The PAD visited six key foreign embassies to name and shame caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Later in the evening the group rallied at Lumpini Park. PAD leaders took turns attacking Thaksin and the government.

The PM's controversial letters to world leaders took centre stage.

About 1,000 people gathered to listen, far fewer than pre-April 2 election audiences.

Yesterday afternoon's highlight was at the US Embassy, where an open letter to US President George W Bush was read. It declared Thaksin was no longer representative of Thailand and the Thai people.

The declaration, made in Thai and English, was met with loud cheers by the 1,000-strong protest.

Demonstrators refrains were "Thaksin the Traitor!" and "Thaksin Get Out!"

Thaksin's fate remains anyone's guess, but Wutipong Priabjariyawat, an MIT-educated PAD core member, told protesters not to worry.

"Just keep on throwing a punch, then evade, throw a punch and evade. The knock-out blow will be provided by others," he said, referring to either a military coup or Royal intervention putting an end to on-going political deadlock.

PAD leader Sondhi Limthongkul read the open letter. US Embassy political staff accepted it.

The letter said protesters were ashamed that Thaksin had sought personal friendship above bilateral Thai-US ties, a reference to a direct communication from Thaksin to Bush containing the PM's interpretation of the Thai political crisis.

Sondhi said the court-annulled April 2 election was "one of the most dishonest ever held" in Thai history.

The media mogul turned anti-Thaksin campaigner claimed ruse, trickery and nominee parties had been used to circumvent constitutional rules. "Dishonest practices such as stuffing ballot boxes, discounting negative votes and spying on voters in election booths were so widespread and extensive that people protested all over the land."

The group accused Thaksin of undermining and destroying democratic institutions, including Parliament. It added that Thaksin's letters to Bush and other Asian leaders breached diplomatic protocol and wrongly boasted the ruling Thai Rak Thai had won a clean and decisive victory.

Sondhi alleged the victory "was a world-class electoral deception".

The letter stated that "our democratic system with His Majesty the King as Head of State is being challenged by a dictatorial, monopolistic system which considers the people only as indentured slaves."

"[Thaksin] has dared to have thousands of our compatriots killed summarily, as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and human-rights organisations in your country are currently investigating," Sondhi read in front the embassy, referring to the ongoing violence in the deep South.

Later, in front the British Embassy, Sondhi read another version. Letters were presented to the French, Japanese, Russian and Chinese embassies earlier in the day.

All the letters said Thais wanted an efficient system of checks and balances, respect for citizens' rights and freedoms and equal and fair rules and regulations without favour.

Pravit Rojanaphruk

The Nation