Allied anti-Thaksin Shinawatra groups nationwide announced they will mobilise supporters to gather in the capital to protest against the government's amnesty bill, which passed its final House reading early yesterday.
However, the main opposition Democrat Party elected not to expand its own anti-amnesty rally being held in the Samsen area.
Democrat MP for Surat Thani Suthep Thaugsuban said the protest leaders had resolved not to escalate the protest because there were still channels for the legislation to be halted.
"From now on, our targets will be the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who can use her power to stop the bill at any time, and the senators, who can vote to kill the bill when it enters the Upper House," Mr Suthep said.
The House of Representatives spent 19 hours debating the new version of the seven-section bill.
The debate on the second reading of the bill started at 10am on Thursday. Discussions on Section 3, the centre of the controversy, began about 2.30am yesterday. The House passed the third and final reading of the bill at 4.25am with a 310-0 vote and four abstentions. Democrat MPs walked out after failing to secure an adjournment to the debate.
The four who abstained were red-shirt MPs - Worachai Hema, who proposed the original version of the bill, Khattiya Sawatdiphol, whose father was killed during the 2010 political violence, and red-shirt-affiliated MPs Weng Tojirakarn and Deputy Commerce Minister Natthawut Saikuar.
The bill offers a blanket amnesty for all charged with political offences between Jan 1, 2004 and Aug 8, 2013. This would include ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who has been in self-imposed exile overseas since fleeing the country in 2008 when sentenced to two years in jail for abuse of power.
The bill is expected to go to the Senate next week. Senate Speaker Nikom Wairachpanich said the Senate Committee on Senate Affairs will meet on Wednesday to set the agenda for its session and the bill may be tabled for its first reading by Nov 11.
The anti-Thaksin coalition represented by Suriyasai Katasila and Somkiat Pongpaibul, the State Enterprises Workers' Relations Confederation and the Dhamma Army announced yesterday it would mobilise protesters countrywide to come to Bangkok to join the protests.
The called on protesters to join either the rally of the Network of Students and People for Reform of Thailand (NSPRT) at Uruphong intersection or the People's Force for Democracy to Overthrow Thaksinism (Pefot) at Lumpini Park.
"Amnesty opponents countrywide should join the anti-government rallies [in Bangkok]," Mr Somkiat said in a statement. "Some should go to Uruphong intersection to help the NSPRT defend the rally site against being reclaimed by the authorities."
He claimed Phaya Thai police station would attempt to reclaim the Uruphong area today.
NSPRT coordinator Nitithorn Lamlua said the protesters would resist any attempt to move them.
"We will talk with the police and remind them that we have the right to freedom of peaceful assembly," he said.
"If the police come to disperse the rally, we will stand firm and we are ready for a confrontation."
Mr Nitithorn said the government must be expelled as it had torn up the law books by passing the amnesty bill.
Mr Suriyasai said the group has yet to decide whether it will join the Democrat rally in Samsen.
"We have no problem with joining the Democrats but we have to ask what the real purpose of their protest is and whether they are ready for an all-out fight," he said.
Ms Yingluck said yesterday security authorities were closely monitoring the protest situation to prevent any untoward incidents. She distanced the government from the amnesty and said the government's job was to encourage dialogue and prevent any violence.Ms Yingluck said the bill's passage would be decided by the legislative branch and there was nothing the government nor the protesters could do about it.
Deputy city police chief Adul Narongsak said the Democrat protest is expected to last until Dec 5 and its numbers would fluctuate depending on the political situation.
She called on the anti-amnesty protesters to respect the law and said she had instructed authorities to avoid confrontations at rally sites.
Internal Security Operations Command spokesman Banpot Poonpian said yesterday the three armed forces have each put 150 military police officers on standby as part of standard procedures following the enforcement of the Internal Security Act.
They are initially assigned to help with traffic management and medical services, he said.