Thousands march against ex-PM Thaksin

Thousands of people marched to Thailand’s national police headquarters today to demand legal cases against ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra are no longer delayed.

The protest came as a series of legal cases against Manchester City FC owner Mr Thaksin appeared to be gaining momentum, with a ruling on one expected at the end of the month.

The demonstrators, led by the anti-government People’s Alliance for Democracy, accused police of protecting Mr Thaksin and his loyalists against prosecution by stalling their investigations.

Mr Thaksin was toppled in a bloodless military coup in 2006 following months of street protests led by the alliance.

Critics accused the former leader of corruption and abuse of power, and several legal cases were filed against him and his associates after he was ousted.

Mr Thaksin returned from exile earlier this year, vowing to clear his name in court.

More than 3,000 protesters gathered in front of the police headquarters in Bangkok, near three of the country’s most expensive shopping malls.

“I come to police headquarters to ask you why you have been sitting on the cases against Thaksin and his followers. These cases are moving nowhere,” Sondhi Limthongkul, an alliance leader, shouted through a loudspeaker.

“If the police do not serve the public and adhere to justice, how do they expect people to look up to them?”

Of 24 cases against Mr Thaksin and members of his family, only seven have gone to court. The others are still lodged with the police or the attorney general’s office.

The Supreme Court is to hold its first hearing of witnesses tomorrow in a trial of Mr Thaksin and his wife, Pojaman, on charges related to her purchase of prime Bangkok real estate during his term. Mr Thaksin and Pojaman are not required to appear in court.

An anti-corruption law bars prime ministers and their spouses from doing business with government agencies. But there is some dispute over whether the law applies in this case because the agency that sold the land to Pojaman was not technically under the authority of the prime minister.

Both Mr Thaksin and his wife have pleaded not guilty.

The alliance and its followers have been on the streets of Bangkok since May 25, vowing not to stop their protests until the current government of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej resigns.

The protesters accuse Mr Samak’s government of interfering with the charges against Mr Thaksin and say Samak is acting as his proxy. Mr Thaksin is barred from political office until 2012.

Today, some protesters moved to a business and shopping district, where traffic was brought to a standstill. Dozens of police and security guards stood outside the partially barricaded malls to prevent protesters from entering.

The demonstration was noisy but largely peaceful, with protesters singing nationalistic songs and shouting “Thaksin, go to jail” amid cheering crowds and onlooking shoppers.

About 600 police officers were deployed to keep the demonstrators from entering the police headquarters, police spokesman General Surapol Tuanthong said.

Following Mr Thaksin’s fall from power, a now defunct investigating committee compiled 24 cases against him, his associates and family members ranging from tax evasion to conspiracy in the sale of a family business.

Later this month, the Bangkok Criminal Court will rule on charges of tax evasion against Mr Thaksin’s wife.

In the case, Pojaman and her brother, Bhanapot Damapong, are accused of failing to pay about €10m in taxes. The two face a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison each if convicted.