BANGKOK: Supporters of former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra vowed to resume their street campaign in the new year to pressure the new government to call fresh elections.

In a sign of the political strife to come, leaders of the pro-Thaksin camp also warned they may target the Asean summit in Bangkok next month to pile pressure on the new government led by former opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva.

The threat came after thousands of red-shirted demonstrators, who blockaded Parliament for two days forcing Prime Minister Abhisit to change the venue of his maiden policy speech, ended their siege after midnight.

'We will come back after the New Year break,' said Mr Shinawat Haboonpak, a core pro-Thaksin protest leader. 'The fight is not over yet, we will not give up.'

Mr Veera Musigapong, leader of the Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship (Daad), said on Tuesday night: 'Our demand is the same, a dissolution of the House.'

The Oxford-educated Abhisit, 44, has said he will call elections only at the 'appropriate time' after he has made headway on the country's economic and political woes.

Although pro-Thaksin protest leaders indicated they would renew their pressure on the government after the five-day New Year holiday, some wind appears to have been taken out of the movement's sails.

Its numbers have decreased in recent days and some participants grumbled that organisers were not paying them enough or providing free food and entertainment during rallies. It is common in Thailand for all sides to beef up their demonstrations by paying anyone willing to join in. Free food and live music are also often offered.

Thailand has been rocked by protests by rival groups of demonstrators who either support or oppose Thaksin, who now lives in self-imposed exile after being forced from office in a 2006 military coup for alleged corruption.

This week's protests were largely peaceful, but the impasse between Bangkok's royalist and business elite and rural voters, who loved his populist policies, shows no sign of ending.

Months of protests by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) had paralysed the previous pro-Thaksin government before it was dismissed by the courts, and analysts say the campaign now planned by the Daad could also hamper Mr Abhisit's policymaking at a critical time for the economy.

Many Thais are also fed up with both camps after seeing their pocketbooks badly hurt by the upheaval, which wrecked the country's vital tourism industry after anti-Thaksin protesters seized Bangkok's two airports for a week.

In a New Year's message, Mr Abhisit called on all people to settle their differences in the coming year. 'Today is the last day of a year which brought great concern to everyone. I'd like all those worries to pass with the year and let us start a new one with hope. Let's make our wish come true.'

In his policy speech, Mr Abhisit said the country's deep political divisions could help trigger a recession if the government failed to implement a US$8.6 billion (S$12.4 billion) stimulus package and restore confidence.

The Bank of Thailand painted a bleak picture of the economy on Tuesday, reporting a nearly 18 per cent fall in exports in November, the first decline since March 2002, and a slump in manufacturing. It blamed the export decline on weakening global demand and a week-long siege of Bangkok's main airport by the PAD which crippled cargo shipments and tourism.

Many companies have already cut jobs, prompting Mr Abhisit to warn that unemployment could double without urgent government action.

But analysts doubt Mr Abhisit's stimulus package can spare the economy from recession, given the prospects for more political unrest this year and the country's heavy reliance on exports, which amount to more than 60 per cent of gross domestic product.

REUTERS, ASSOCIATED PRESS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE