Thai prime minister confident there will be no coup

07/09/2008 16:50:26

Thailand's embattled prime minister Samak Sundaravej says he would go to the U.N. General Assembly session in New York later this month, as scheduled.

This despite the fact that the last elected premier, Thaksin Shinawatra, was removed from office in a military coup just hours before he addressed the General Assembly in 2006.

Mr Samak says there is no chance of a coup against his government, citing the army chief's statement on saturday that there is no reason to launch one.

Analysts say Mr Samak's offer to hold a referendum on his seven month rule makes it harder to force his ouster through intervention either by the military or by the King who has stepped into disputes in the past.

Thousands of anti-government activists have barricaded themselves in the prime minister's official compound, refusing to move until he quits.

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