NDTV.com: Thailand PM refuses to resign

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Updated: January 10, 2009 02:00 IST

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Thailand PM refuses to resign

Associated Press

Thursday, September 04, 2008, (Bangkok)

Embattled Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej called the political crisis in Thailand an embarrassment for the country but vowed not to resign or dissolve Parliament, saying it was his job to protect democracy.

Samak vowed in a live radio broadcast that he would not bow to demands of anti-government protesters, a stance likely to inflame a national crisis that started August 26 when thousands of activists occupied the grounds of his office compound.

"I am not resigning. I have to protect the democracy of this country," said Samak, who has not been able to enter his office since the protesters set up camp on the grounds of Government House.

"I am outside, and I can't work properly," he said, noting several times that the world was watching Thailand. "Is it shameful? Yes."

But he added, to "resign won't mean anything, even if I dissolve the Parliament."

News of the planned radio broadcast leaked on Wednesday night, fueling speculation that Samak's resignation was imminent. The front-page of the English-language Nation newspaper ran with the banner headline Thursday "Samak on the Brink of Exit."

The announcement came after Samak imposed a state of emergency in Bangkok on Tuesday after bloody rioting between his supporters and opponents left one person dead.

The anti-government protesters have publicly humiliated Samak by defying the emergency decree and remaining at his office compound, after the army declined to use force to remove them.

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