Thai premier says he won't resign

[October 17, 2008]  BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat said Friday he will stay in power despite growing calls for his resignation in the wake of a deadly confrontation between police and protesters last week.

Somchai's decision came amid a deepening political crisis that has nearly paralyzed the government and raised fears the army could seize power in its second coup in two years.

It also came a day after army chief Gen. Anupong Paochinda -- flanked by the commanders of the other armed forces -- said in a TV interview that Somchai should take responsibility for the violence and hinted he should step down. Anupong repeated, however, his vow not to stage a coup.

Somchai said the government cannot abandon its work and responsibility.

"We have many major projects coming up," he said in a nationally televised press conference.

Somchai took office only last month but was immediately targeted by anti-government protesters for his relationship to his brother-in-law, deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

A demonstration against his government turned into a violent confrontation between police and protesters last week that killed one demonstrator and injured hundreds of others, as well as dozens of police.

Some demonstrators at that protest carried guns, iron rods, slingshots and rocks, and rioters torched parked cars, trucks and vans. Police have been accused of firing exploding canisters of tear gas that badly wounded many of the protesters.

Somchai established a special panel to look into the incident and said he expected a report in the next 15 days. "What happened is not what we intended," he said Friday.

"Whatever the result, the government will accept it," he said. "If someone has to take responsibility, we will accept it."

Thousands of anti-government protesters marching through the streets of Bangkok early Friday more explicitly called for the prime minister's resignation.

Somcha "ordered police to kill protesters. Thais should come out on the street to oust the evil government," said Somsak Kosaisuk, a leader of the People's Alliance for Democracy protest group.

The demonstrators blocked the streets of a busy business district in the capital and handed out compact discs and photos documenting the Oct. 7 clash.

Some held up posters with photos of Somchai and the police chief with the word "murderer" written beneath them. Several protesters carried clubs and metal pipes during the march Friday, as a handful of traffic police were seen nearby.

The People's Alliance for Democracy, the group leading the protests, has branded Somchai a puppet of Thaksin. The group's protests against Thaksin led to the 2006 military coup that ousted the former leader for alleged corruption and misuse of power.

Somchai become prime minister after Samak Sundaravej was forced from power for accepting money for hosting a TV cooking show while in office, which a court ruled an illegal conflict-of-interest.

Somchai's People's Power Party remains popular with the majority of Thais living in the countryside, but he faces opposition from the alliance and its sympathizers -- monarchists, the military, the urban elite. Several legal cases pending against him and his party also could force him to step down.

[Associated Press; By RAVI NESSMAN]

Associated Press writer Ambika Ahuja contributed to this report.

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