BANGKOK (AP) - Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra lamented that he was "really lonely" in self-imposed exile and urged thousands of cheering supporters to help him return to Thailand "to serve the public" in one of the country’s largest demonstrations in months.

More than 30,000 supporters stood in heavy rains in Bangkok on Saturday to hear the media tycoon, who addressed the crowd via telephone link from what he said was an undisclosed location near the Thai border.

The rally ended peacefully early Sunday.

The enthusiastic reception - more than two months after deadly clashes in the capital between his rural-based "red-shirt" supporters and security forces - underscored Thaksin’s continuing political clout.

Protest leaders led by Thaksin said they are continuing to call for Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s resignation, the dissolution of parliament, and new elections - demands the government has repeatedly rejected.

"We come here because we want to see true democracy," Thaksin told the crowd, gathered on the soggy Sanam Luang field in central Bangkok. "We loathe injustice.