Thai PM rejects protesters' call to step down

Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra has turned down protesters' demands that she step down, even as fresh clashes broke out in Bangkok.

She said it was not possible to meet the demands under the constitution, but the government remained open to talks.

More clashes were reported yesterday as protesters attempted to take over the prime minister's office, Government House.

The clashes have taken the toll to four in Thailand's worst political turmoil following the 2010 rallies that ended in violence.

"Anything I can do to make people happy, I am willing to do... but as prime minister, what I can do must be under the constitution," Shinawatra said in a televised address.

The protesters threw everything they could at the riot police protecting Government House, rocks, fireworks, crude homemade explosives, and even digger trucks were pressed into service, but the barricades withstood the assault, as the police used tear gas and, at times, rubber bullets.

The day of noisy skirmishes ended in deadlock, with the protesters unable to reach the prime minister's office and the government unwilling to use the level of force necessary to disperse them.

With the opposition have failed to deliver the promised overall victory on Sunday and not being able to make much progress yesterday, there was some speculation that protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban might concede defeat.

Thaugsuban, however, refocused his efforts on the Thai police, whom he now blames for blocking his "people's" uprising.

Meanwhile, Thai officials today announced a new and novel tactic as riot police cleared away barbed wire, put down their shields and opened the doors to a police compound that the protesters had vowed to besiege.

Reuters quoted Bangkok's police chief Kamronvit Thoopkrachang as saying, in every area where there had been confrontation,  the police had been ordered to withdraw. He said it was government policy to avoid confrontation.

Protesters entering the compound were politely greeted by the police and they even posed for photos together.

With the protests appearing to be winding down, the police also threw open the gates to the office of the prime minister, which the Thai police on Monday had aggressively fortified.

Meanwhile, a criminal court has issued an arrest warrant for Suthep Thaugsuban, the leader of the demonstrations, on charges of rebellion, which could lead to a death sentence or a life term in prison.