Who are the anti-Thaksin protesters?

The opponents of Mr Thaksin call themselves the Peoples' Alliance for Democracy (PAD), and wear yellow shirts to proclaim their allegedly more pro-monarchist stance.

People in Thailand often wear yellow to show their allegiance to the king, and one of the protesters' key claims is that Mr Thaksin is not as loyal to the king as they are.
The PAD is a loose grouping of royalists, businessmen and the urban middle class, led by media mogul Sondhi Limthongkul and Chamlong Srimuang, a former general with close ties to the king's most senior adviser, Gen Prem Tinsulanonda.

The PAD accuses Mr Thaksin of corruption and nepotism during his time in power.
PAD protests were instrumental in setting the scene for a military coup which removed Mr Thaksin from office in 2006.
They repeated these rallies in 2008, to protest against the party in power at the time - the People Power Party (PPP), which was widely seen as a reincarnation of Mr Thaksin's banned Thai Rak Thai party.
The protesters took over Government House for three months, and engineered a week-long siege of Bangkok's main airports in December, crippling the country's vital tourism industry.
Together with several court rulings against the PPP, they are credited with bringing down two of its governments - firstly the administration of Samak Sundaravej and then that of Mr Thaksin's brother-in-law Somchai Wongsawat.
Now that a pro-Thaksin government is no longer in power, the PAD is keeping a close watch on the rising anger inside the UDD camp.

How did Mr Abhisit become prime minister?

Amid the turmoil of the airport blockade in December 2008, a Constitutional Court ruled that the PPP was guilty of electoral fraud and barred its leaders from politics for five years.

There seemed to be no way forward, but then a few Thaksin loyalists changed sides to join the other main party, the Democrats.

This enabled Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva to form a new government and become the next prime minister without calling elections.
The Democrats are not openly allied to one group of protesters or the other, but in the past the party has been closely associated with elements of the PAD.
Mr Abhisit has been criticised for his choice of foreign minister, Kasit Piromya - an open supporter of the PAD movement and its airport blockade.
Where is Mr Thaksin now?
Mr Thaksin describes himself as a citizen of the world, and he is often in Dubai, China, the UK or Hong Kong.
If he comes back to Thailand, he faces two years in jail after being found guilty in a conflict of interest case.
His long-term aims are unclear. In the past he has said he will not re-enter politics, but he has also said he is needed to lead Thailand out of the economic crisis.
He remains actively involved in politics, through the rallies of his red-shirted supporters. These rallies have prompted a vague offer of talks from the Abhisit government, which he has so far rebuffed.
Despite being out of the country, Mr Thaksin has been egging his supporters on in the latest protests, giving regular addresses on video-link.

Q&A: Thailand protests

For more than three years Thailand has been gripped by a paralysing political crisis centred on former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Mr Thaksin was ousted from office in a military coup in September 2006, and the tug-of-war between his supporters and opponents has continued ever since.

Neither side can accept the other's view of who should run the country, and each has staged long-running protests to push their cause.
When Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva was chosen as prime minister in December, some Thais hoped the protests had finally come to an end. But it appears the crisis is far from over.

THE YELLOW-SHIRTS

The focus of the yellow-shirts' campaign is also Thaksin Shinawatra - but they utterly oppose him.

The yellow-shirts were behind the street protests that led up to the military coup of September 2006 - and the ones two years later that forced Mr Thaksin's allies from power.

Called the Peoples' Alliance for Democracy (PAD), they are a loose grouping of royalists, businessmen and the urban middle class.
They are led by media mogul Sondhi Limthongkul and Chamlong Srimuang, a former general with close ties to the king's most senior adviser, Gen Prem Tinsulanonda.
In the months leading up to the 2006 coup, the yellow-shirts accused Mr Thaksin of corruption and abuse of power.
They also accused him of inadequate loyalty to the monarchy - and wear yellow because it is the king's colour.
Street protests in Bangkok attracted tens of thousands of people, shutting the capital down. Amid political deadlock, the military ousted Mr Thaksin.
There was calm for several months. But rumblings began when Mr Thaksin's allies won the post-coup elections in December 2007 and formed a government.
In May 2008 the yellow-shirts restarted their protests, arguing that the government was merely a proxy for Mr Thaksin.
They staged sit-ins at government offices and there were sporadic outbreaks of violence.
In late November they staged a week-long sit-in at Bangkok's two airports, shutting down air traffic and crippling the tourism industry.
These protests - combined with a court decision to ban the ruling party - left the Democrats in a position to form a coalition government.
The yellow-shirts had achieved their goal and they called off their protests. But they are keeping a close watch on the rising anger inside the red-shirt camp.
It is not clear how they will react to the attempted assassination on 17 April of leader Sondhi Limthongkul.
One leader blamed "Thaksin's lieutenants who could not accept defeat", but others called for calm.

THE RED-SHIRTS

The focus of the red-shirts' campaigning zeal is Thaksin Shinawatra, the prime minister ousted by the military in a September 2006 coup.

By then Mr Thaksin had governed Thailand for five years. He was very popular among the rural poor, because he initiated policies that benefited them, such as funding for health-care and education.

When elections were held 18 months after the coup, this rural support had not changed, even though Mr Thaksin was in overseas exile.
Voters from Thailand's north and north-east returned his allies to power - only to see the government fall to a series of opposition protests and court rulings.
So, in March, the red-shirts came out on the streets of Bangkok. Their formal name is the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD).
Members are mainly rural workers from outside Bangkok. But the UDD ranks also include students and activists who see attempts by the urban and military elite to control Thai politics as a threat to democracy.
The red-shirts say the military ousted an elected government in 2006.
They believe that the court decision that forced Mr Thaksin's allies from power two years later came from a biased judiciary. They say the current government - led by the Democrats - came to power illegally.
The red-shirts feel patronised by the suggestion that rural voters only backed Mr Thaksin because he bribed them - and they deeply resent the fact that the voice he gave them in Thai society has been silenced.
They want fresh elections and some - but not all - want Mr Thaksin back.
Their protest began with a series of sit-ins outside government offices, but quickly escalated.
In April they forced the cancellation of a summit of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) after storming the summit venue in the seaside resort of Pattaya.
Violence then erupted in Bangkok. Clashes involving troops, protesters and Bangkok residents left at least two people dead and dozens hurt.
On 14 April, as troops massed, the red-shirts called off their protests. Leaders said they feared more loss of life. Three of their leaders are now in police custody; ten others are being sought.
But the anger that triggered their action has not gone away. Red-shirt leaders say they plan to continue the fight.
The attempted assassination on 17 April of yellow-shirt leader Sondhi Limthongkul will elevate tensions further.
There is no indication yet as to who was involved, but the attack does raise fears of direct clashes between the reds and yellows - something that has largely been avoided so far.

Profile: Thaksin Shinawatra

Thaksin Shinawatra is one of the most influential - and polarising - characters in Thai politics.

But for a while, at least, it seems he will not be going home.

A telecommunications billionaire, he was the first prime minister in Thailand's history to lead an elected government through a full term in office.
He was enormously popular, especially among the rural poor, but also proved a divisive figure and was deeply unpopular among many of Bangkok's rich elite.
After more than five years in power, he was ousted in a military coup in September 2006, accused of corruption and abuse of power.
He has been in self-imposed exile since - mostly in London or Dubai.
He faces a two year jail sentence if he returns to Thailand, after being convicted in absentia on a conflict of interest charge.
But even though he is out of the country, he still has a pivotal influence. His latest visit to Cambodia to advise the government there has stoked considerable tensions.
Former policeman
Born in 1949 in the northern city of Chiang Mai, Mr Thaksin started his career as a police officer.
In 1973, he received a government scholarship to study for a masters degree in criminal justice in the United States.
When he returned he went into business and during the late 1980s began building a successful telecommunications empire.
He founded the Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) party in 1998, and its rapid emergence transformed Thai politics.
Mr Thaksin swept into office in 2001, soundly defeating the old guard from the Democrat Party.
Poorer voters liked his offers of cheap medical care and debt relief, his nationalist platform and his contempt for the "Bangkok elite".
The military took power while Thaksin was at the UN in New York
But big business also liked him for his CEO style of government and his "Thaksinomics" policies which created a new boom in the country where the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s began.
Mr Thasin also won support for his handling of the tsunami relief effort after the 2004 Indian Ocean disaster, which devastated parts of south-western Thailand.
Other things were not so easy. He had to face the fallout from his government's suppression of news of an outbreak of bird flu, as well as criticism over the violent deaths of more than 2,500 people during a crackdown on drugs in 2003.
Thailand's Corruption Commission found he had failed to declare all of his wealth, and he was also criticised over the government's handling of the upsurge in violence in the largely Muslim south.
Yet each time he faced pressure, Mr Thaksin appeared to ride out the storm, his backing among his key supporters - Thailand's rural voters - apparently unscathed.
Political turmoil
It was his family's decision to sell its shares in one of Thailand's biggest telecom groups, Shin Corp, that led to Mr Thaksin's downfall.
The early 2006 sale, which netted his family and friends $1.9bn, angered many urban Thais, who complained that the Mr Thaksin family had avoided paying tax and passed control of an important national asset to Singaporean investors.
Amid large-scale street demonstrations, Thaksin called a snap general election for April 2006, effectively telling opponents to "put up or shut up".
But main opposition parties boycotted the polls and many voters chose to register a "no vote".
Faced with the threat of further protests, Thaksin said he would step down. He did for a few weeks, but returned to office in May.
In September, following months of political uncertainty, the military seized power while the prime minister was out of the country.
Thaksin relocated to the UK, but shortly after his allies won the first post-coup elections in late 2007, he returned to Thailand.
There he and his family faced a raft of corruption charges - allegations which the former Thai leader probably expected to come to nothing.
But the courts - greatly empowered by a new military-backed constitution - pursued the cases against him and his family with new vigour.
First his wife Pojaman and then Mr Thaksin himself were sentenced to jail terms - with the Supreme Court finding the former leader guilty of corruption.
His assets were frozen, forcing him to sell his stake in premier league football club Manchester City shortly afterwards.
Mr Thaksin left Thailand, failing to return home for a court appearance from the Olympic Games in August 2008, and became a fugitive.
Since divorcing his wife - who now lives in Bangkok after her sentence was suspended - he has spent most of his time pursing business deals in Dubai.
He has also collected new passports - for Nicaragua and Montenegro - and conducted a series of high-profile interviews with foreign news outlets.
He also remains very much at the heart of Thailand's political dramas.
Mr Thaksin's allies lost power at the end of 2008 after a series of opposition protests and court rulings, but they are still a force to be reckoned with.
The 'red shirt' protesters - fiercely loyal to Mr Thaksin - regularly stage rallies demanding political change, and their hero often makes an appearance on a giant video screen to give them encouragement.

Profile: King Bhumibol Adulyadej

King Bhumibol Adulyadej is the world's longest reigning monarch
Revered by an adoring public, the 81-year-old king is seen as a stabilising influence in a country which, during his reign, has seen numerous military coups, 17 constitutions and even more prime ministers.

Thailand's economy is now more than 40 times the size it was when he came to power 63 years ago.
Seen as a benign father figure who remains above politics, King Bhumibol has nevertheless been credited with intervening at a few moments of acute political tension to find a non-violent resolution.
His usually opaque public utterances are minutely dissected for advice to the nation.
Though he is a constitutional monarch with limited powers, most Thais regard him as semi-divine.
Hundreds of thousands gathered to hear him speak in June 2006 when he celebrated 60 years on the throne, and any sign he has medical problems is seen as a matter of national concern.
Royal projects
King Bhumibol Adulyadej acceded to the throne on 9 June 1946 after his brother, King Ananda Mahidol, died in a still unexplained shooting accident at the Royal Palace in Bangkok.
He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where his father was studying, and he was later educated in Switzerland. He returned there to finish his studies before returning to Thailand where he was crowned in May 1950.
The status of the monarchy had been in decline since the abolition of absolute monarchy in 1932, and then the abdication of King Prajadhipok, King Bhumibol's uncle, in 1935.

In his early years King Bhumibol was overshadowed by a series of powerful military leaders.
But he rebuilt the monarchy's profile through a series of tours in the provinces, and through numerous royal projects that established his lifelong concern with agricultural development.
In 2006, then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan presented him with the United Nations' first Human Development Lifetime Achievement Award.
The current public reverence for King Bhumibol appears genuine, but it has also been carefully nurtured by a formidable palace public relations machine, and by harsh "lese-majeste" laws that punish any criticism of the monarchy with up to 15 years in prison.
Interventions
King Bhumibol's first public intervention in Thailand's chaotic politics occurred in 1973, when pro-democracy demonstrators were fired on by soldiers and were allowed to shelter in the palace, a move which led to the collapse of the administration of the then prime minister, General Thanom Kittikachorn.
But he failed to prevent the lynching of left-wing students by paramilitary vigilantes three years later, at a time when the monarchy feared the growth of communist sympathies after the end of the Vietnam War
In 1981, King Bhumibol stood up to a group of army officers who had staged a coup against the prime minister, and the king's personal friend, General Prem Tinsulanond. Units loyal to the king then retook Bangkok.

In 1992 he again intervened when dozens of demonstrators were shot after protesting against an attempt by a former coup leader, General Suchinda Kraprayoon, to become prime minister.
The king insisted on a new election and democracy was subsequently restored.
During the crisis that erupted over the leadership of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 2006, the king was frequently asked to intervene but insisted this would be inappropriate.
However his influence was still viewed as pivotal when the election Mr Thaksin had won that April was quickly annulled by the courts. His precise role in the coup that deposed Mr Thaksin is unknown.
Three years on, the king's name and image are invoked by factions both for and against Mr Thaksin, who are still jostling for power.
The entire country joined lavish celebrations to mark King Bhumibol's 80th birthday in 2008, and in the months leading up to it millions of Thais took to wearing his colour, yellow, to bring him good luck.
In his younger days, King Bhumibol enjoyed a wide variety of pursuits, including photography, playing and composing songs for the saxophone, painting and writing.
He even received a patent for his development of an artificial rain-making technique.

Diplomatic spat over Thaksin role

If there is one thing that supporters and opponents of Thaksin Shinawatra can surely agree on, it is this - the fugitive former prime minister of Thailand has a knack for grabbing headlines.

Deposed in a coup in 2006, and subsequently convicted in absentia on a conflict of interest charge, Mr Thaksin faces a two year jail sentence if he returns to Thailand.

So he has been living in self-imposed exile, most recently in Dubai.
But he works hard at maintaining his contacts back home - he is a regular contributor to the Twitter and Facebook social networking sites, and he calls in by videophone to rallies organised by his supporters.
He has also given several high-profile interviews to foreign newspapers.
All of this no doubt profoundly irritates, and probably genuinely concerns, the current coalition government, led by Prime Minsiter Abhisit Vejjajiva.
But Mr Thaksin's latest move has ramped that up several notches.
The former premier has taken up a new position as economic adviser to the Cambodian government.
The job offer was made by Hun Sen, Cambodia's outspoken prime minister, just ahead of last month's regional summit hosted by Thailand.
There could be a personal edge to it - Mr Thaksin and Mr Hun Sen are good friends and golf partners.
But the timing was widely interpreted in Thai media as being designed to undermine Mr Abhisit.
Messy legacy
Things have escalated since then. Thailand has recalled its ambassador to Phnom Penh and is considering scrapping an agreement over a disputed maritime border.
Thailand and Cambodia are already locked in a long running argument about an ancient Hindu temple.

Moves to try to extradite Mr Thaksin could follow.
But the Cambodian government has already said it will reject any such request on the basis that, in their view, the charges against their guest are politically motivated.
Thaksin Shinawatra remains a polarising figure in Thailand.
He still retains a strong following in parts of the country, particularly in rural areas.
His red-shirted supporters still mount regular demonstrations. But yellow-shirted opponents loathe and mistrust him with equal passion.
The messy legacy of the 2006 coup rumbles on.
Hun Sen could well have his own domestic reasons for baiting Thailand. It plays well with nationalist sentiments.
But observers think this latest diplomatic spat is at least as much about Thai domestic politics as historic regional rivalries.
Mr Thaksin, a billionaire who made his fortune in telecommunications, denies his visit to Cambodia is overtly political.
He says he is simply offering advice on economics and poverty reduction. But his mere presence just across the border is provocative.
Awkward timing
Hard-line nationalists are urging Mr Abhisit to take stronger retaliatory measures against Cambodia.
The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), who are staunchly opposed to Mr Thaksin, say they plan to hold a protest rally on Sunday.

Meanwhile, in an editorial, the widely read Bangkok Post newspaper, is urging restraint and cautioning the government against falling into what it calls a tit-for-tat trap set by Hun Sen.
Once again, the timing of all this is awkward to say the least.
Cambodia and Thailand are both members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean).
Asean leaders are due to meet the American President Barack Obama this weekend, on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Singapore.
It could be hard to speak with one voice if the leaders of two regional neighbours are refusing to speak to one another.
Once again, Thaksin Shinawatra has managed to create a diversion to distract the attention of his political opponents in the Thai government just ahead of a major international forum.
The spat with Cambodia has served both to underline latent regional tensions and highlight the deep divisions that persist within Thailand.

Cambodia Rejects Thai Request to Extradite Former Leader

Cambodia has rejected a request for the extradition of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is now visiting the Southeast Asian nation.
On Wednesday, Thai diplomats presented Cambodian officials with a request to detain and extradite Mr. Thaksin. He arrived in Cambodia on Tuesday, where he has been appointed economic adviser to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Cambodia responded with a diplomatic note rejecting the request.
Mr. Thaksin fled Thailand more than a year ago to avoid a two-year jail sentence for corruption.
The Cambodian government has said it considers Mr. Thaksin's conviction to be politically motivated.
In response to Cambodia's decision, the Thai government has threatened tear up its extradition treaty with Cambodia and to review other joint agreements if Mr. Thaksin is not sent back.
Relations between the two neighbors have been strained for more than a year because of a territorial dispute.
There are concerns that soured relations between the two neighbors could spill over to a Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting that is being held in Singapore on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
On Thursday, Thaksin is scheduled to deliver a speech to 300 Cambodian economic experts. Cambodian officials have said he will stay in the country for two or three days but is not intending to live there.
Following Mr. Thaksin's appointment to the Cambodian government, both Thailand and Cambodia recalled their ambassadors.