Thai PM vows not to give in to protests
Monday, 23 June 2008
BANGKOK, June 22 (AFP): Thai premier Samak Sundaravej said Sunday he will not yield to protesters demanding he quit and will answer his critics in parliament, in a bid to quell the crisis threatening his government. Samak, a combative self-styled 'man of the people,' comfortably won elections in December but is under attack both from the streets and in parliament, where he faces a no confidence vote this week.
Speaking in his weekly Sunday television address, Samak vowed to go to work Monday despite protesters from the so-called People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) camping out at his office calling on him to step down.
"I will return to Government House Monday.... I come from legitimate elections," he told the nation.
Up to 25,000 protesters led by the PAD-a coalition of mostly urban middle-class royalists-defied police and marched to Government House on Friday after blockading a key Bangkok intersection for nearly four weeks.
A police spokesman told AFP Sunday that several thousand demonstrators, who object to Samak's close ties with ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, remained outside the seat of government.
Despite previous warnings of a crackdown, Samak said he would let the PAD rallies run out of steam, rather than unleash the police or military. "I am patient because I don't want riots to happen," Samak told viewers.
"I will avoid confrontation with the PAD," he added. "The country will function as usual. Whoever wants to show their powers, I will let them do it for the appropriate reasons and time."
Protests by the PAD in early 2006 foreshadowed the coup later that year which removed twice-elected Thaksin. The current rallies have stoked rumours of another putsch, sending the stock market falling.
In a bid to defuse the current crisis, House Speaker Chai Chidchob has set a censure debate to begin on Tuesday.
Samak, whose Thaksin-backed People Power Party (PPP) formed a coalition government in February, will face a grilling by senators and opposition party members followed by a no-confidence vote Thursday. "Whatever the topic... we can debate on Tuesday," Samak said. "If I lose, I step back," he added.
The opposition Democrat Party filed a censure motion against Samak and seven cabinet ministers on Wednesday, saying that the premier had mishandled soaring inflation in the country.
Their key complaint however-shared by the PAD protesters-is that Samak is running Thailand on behalf of Thaksin, who was banned from politics for five years by a constitutional tribunal in mid-2007.
Speaking in his weekly Sunday television address, Samak vowed to go to work Monday despite protesters from the so-called People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) camping out at his office calling on him to step down.
"I will return to Government House Monday.... I come from legitimate elections," he told the nation.
Up to 25,000 protesters led by the PAD-a coalition of mostly urban middle-class royalists-defied police and marched to Government House on Friday after blockading a key Bangkok intersection for nearly four weeks.
A police spokesman told AFP Sunday that several thousand demonstrators, who object to Samak's close ties with ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, remained outside the seat of government.
Despite previous warnings of a crackdown, Samak said he would let the PAD rallies run out of steam, rather than unleash the police or military. "I am patient because I don't want riots to happen," Samak told viewers.
"I will avoid confrontation with the PAD," he added. "The country will function as usual. Whoever wants to show their powers, I will let them do it for the appropriate reasons and time."
Protests by the PAD in early 2006 foreshadowed the coup later that year which removed twice-elected Thaksin. The current rallies have stoked rumours of another putsch, sending the stock market falling.
In a bid to defuse the current crisis, House Speaker Chai Chidchob has set a censure debate to begin on Tuesday.
Samak, whose Thaksin-backed People Power Party (PPP) formed a coalition government in February, will face a grilling by senators and opposition party members followed by a no-confidence vote Thursday. "Whatever the topic... we can debate on Tuesday," Samak said. "If I lose, I step back," he added.
The opposition Democrat Party filed a censure motion against Samak and seven cabinet ministers on Wednesday, saying that the premier had mishandled soaring inflation in the country.
Their key complaint however-shared by the PAD protesters-is that Samak is running Thailand on behalf of Thaksin, who was banned from politics for five years by a constitutional tribunal in mid-2007.