Thai parliament convenes crisis session over protests

THAILAND’S parliament has convened an emergency session at the request of the country’s prime minister, who acknowledged that his administration cannot control spiralling anti-government protests.

Prime minister Samak Sundaravej’s People’s Power Party said it plans to present a compromise in parliament to appease the thousands of protesters occupying his official compound for a sixth day.

Protest leaders say they will not back down until Samak resigns, which he refuses to do.

The protest organisers, the People’s Alliance for Democracy, accuse Samak’s government of corruption and of serving as a proxy for ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was deposed in a 2006 coup. Thaksin recently fled to self-imposed exile in Britain to escape corruption charges.

As the session got underway, opposition lawmaker Jurin Laksanavisit said Samak’s aggressive demeanor had fuelled the crisis and urged him to step down.

“I think it is time for the prime minister to look at himself and decide whether he is still fit to be prime minister,”

Samak took the microphone and retorted: “I did not do anything wrong and have the right to continue my work as prime minister.”

In other parts of the country, rail workers joined the protest by halting service on dozens of trains. Protesters forced airports to shut at some of the country’s most popular beach destinations.