a sign of their rural roots, had travelled for up to two days by pick-up truck and bus to reach the venue.

"This government says it will help but the money never reaches the people," said food vendor Soon Boonpha, 47, who came from Maha Sarakham province in Thailand's northeast.

Abhisit has rejected the calls for his resignation, saying on his weekly television show: "I have my right to complete my term." He has until December 2011 to call elections.

He said he had "no plans to crack down" on the rally, which had so far been "peaceful and orderly", though he had cancelled a weekend trip to Australia as it approached.

©AFP / Christophe Archambault

A 50,000-strong security force has been deployed across the capital and surrounding areas

The rally is the latest in a string of protests to rock the politically tumultuous nation, which is divided between Thaksin's supporters and opponents.

It is at least the largest in Bangkok since the Reds rioted in April last year, leaving two dead and scores injured.

Thaksin remains popular with the poor for his populist policies after coming to power in 2001, but he is loathed by Bangkok's establishment, which accuses him of corruption and disloyalty to the revered royal family.

The Red Shirts have held a number of rallies since Abhisit came to power in December 2008, after a court decision removed Thaksin's allies from government following an airport blockade by the rival royalist "Yellow Shirts."