More than 1,000 government supporters rallied outside Thailand's parliament on Sunday as lawmakers debated a street campaign threatening to topple Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej.
Shouting "Samak, fight on; Samak, fight on", the group stayed clear of areas where anti-government protesters massed for a sixth day, including inside Samak's official compound in Bangkok.
Two days after the unrest peaked when police fired teargas and rubber bullets to repel 2,000 protesters and demonstrations spread from the capital, Thailand's political crisis appeared to be settling into a stalemate. Samak, speaking on his weekly radio address, vowed never to bow to the demands of the protesters barricaded at Government House, who insist they will stay until the seven-month-old government falls. "I am not afraid, but I am concerned about chaos in the nation," he said, adding he hoped the parliamentary debate would find a way out of the prolonged crisis that is expected to further depress Thai shares on Monday.
Air and rail services were hit as protests and strikes spread last week, but flights to the resort island of Phuket resumed on Sunday after its airport, Thailand's second-busiest after Bangkok, reopened after a two-day blockade.
Thousands of tourists were stranded and some countries issued travel warnings, threatening the image of one of Asia's top tourist destinations. Samak vowed to review airport security. "They have been trained to handle terrorists but what happens? How have they allowed these people to encroach on the runway?" he said.
POLITICAL DEADLOCK:
Nobody knows how the deadlock will be broken, but possible scenarios include a military coup, a police crackdown, a snap election, or even intervention by the king, who has stepped into several political disputes during his 60-year rule.
Samak gave no details of his meeting on Saturday with King Bhumibol Adulyadej, but he berated the Thai media for speculating that he would resign after the royal audience, which Samak said he had requested to explain the political situation.