BANGKOK - Tens of thousands of opposition activists paraded through Thailand's sprawling capital on Saturday to try to win over Bangkok's middle classes to their anti-government campaign. The red-shirted supporters of ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra moved around the city of 15 million people in a 13-km (8-mile) convoy, handing out leaflets saying "We love Bangkokians" and calling on urban sympathizers to join their push for new elections. Smiling, waving flags and shaking their trademark clappers, they cruised along the 46-km route in a deafening procession of motorcycles and overloaded pickup trucks, cheering, honking horns and shaking hands with crowds that lined the streets. Police estimated 65,000 protesters took part, although some media and witnesses said as many as 90,000 were in the convoy. "We want to invite Bangkok residents to oust aristocrats and the government," one of the red-shirted leaders said. The week-long rally, which drew up to 150,000 people last Sunday, has so far been peaceful, boosting investor sentiment and helping to lift Thai stocks to a 20-month high. Foreign investors have in the last month pumped 35.5 billion baht ($1.09 billion) into the bourse, one of Asia's cheapest, much of that based on confidence that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's government will ride out the storm. Abhist has avoided his office, parliament and his home for security reasons and spent another day at a fortified military compound. He has refused to bow to demands for a new election, insisting the country is too divided to go to the polls. Abhisit said he was willing to hold talks with the protesters to end the deadlock, but only if Thaksin was off the agenda. "My question is: What is the standpoint of the 'red shirts'? -- Democracy or Thaksin? If answer is democracy, we can talk," Abhisit told Channel 3 television.
