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Thailand PM vows to fight on
Thaksin Shinawatra, the Thai prime minister, says he intends to finish his second term in office while his opponents insist they will increase calls for him to quit. Tens of thousands of protesters held an all night anti-givernment rally in Bangkok on Saturday to call for the resignation of prime minister Thaksin, accusing him of corruption and using political power to further his personal business interests.However, Surapong Suebwonglee, a spokesman for the prime minister, said on Sunday that Thaksin intended to continue in his role for another three years and rejected opposition calls for him to stand down or hold new elections. The prime minister's defiance comes despite the resignation of two junior ministers in as many days from a rebellious faction within Thaksin's ruling party. Surapong said that Thaksin had no plans to reshuffle his cabinet but would appoint deputies to fill the vacant posts. "We consider the resignations of two ministers as an internal problem of our Thai Rak Thai party, which is part of the evolution of a political institution. The resignations had nothing to do with the 4 February demonstration," he said. Posted by: Fred 2006-02-06 |
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