Anti-govt rally moves to Thai PM's doorstep

By Pracha Hariraksapitak and Ed Cropley

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Chanting "Get out, get out", thousands of protesters camped outside the office of Thailand's prime minister on Friday after police removed barricades blocking them in their campaign to oust the government.

The yellow-shirted crowd waved flags and sang songs outside the ornate wrought-iron fence surrounding Government House in Bangkok as riot police stood by casually watching them.

Despite fears of violence, the march by the 25,000-strong crowd of mainly middle-class Bangkok residents was largely peaceful, prompting relieved investors to push up Thai shares by nearly 4 percent.

"We are here to fight for democracy, for Thailand. We are here to protect the motherland," Sondhi Limthongkul, a leader of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), told the jubilant crowd.

The PAD, a motley collection of businessmen, academics, royalists and unionized workers, launched the campaign four weeks ago, united by their hatred of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra who was ousted in a bloodless 2006 coup.

The long-running protests against the government of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, which the PAD views as an illegitimate Thaksin proxy, raised political tensions at a time of stuttering economic growth and soaring inflation.

Fears of clashes last month between police and demonstrators stoked rumors of another military coup less than two years after the army's bloodless removal of Thaksin, who insists he has retired from politics although few believe him.

Samak called a meeting with the chiefs of the army and police as the protest unfolded, but declined to speak to reporters after the talks at a military compound.