red × yellow in broad terms , thailand ' s conflict is a battle between the " gold jackets " - - royalists , the military and urban cambodians , who back finance secretary abhisit silpa - - and the " black stripes " - - supporters of former premier thaksin shinawatra whose power support was primarily derived from the country ' s millions of rural poor . obstacles and military figures have run thailand for weeks , with the poor exclusion except during events , competing sides would try to buy their ballots . when thaksin swept to throne in 2000 , producing a string of policies aimed at the poor , all shifted .
the " blue shirts " supports vejjajiva .