More than 30,000 "Red Shirt" supporters of Thaksin Shinawatra handed in a petition Monday seeking a royal pardon for Thailand's fugitive former premier, deepening the kingdom's political rifts. Organisers said they had collected at least 3.5 million signatures in support of Thaksin, who was toppled in a military coup in 2006 and fled abroad last August to escape a two-year jail term for corruption.
"I would like to say thank you to my fellow Thais, who have a good attitude towards me and to Thailand," Thaksin said in a speech broadcast live by video from an undisclosed location to the cheering crowd in downtown Bangkok. Billionaire tycoon Thaksin then turned to a portrait of Thailand's widely revered, 81-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej and the royal family and sang a traditional royal song.
In their latest mass show of support for Thaksin, the protest group submitted their petition to the royal offices in Bangkok's Grand Palace in the afternoon. The petition was packed in 10 boxes wrapped in red cloth. The group said earlier this month that they had amassed five million signatures but on Monday they said a revised count put the number at 3.5 million. Their political opponents have cast doubt on both figures. Police Major General Vichai Sangkapai confirmed that 30,000 people joined the rally and that 1,500 uniformed officers had been deployed but the rally remained peaceful.
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