Thai PM refuses to quit as protests continue

Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej vowed today that he will not resign despite growing pressure for him to step down as anti-government protesters occupied his headquarters for a fifth day.

The protests have disrupted rail and air service in some of the country’s most popular tourist destinations.

Mr Samak’s refusal to bow to protesters came ahead of an evening meeting with King Bhumibol Adulyadej at his seaside palace in Hua Hin, south of Bangkok.

The king is a constitutional monarch with no formal political role, but has repeatedly brought calm in times of turbulence during his six decades on the throne.

“I, the prime minister, have come to office in the appropriate way and I won’t resign,” Mr Samak said.

In an apparent effort to end speculation that the king would seek his resignation, Mr Samak said he had requested the meeting to brief the monarch on the political situation.

“I will not back down. I will rule this country and will lead it through all of the problems,” said Mr Samak, noting that his party soundly won December elections restoring democracy after a 2006 military coup.

He also defended himself against critics who say he should not have let protesters overrun the government’s seat of power.

“I have been very patient and have refrained from using force,” he said. “Many have criticised me for being too soft, but if the government (cracked down) we would be criticised for using excessive force.”

Thousands of protesters remained camped out at the prime minister’s official compound, known as Government House, in Bangkok where leaders called for one million people to join their ranks to demand an end to Mr Samak’s seven-month tenure. The crowd size has ranged from 2,000 to about 30,000.

“The protest has already developed into a people’s revolution,” protest leader Sondhi Limthongkul said. “I do believe that Samak is going to resign.”

Saying that Western-style democracy has allowed corruption to flourish, the protest group has proposed a blueprint for a new government which would make parliament a mostly appointed body with only 30% of MPs elected.

Mr Samak called an emergency parliamentary session tomorrow for both houses to debate the crisis and try to resolve it through political means, said Surachai Phuprasert, a top aide to the prime minister.

Despite Mr Samak’s refusal to budge, his strength appeared to be fraying amid the growing chaos.

The country’s influential army commander, General Anupong Paochinda, rejected a request by Mr Samak yesterday to declare a state of emergency, a top army official said. General Anupong has vowed that the army will not intervene and has called for resolving the crisis by political means.

The Chart Thai Party, a key member of Samak’s six-party ruling coalition, said it was ready to suggest that Mr Samak leave office.

The People’s Alliance for Democracy, the protest organiser, accuses Mr Samak of corruption and of serving as a proxy for ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was deposed in a 2006 bloodless military coup and banned from public office until 2012. Mr Thaksin, who fled into exile in Britain, faces an array of corruption charges.

Mr Samak led Mr Thaksin’s political allies to a December election victory, and their assumption of power triggered fears that Mr Thaksin would make a political comeback on the strength of his continued popularity with Thailand’s rural majority.

Anti-government protests started in May but gained momentum on Tuesday when protesters occupied the Government House compound. The unrest escalated yesterday when protesters clashed with police.

After police forced their way into the Government House compound to deliver a court eviction order, the alliance fought police in running street battles, charging, punching and hitting officers with sticks. They withdrew to display minor injuries they received when police fought back.