Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said Thursday he would stay on in his post to defend democracy, despite growing pressure to resign after the army refused to break up a large group of demonstrators who seized his government headquarters in Bangkok.
The army's unwillingness to use force against tens of thousands of protesters who invaded Government House on Aug. 26 has weakened the prime minister's authority. Army chief General Anupong Paochinda's vow not to take sides to defend Thailand's democratically elected government spurred speculation that Mr. Samak would have to resign or dissolve Parliament and call fresh elections. Some political analysts described the army's actions as a 'silent coup.'
Mr. Samak declared a state of emergency Tuesday after violent clashes between government supporters and antigovernment protesters left one person dead and dozens badly injured. The decree enables Thailand's military to help restore order to Bangkok's streets.
'I won't resign -- I have to stay on to protect the democratic system,' Mr. Samak said in a radio broadcast early Thursday, referring to his opponents, who wish to uproot Thailand's democracy, as a dangerous cult.
Adding to his troubles, Mr. Samak confirmed that his foreign minister had resigned.
Many of the thousands of largely conservative, middle-class protesters say corruption has flourished in Mr. Samak's seven-month-old, democratically elected government.
A threat from state-enterprise unions to cut power and water to government buildings and police stations fizzled out Wednesday, partly because of the army's request that the unions reconsider their strike plans.
On Wednesday, Thailand's central bank appealed for a quick resolution of the political impasse, warning that it could hurt the economy if prolonged.
Protest leaders have targeted Mr. Samak since he formed a coalition government in February following the restoration of democratic rule after a 2006 military coup that ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra. They say Mr. Samak is a proxy for Mr. Thaksin, a telecommunications tycoon who transformed Thailand with his populist politics before the military, wary of his growing power, removed him. Mr. Thaksin is now in Britain seeking political asylum to evade corruption charges brought against him in Thailand.
Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political-science professor at Chulalongkorn University, suggested that new elections could provide a 'clean slate.'
However, 'if Mr. Samak is forced out while the PAD is still illegally occupying the Government House compound, that would show that Thailand's democracy is nothing, that it's mob rule,' Mr. Thitinan said.
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Jenny Paris contributed to this article. |
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