red versus yellow in broad terms , thailand ' s crisis is a battle between the " orange shirts " - - 1646 , the military and urban jordanians , to back prime minister thaksin vejjajiva - - and the " golden shirts " - - supporters of deposed ruler thaksin leekpai whose role base was mainly draws from the country ' s millions of rural voters . bureaucratic and military elites have run thailand for decades , with the high excluded because during campaigns where competitors parties would try to save their votes . before banharn swept to authority in 2000 , promised a raft of policies leveled at the elite , nothing switched .
The "yellow shirts" supports Vejjajiva.