BANGKOK, Aug 26: Thousands of Thai protesters on Tuesday seized a state-run TV station and surrounded government buildings in their campaign to force premier Samak Sundaravej from office and cripple his administration.

The People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), which has been demonstrating since May, claim Samak is running Thailand on behalf of ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup and is barred from holding office.

Samak, who was elected in December and formed a coalition government in February, told the nation Monday that the protests would not force him out of office, and accused the PAD of seeking to destroy Thailand’s economy.

The country’s powerful army chief urged calm, insisting the military would not overthrow the government to quell the escalating protests, which police say have attracted at least 20,000 people to the streets.

“The military will not stage a coup d’etat. The public must not panic and must carry on their daily lives. The army will not get involved in politics,” General Anupong Paojinda told reporters.

Protesters marched before dawn on Government House and the National Broadcasting Service of Thailand (NBT) office, forcing the station’s staff to leave the building to move their broadcast to another location.

“Today is judgment day. I am ready if they want to arrest me,” PAD leader Sondhi Limthongkul told cheering crowds, most wearing yellow shirts as a mark of allegiance to revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who the protest leaders claim loyalty to.—AFP