They said a government that employed violence against its people was not worthy of office.

In 1973, Pichian Amnartworaprasert was president of the Thammasat University Student Union.

Yesterday he said siding with a government that used violence to suppress the people was against the moral conscience of all October people.

He voiced his call at a seminar organised by the People's Alliance for Democracy at Rangsit University. The discussion was called "The lessons learned by October people and violence in Thai society".

Seminar speakers were political activists from the 1970s. They condemned the recent assaults on government opponents at Siam Paragon and Central World Plaza shopping centres.

Student Centre of Thailand secretary-general from 1976 Amorn Amornrattananont said the Thaksin government was using an alleged assassination plot as an excuse to introduce a state of emergency.

With that it could better crack down on its opponents.

He called on caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to quit. Even if the Thai Rak Thai won the October election, its government could not run the country because it had divided the Kingdom into Thaksin supporters and opponents.

"This conflict will drive the country to more violence. I also want to tell prime ministerial secretary-general Prommin Lertsuridej, an October activist himself, that he has lost his status as a revolutionary.

"He and other October activists must resign because the Thai Rak Thai Party has destroyed democracy,'' he said.

Pichian called for social sanctions against "Thaksinomics" and a campaign for public understanding that elections were not the pinnacle of democracy.

Dictatorial governments and dirty politicians could use elections to whitewash themselves and cling to power.

If voters in the North and Northeast could be made to see this then they may cease their support for the Thai Rak Thai Party, he said.

Other October activists in the government include Deputy Transport Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Education Minister Chaturon Chaisang.