September 05, 2008	Friday	Ramazan 04, 1429

BANGKOK, Sept 4: Thailand plans to hold a national referendum to end a political crisis over street protests against the government, Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said on Thursday after rejecting calls to quit.

Leaders of the three-month old campaign in Bangkok to oust Samak dismissed the plan, signalling that political uncertainty would continue to beset the Southeast Asian nation.

Samak, desperately seeking a way to end the crisis that has paralysed his government, said in a radio broadcast that he would urge the Senate to pass a pending referendum law quickly.

“The campaign will last for a month in which both sides can do whatever electioneering they want,” he said, adding that the thousands of activists who have barricaded themselves within his official compound could stay there during this period.

But in an another apparent rebuff to Samak’s plans, Senate President Prasobsuk Boondej said he did not believe a vote, even a rushed one, would end the crisis.

“The current situation needs an immediate solution to defuse it. We can’t afford to wait for the referendum law to pass,” he told reporters.

The anti-government People’s Alliance for Democracy, a mainly middle class grouping of royalists and businessmen whose activists took over the prime minister’s offices 10 days ago, called the plan a delaying tactic to keep Samak in office.

“The referendum will not solve anything,” alliance spokesman Parnthep Pourpongpan said.

The PAD accuses Samak of being an illegal proxy for former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, ousted in a 2006 coup and now in exile in London. Thaksin is widely admired by the poor and in the countryside but despised by Bangkok’s middle class.

Earlier, Samak dismissed talk that he would quit or call a snap election to defuse the protests.

“I will not jump ship. I will be in control,” he said.

The alliance vowed to press on until Samak was gone.

“As long as he insists on staying on, we will not go anywhere. It doesn’t matter how many days or years, or even into the next life,” alliance leader Sondhi Limthongkul told supporters.

US REACITON: The White House said on Thursday it was closely watching unrest in Thailand, urged all sides to refrain from violence, and called for an emergency decree to be limited in scope and duration.

“We are following the political situation in Thailand closely,” spokesman Gordon Johndroe said as Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej rejected protesters’ demands that he resign and refused to call snap elections.

“We urge both supporters and opponents of the

Thai Government to refrain from violence, respect the rule of law, and address their differences within Thailand’s democratic institutions,” said Johndroe.

“We hope the Thai Government will be able to limit the duration and extent to which it implements the emergency decree to the extent necessary to restore the authority of Thailand’s democratically-elected government,” said Johndroe.

—Agencies