BANGKOK - ANTI-GOVERNMENT protesters on Tuesday trapped hundreds of Thai lawmakers and senators inside the parliament building, an MP said, forcing the prime minister to scale a fence to escape the mob.
Thousands of demonstrators demanding the ouster of the elected government surrounded the parliament building in the capital late on Monday to try and prevent the first policy speech by Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat.
Police fired tear gas early on Tuesday and were able to clear a road to allow the lawmakers access to the house for the special session, but protesters regrouped and blocked parliament exits as the session went on.
House Speaker Chai Chidchob prematurely ended the special session, which was attended by 320 parliamentarians and senators.
'We have to wait to see how the situation plays out. In my personal opinion it will be hard to get out today, but eventually we will get out,' Agriculture Minister Somsak Prisanananthakul told AFP.
'The protesters' sentiment is very high now - we have to wait for them to calm down.' Attempts by ministers to negotiate with protesters from the so-called People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) group were met with jeers from the crowd near the entrance to the building.
An AFP correspondent in the besieged parliament building said that MPs were loosening their business attire as the air conditioning ran low, while supplies of fresh water were running out.
Mr Somchai and five of his ministers climbed a fence into a park next door to get out, the correspondent witnessed.
Mr Somchai's People Power Party (PPP) won elections in Dec last year, marking a return to democracy in the kingdom after a 2006 coup.
PPP is linked to the ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, angering the PAD, which took to the street in May claiming the ruling party was trying to amend the constitution to benefit Thaksin. -- AFP
