Bangkok - There was no end in sight to the tense political stand-off in Thailand last night as embattled Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej vowed not to quit in the face of anti-government protests.

At the same time, Mr Sondhi Limthongkul, a leader of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), said his people would not back down either and threatened to step up the pressure until Mr Samak is toppled.

He raised the possibility of a massive withdrawal of money from banks by wealthy PAD supporters.

'The whole financial system of Thailand will go down the drain,' he told reporters.

He also said the PAD, which overran terminals and tarmacs at Phuket, Krabi and Hat Yai on Thursday, closing down the airports, could do it again 'any time'.

'We closed the airports to tell the government that we can do this on a much, much larger scale if you do not listen to us,' he said.

Yesterday, although Hat Yai airport reopened, both Phuket and Krabi airports remained shut, leaving thousands of tourists stranded.

Asked when the PAD protest would end, Mr Sondhi said: 'When Mr Samak resigns.'

Asked how far he was willing to go, he replied: 'As far as it takes.'

Although the atmosphere was calmer yesterday than the day before, when police fired tear gas to repel an assault on their Bangkok headquarters, thousands of PAD supporters continued to occupy the grounds of Government House.

At a public ceremony in the afternoon, Mr Samak declared : 'I occupy this post legally and I will never resign despite the pressures and threats.

'If I have to step down, it has to be because of the law, not because of threats.'

Mr Samak later flew to Hua Hin for an audience with King Bhumibol Adulyadej to update him on the political situation.

On his return to Bangkok, he met leaders of other parties in his ruling coalition.

While Mr Samak avoided the press, the other coalition leaders held a press conference in the evening, at which they made known their continued support for the Prime Minister. They also said they backed stronger measures to curb the protests.

'All coalition partners are sticking together and there is no change in leadership,' said Mr Somchai Wongsawat, a deputy leader of the People's Power Party (PPP).

Mr Surapong Suebwonglee, another deputy leader of the PPP, added: 'We will listen to the PAD, but we have to say that the PAD does not represent the majority of the population.'

The coalition leaders said Parliament would provide the best forum to work out a solution to the crisis.

A special joint session of the House and Senate is scheduled for this afternoon.

Earlier in the day, there were rumours that Mr Banharn Silpa-archa, leader of Chart Thai, a key coalition partner, may replace Mr Samak as prime minister.

But one of his spokesmen told The Sunday Times: 'It's wait and see at the moment; everything depends on the main party (PPP).'

Meanwhile, the opposition Democrat Party is showing more overtly its support for the PAD. Senior Democrat Party MPs visited the protesters at Government House yesterday, a day after party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva did the same.

And tensions rose yesterday when some 5,000 pro-government supporters gathered at the Sanam Luang grounds, a couple of kilometres from Government House, with many more reportedly on the way from PPP's power base in the north and north-east of the country.

For the moment, the military is against imposing a state of emergency. Neither is the army chief, General Anupong Paochinda, in favour of an army takeover.

But some reports, quoting military sources, said the top brass have also indicated to Mr Samak that their patience is finite and he has to find a solution quickly.

nirmal@sph.com.sg

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