Defiant Thai PM refuses to quit
Defiant Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej refused to quit as his opponents vowed on Thursday to keep up a street campaign to unseat him, setting the scene for more political uncertainty.
Israel minister warns Palestinians of "holocaust"Speaking on national radio amid widespread speculation that he would resign, Samak also dismissed talk that he would call a snap election to defuse the protests.
"I will not jump ship, I will be in control," he said in a 50-minute address.
"I can tell you I will not quit. I will not dissolve parliament. I will stay to protect democracy."
Later in the day, a government minister said the cabinet had in principle approved a plan to hold a referendum as a means to end the crisis. No further details were immediately available.
The anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), barricaded inside the prime minister's official compound in Bangkok for a tenth day, vowed to stay until Samak gave up.
"As long as he insists on staying on, we will not go anywhere. It doesn't matter how many days or years, or even into the next life," PAD leader Sondhi Limthongkul told a crowd of cheering supporters.
The PAD, a coalition of businessmen, activists and academics, has been trying to unseat Samak for over three months, accusing him of being an illegitimate proxy for former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, ousted in a 2006 coup and now in exile in London.
Analysts said the two sides had effectively precluded any chance of a compromise being thrashed out, and predicted more uncertainty ahead.
"The philosophical difference between these two disparate groups will mean that there is unlikely to be any clear resolution any time soon," said Sin Beng Ong at JPMorgan.
|
|
