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BANGKOK - THAI Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej ordered police and soldiers to break up an anti-government protest that has lasted nearly one week.
'You must leave, otherwise police will help you move. I will take all responsibility for the police and military's actions,' Mr Samak said in a nationally televised speech on Saturday.
The protest, which has blocked a road in central Bangkok since last Sunday, has drawn anywhere from a few hundred to about 10,000 people, according to police. About 1,200 people were at the site early on Saturday, police said.
During a rally late on Friday, the protesters vowed to bring down Mr Samak's government which was formed after elections in December.
The protest is organised by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), the same group that spearheaded demonstrations against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra two years ago, eventually leading to a military coup.
'I will not yield to your demand. Today will be the day. I am tackling the problem today,' Mr Samak said.
'I have prepared police and military forces. You must find another place to rally that will not affect or violate other people's rights,' he said.
'You must withdraw from that place. It's illegal, and our country needs a peaceful atmosphere,' he said, accusing the protest leaders of 'inciting unrest'.
The protest began in opposition to Mr Samak's drive to amend Thailand's military-backed constitution. The kingdom's royalist elite oppose the planned amendments, and the controversy had raised rumours of a new coup.
His government also came under fire over a speech made by a minister attached to the premier's office. Critics said the speech insulted the nation's revered king by questioning the role of the palace in Thai democracy, a serious criminal offence.
The minister, Mr Jakrapob Penkair, resigned on Friday saying he wanted to ease political tensions. Mr Samak has also agreed to put his plan to amend the constitution to a referendum.
But the protest, which include a breakaway sect of extremist Buddhist monks led by a retired general, continued late on Friday, with PAD's five leaders accusing Mr Samak of acting as a puppet for Thaksin.
Mr Samak insisted the protesters were breaking the law by obstructing traffic for a week in the middle of Bangkok's historic district.
'What you've done, obstructing traffic, is illegal,' he said. 'Who do you want to stage a coup this time? If you want to fight, we fight in Parliament,' Mr Samak said. -- AFP
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