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 on August 26 when thousands of activists occupied the grounds of his office compound.
‘Protect democracy’
“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,” Sundaravej said.
But he added, to “resign won’t mean anything, even if I dissolve the Parliament.”
The Prime Minister’s announcement came after he 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.
