13 November 2009 / REUTERS, PHNOM PENH
Emboldened by a rousing welcome in Cambodia, Thailand’s fugitive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is rallying supporters from just over the border, upping the ante in Thailand’s political crisis.
After accusing Thailand’s rulers of “false patriotism” in a speech in Phnom Penh on Thursday, Thaksin huddled with more than 20 supporters and leaders of his red-shirted, anti-government protest movement who travelled from Thailand. That number will swell on Friday when about 100 supporters plan to gather in the Cambodian town of Siem Reap, about 150 kilometer (90 miles) from the Thai border, according to Puea Thai, an incarnation of Thaksin’s disbanded Thai Rak Thai Party. The prospect of the billionaire -- who the Thai government sees as a criminal -- running a political campaign from across the border rattled investors, sending Thai stock prices tumbling nearly 3 percent on concern of more instability in Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy. Royalists aligned with the military, who wear the king’s traditional color of yellow, plan a demonstration of their own on Sunday in Bangkok to denounce Thaksin and Cambodia, threatening to deepen the political and diplomatic impasse.
