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BANGKOK - THAILAND'S Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej on Thursday vowed not to use force to remove thousands of protesters camped out at the besieged government compound, and said the ball was in their court.
He told reporters that it was now up to leaders of the movement to leave Government House peacefully after a court late Wednesday ordered them to clear the site.
'I have amended my previous order from last night - we will not disperse the protests,' he said, citing the court decision.
'I ask (the protest leaders) to give themselves up to police. I assign police to do this task without dispersing the rally, but that doesn't mean the government will let it go on forever,' he said.
'Whenever it ends, it ends,' he added. 'It's up to them. The court has already ordered (their dispersal) ... I want to reassure all Thai people that there will be no spark.'
The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) - which despite its name is trying to bring down Mr Samak's elected government - began protesting at the end of May, just over three months after the formation of the coalition government.
On Tuesday, the alliance seized a state-run TV station, surrounded at least three ministries, before storming through the gates of the government compound, where the protestors have now been camped out for two nights.
Arrest warrants have been issued for nine PAD leaders and police are standing by at Government House waiting for their orders.
PAD leaders say they will not budge from Government House until Samak resigns and all political parties promise not to amend a constitution that was drafted and approved under military rule which followed a 2006 coup.
The PAD says Mr Samak is a mere figurehead running the country on behalf of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in the 2006 coup and is barred from holding office. -- AFP
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