Thailand's PM resists pressure to resign

22/06/2008 13:06:45

Thailand's Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej says he will not resign just because anti-government protesters have put Government House under siege.

The Bangkok Post quotes the People's Alliance for Democracy as saying they will continue to camp out at Government House until Mr Samak and his government is gone.

25,000 supporters of the anti-government group broke through a police barricade to surround Government House on Friday.

The Prime Minister will face a no-confidence vote in Parliament this week.

The motion was lodged against Mr Samak and seven cabinet colleagues by the opposition Democrat Party.

Opponents accuse him of acting as a proxy for deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was banned from politics for five years in 2007 by a constitutional tribunal.

The motion also accuses him of mishandling soaring global oil prices and rising inflation, which have sparked threats of nationwide protests, and of ignoring the crisis in the insurgency-hit south.








," said core PAD member and spokesman Suriyasai Katasila.
Mr Samak has been tight-lipped - and reportedly angry - since demonstrators made 10,000 police look like fools in breaking through their lines and surrounding Government House on Friday.
He said on Saturday he will go to work at Government House as usual on Monday, and will talk to the country about the tense dispute on his regular weekly TV show Speaking in Samak's Style at 8:30 on Sunday morning (0130 GMT).
He laughed when a reporter asked if he would allow the thousands of PAD supporters to keep up their vigil in the street at his office. "Stay tuned to my programme and find out," was all he would say.
Spokesman Nathawut Saikuar sounded a little more tentative, although he also said Mr Samak would not resign - for now.
Thailand's embattled Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej a senior official said Saturday, as thousands of protesters continued to rally at his office gates.

House Speaker Chai Chidchob set the debate to begin on Tuesday in a bid to defuse the political crisis engulfing the premier's four-month-old rule.

A final vote is expected Thursday.

"I don't know how long the debate will take but a vote of all members will be arranged as soon as the debate ends," Pitoon Pumhiran, secretary-general to the House of Representatives, told AFP.

The motion comes as Samak vowed not to quit on Saturday after "Wait and listen to me tomorrow," Samak told reporters, alluding to his weekly Sunday television address, as thousands of PAD protesters reiterated calls for his resignation.

"Prime Minister Samak will speak on everything Sunday in his "Samak Talks"," Nutthawut Saikua, deputy government spokesman told AFP. "I can confirm that he will not resign," Nutthawut said.

The pro-royalist PAD said late Saturday they would continue their protests, rejecting the no-confidence debate as a solution to the crisis, saying it was "too late".

"The government is merely trying to discredit protesters. Debate is no longer the solution as parliamentary process has long-failed to solve the problem," Suriyasai Katasila, PAD spokesman told reporters.


If a simple majority of parliamentarians voted against the government, Samak would be forced to step down.

Samak led the PPP to victory in December elections, which ended more than a year of military rule following Thaksin's overthrow in September 2006.

After intense political haggling, Samak formed a coalition government in early February with five other parties.

Between them they have 316 of the 480 seats in the lower house -- enough to survive the vote if the coalition sticks together.

The ongoing political turmoil has raised doubts about Thailand's political future and battered the Thai stock market, which has dropped 15 percent since protests began four weeks ago.

but they have an outsized impact because the PAD captures the sentiment of Bangkok's elite, who don't trust Samak after he openly campaigned as a proxy for Thaksin.

Thaksin, a self-made billionaire from the northern province of Chiang Mai, alienated much of Thailand's middle class, who have traditionally stayed close to the royal palace or the military.

Both Thaksin and Samak were elected on strong support from Thailand's poor rural heartland, where voters remain loyal to Thaksin after he brought them universal health care, cheap loans and other benefits.















Thailand's embattled Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej will face a no-confidence vote this week, a senior official said Saturday, as thousands of protesters continued to rally at his office gates.

House Speaker Chai Chidchob set the debate to begin on Tuesday in a bid to defuse the political crisis engulfing the premier's four-month-old rule.

A final vote is expected Thursday.

"I don't know how long the debate will take but a vote of all members will be arranged as soon as the debate ends," Pitoon Pumhiran, secretary-general to the House of Representatives, told AFP.

The motion comes as Samak vowed not to quit on Saturday after 25,000 supporters of the anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) broke through a police barricade to surround Government House a day earlier.

"Wait and listen to me tomorrow," Samak told reporters, alluding to his weekly Sunday television address, as thousands of PAD protesters reiterated calls for his resignation.

"Prime Minister Samak will speak on everything Sunday in his "Samak Talks"," Nutthawut Saikua, deputy government spokesman told AFP. "I can confirm that he will not resign," Nutthawut said.

The pro-royalist PAD said late Saturday they would continue their protests, rejecting the no-confidence debate as a solution to the crisis, saying it was "too late".

"The government is merely trying to discredit protesters. Debate is no longer the solution as parliamentary process has long-failed to solve the problem," Suriyasai Katasila, PAD spokesman told reporters.

The motion was lodged against Samak and seven cabinet colleagues last Wednesday by the opposition Democrat Party, but the government had said it could not pursue the matter before the parliamentary session ends on June 28.

Opponents accuse Samak of acting as a proxy for deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was banned from politics for five years in 2007 by a constitutional tribunal.

The motion also accuses him of mishandling soaring global oil prices and rising inflation, which have sparked threats of nationwide protests, and of ignoring the crisis in the insurgency-hit south.

If a simple majority of parliamentarians voted against the government, Samak would be forced to step down.

Samak led the PPP to victory in December elections, which ended more than a year of military rule following Thaksin's overthrow in September 2006.

After intense political haggling, Samak formed a coalition government in early February with five other parties.

Between them they have 316 of the 480 seats in the lower house -- enough to survive the vote if the coalition sticks together.

The ongoing political turmoil has raised doubts about Thailand's political future and battered the Thai stock market, which has dropped 15 percent since protests began four weeks ago.

The demonstrations have so far stayed small and peaceful, but they have an outsized impact because the PAD captures the sentiment of Bangkok's elite, who don't trust Samak after he openly campaigned as a proxy for Thaksin.

Thaksin, a self-made billionaire from the northern province of Chiang Mai, alienated much of Thailand's middle class, who have traditionally stayed close to the royal palace or the military.

Both Thaksin and Samak were elected on strong support from Thailand's poor rural heartland, where voters remain loyal to Thaksin after he brought them universal health care, cheap loans and other benefits.

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