Bangkok - Thailand's beseiged government Sunday tried to defuse its latest political crisis by holding a special session of parliament while thousands of protestors occupied Government House, the seat of administration, for the sixth day. Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej agreed to a special joint session of the Lower and Upper Houses after police failed to oust thousands of anti-government demonstrators from the seat of government on Friday.
The special session, intended to find means of ending the Govenment House standoff, instead turned into a censure debate against Samak, who was criticized for mishandling the situation and was asked to resign by several opposition MPs.
Samak insisted he would not resign, repeatedly saying: "I have done nothing wrong." But he was still faced with a dilemma in how to handle the mob that has seized Government House for the past six days.
On Tuesday more than 10,000 followers of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) stormed and occupied Government House, demanding Samak's resignation and the dissolution of parliament.
Samak, who heads the People Power Party (PPP), sent in police to oust the demonstrators on Friday, but the use of force immediately backfired on him by spreading the confrontation nationwide.
PAD backed raided and closed down Krabi, Hat Yai and Phuket airports in southern Thailand and the labour union of the State Railways of Thailand shut down train routes over the weekend.
The three airports has reopened by Sunday.
The police were forced to retreat, leaving the PAD in control of Thailand's seat of government over the weekend.
Government House had the feel of a temple fair Sunday, with more than 10,000 people roaming the once exclusive grounds, camping out on the once immaculate lawns to listen to speeches and folk songs.
The crowd seemed in no mood to leave.
"I will stay here until the government falls," said Noi, a nurse who has been living at Government House since Tuesday and participating in PAD anti-government protests since May, this year.
"We are ready to fight if anyone tries to move us," said Iang Yengkatoh, an elderly matron from Nakorn Ratchasima. "I hate Samak. He is corrupt and his party bought votes to get in to office."
Samak will be hard pressed to move this temple fair elsewhere, given his tenuous relationship with the Thai military.
On Friday, Samak, who is also defence minister, reportedly wanted to declare a state of emergency to deal with the PAD protest but the proposal was rejected by Army chief General Anupong Paojinda.
Samak faces a dilemma in dealing with the PAD, which is openly pro- monarchist, because the military will not use force in disbanding the demonstration, analysts say.
The PAD is a political movement that was launched as a spearhead to topple former premier Thaksin Shinawatra who was eventually ousted by a military coup on September 19, 2006.
Its leaders advocate a return to Thailand's old-style democracy, favouring a lead role of the bureaucracy, the military and appointed office holders over elected members of parliament.
It is deemed a conservative reaction to the populist policies of Thaksin and the Samak's PPP, that have proved successful in winning elections by gaining the support of Thailand's urban and rural poor.
The movement has won the support of many middle-class Thais who are fed up with the corruption and abuses of power that are part and parcel of elected governments in Thailand.
The Samak-PAD showdown is seen by some analysts as a crucial test for Thailand's democratic system, which can be characterized as a see- saw between elected governments and governments headed or appointed by the military.
"If the PAD succeeds in ousting Samak, it will be a huge setback for Thai democracy," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University.
"It will be the crowning success for the right-wing conservative contingent who are against election- based democracy."
