Thousands of protesters are camping outside the office of Thailand's prime minister demanding his resignation.
After
initially scuffling with demonstrators Friday, police offered little
resistance to the massive crowd which surged to the gates of Prime
Minister Samak Sundaravej's Bangkok office to stage a sit-in.
Protesters delivered anti-government speeches, waved flags and sang songs.
They have vowed to wait outside the prime minister's office until he steps down.
Members
of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) have gathered in the
streets of the capital city for the past three weeks, demanding Mr.
Samak's resignation.
The PAD accuses the prime minister's
government of being a proxy for his predecessor, Thaksin Shinawatra,
who was forced out of office nearly two years ago.
The
PAD also led demonstrations calling for Mr. Thaksin's resignation
before a bloodless military coup was launched in 2006, removing him
from office.
A small group of pro-government supporters has gathered near the demonstrators.
Military commanders say the army is ready to take action if demonstrations turn violent.
Over the past month, fears of confrontation have fed a 13 percent decline on Thailand's stock exchange.
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