(Adds U.S. officials on meeting, details on rally) By Andrew Gray BANGKOK, June 1 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates delivered a clear message to Thai leaders on Sunday that Washington expected the military to respect its civilian masters and refrain from any attempt to seize power. A week of anti-government protests in Bangkok have ignited fears that the military may stage another coup, two years after a similar street campaign against then Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra led to his ouster in a bloodless putsch. At a meeting in Bangkok with Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, who is also the defence minister, and a dozen senior military officers, Gates said democracy was the foundation of America's relationship with the Thai military. "It is one of the reasons why the secretary's here -- to reaffirm that the military relationship is based upon shared democratic values," said a senior U.S. defence official, briefing reporters on the condition that he was not named. "He's not hectoring," the official said. "But the message was clear, and respectful." Before heading to Bangkok from Singapore, Gates told reporters: "Our position is pretty consistent. We want to see democratically elected governments and we will convey that." Gates' visit to Thailand was arranged as part of a broader Asia tour before the current protests against the pro-Thaksin coalition government elected in December. Gates, a former CIA director who took over at the Pentagon from Donald Rumsfeld in late 2006, praised Thailand as a consistent partner. "Thailand is an old ally of the United States," he said in Singapore, where he attended the annual Shangri-La dialogue of Asian defence and security officials. THAI OPPOSITION VOWS MORE RALLIES The United States lifted restrictions on aid to Thailand in February after a new elected government took power. Washington had suspended about $35 million in assistance to Thailand, including funds designed to promote military professionalism, after the bloodless 2006 coup. Samak threatened on Saturday to use the police to break up a rally of 6,500 anti-government protesters. But police did not move against them after an apparent reversal by Samak, who accused the media of misreporting his remarks. Violence stemming from a clampdown on the rally could add to concerns about the army being drawn back into the political fray, particularly after scuffles broke out between pro- and anti-Thaksin protesters at a rally last Sunday. A Thai opposition group vowed to hold more street rallies. "We will stay here until the government resigns," Somsak Kosaisuk, one of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) leaders, told Reuters by telephone from the rally at the Makawan Rangsan bridge near the Grand Palace in the heart of Bangkok. Police said no ultimatum had been issued to the protesters, whose number had thinned to around 400-500 on Sunday. "We will talk peacefully to them about when they should move. We will not cause any violence," said Deputy police spokesman Surapol Thuanthong Gates applauded Thailand's return to democratic rule in his meeting with Samak and the generals, according to U.S. officials. They suggested the message could carry particular weight with the Thai military, coming from the Pentagon chief. Thailand's top military commander denied reports on Thursday that the army may be plotting another coup. Supreme Commander Boonsrang Niumpradit also said he did not expect the prime minister to declare a state of emergency and order troops onto the streets. (Additional reporting by Apornrath Phoonphongphiphat, Editing by Ed Davies and Elizabeth Piper)
A Thai soldier looks over the body of a suspected militant in Thailand's Yala province, nearly 1084 km ( 672 miles) south of Bangkok on May 29, 2008. Four militants were ...
