Thousands of red-shirt demonstrators besieged the Parliament from early hours of the day in attempts to blockade the new government policy address due to be delivered Monday morning.
The protesters in red, led by the Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship (DAAD), had gathered from Sunday afternoon at the Sanam Luang (Royal Field) square in central Bangkok and moved to rally around the Parliament compound after midnight.
On early Monday morning, they surrounded the gates to the Parliament and allowed people to get into the compound one by one.
Similar tactics of besieging the Parliament were used by supporters of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), or the "yellow-shirt" people, to block the previous premier Somchai Wongsawat from delivering the government policy speech on Oct. 7.
Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Theugsubhan said negotiation was underway between the government and the DAAD protest leaders, including Jatuporn Promphun and Veera Musikapong.
Suthep said if the negotiation failed, the government may postpone the delivery of the policy address, which was originally set to start at 9:30 a.m. (0230 GMT).
The protest leaders said the Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and MPs could walk into the compound.
The DAAD called on the Abhisit government to dissolve the Parliament for a snap general election.
Some 3,000 police were deployed to keep security around the compound.
By laws, a government has to deliver the policy statement within 15 days. The Abhisit government, which took office on Dec. 22, has to do it before Jan. 7, 2009.
The DAAD leaders have threatened to besiege the Parliament through Monday and Tuesday, the scheduled time for the government policy debate.
Abhisit earlier said the government would not resort to force to crack down on the red-shirt protesters.
The Somchai government was blamed for ordering police to use tear-gas to disperse PAD protesters on Oct. 7, causing violent clashes that killed two persons and injured more than 400 others.
Democrat Party leader Abhisit was elected new PM after Somchai stepped down with a court verdict on Dec. 2 that disbanded the former ruling People Power Party on electoral fraud charges.
Source:Xinhua
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