BANGKOK, Thailand — As thousands of demonstrators marked the anniversary of a 2006 coup in the Thai capital Saturday, a rival group of protesters clashed with police and villagers near the Cambodian border, showing the country's long-running political crisis is far from settled.
In the three years since the coup there have been multiple violent demonstrations, court rulings that have purged two prime ministers from power, and damage to the tourist industry after protesters shuttered the airports last year.
The strife is between supporters and opponents of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in the Sept. 19, 2006, coup on accusations of corruption, abuse of power and disrespect for theconstitutional monarch. Thaksin himself remains in self-imposed exile, able to rally his followers only by phone.
The alliance that led demonstrations culminating in the coup tried Saturday to march toward the gates of a temple on disputed land near the Cambodian border, triggering clashes that left 17 people injured, according to local hospitals. The People's Alliance for Democracy demanded that the Thai government recover the territory that is claimed by both countries.
Supporters of Thaksin and pro-democracy activists rallied in Bangkok to mark the coup's anniversary, with more than 6,000 police on hand to prevent a repeat of rioting that killed at least two and injured hundreds in the last major antigovernment protests in April.
Saturday's crowd - whichdrew 20,000 to 30,000 people - was addressed by Thaksin via video.
"I want to ask people who hate me and those who love me to review the past three years and answer if you have seen anything changed for the better," he said. "Is the economy better? Have people reconciled? How about the people's rights and justice? Have the past three years hurt the country enough?"
Saturday's protesters want current Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to step down, claiming he came to power illegitimately with the help of the military and the judiciary, seen as pillars of the Thai ruling class. Abhisit took office late last year by wooing Thaksin's supporters in Parliament after the former leader's allies were forced out of office by court rulings of conflict of interestand electoral fraud.
Saturday's clashes near the Thai border with Cambodia were linked to a decades-old dispute over land. Cambodia was awarded control over the 11th century Preah Vihear temple in 1962, but Thailand claims a portion of the land.
The People's Alliance for Democracy seized on the land issue last year to stir up nationalist sentiment and attract support, accusing the government of failing to defend Thailand's sovereignty.
Hundreds of Thai villagers who opposed Saturday's protest and hundreds of marchers clashed, both sides armed with sticks, slingshots and other homemade weapons.
Abhisit told the army and police to negotiate with the protesters, who agreed to send a small group near the temple to make their statement today.
Front Section, Pages 14 on 09/20/2009