Mr Somchai is due to hold a news conference at 9.30 pm. His spokesman would not give details of what he was going to say. -- REUTERS
BANGKOK - THAILAND'S Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat said on Sunday he did not think his resignation would end the months-long political turmoil in the kingdom, but did not rule out stepping down.
Mr Somchai has been under increasing pressure since deadly clashes between police and anti-government protesters nearly a week ago, but said in a national television address he was staying on for the moment.
Govt supporters rally in Bangkok
BANGKOK - THOUSANDS of government supporters gathered in central Bangkok on Sunday for a two-day rally, raising fears of a repeat of last week's violence in which two people were killed and more than 400 injured.
'We are gathering to show we want to protect democracy,' Mr Chatuporn Prompan, a leader of the United Front of Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), told the crowd.
'Many people have called on the government to dissolve the House or for the prime minister to resign,' he said.
'I'm not stuck on being prime minister if (my resignation) can help solve the problems. But I'm not confident it can solve the problems now ... we should find the real solution.' Mr Somchai said that the country should be focusing on dealing with the fallout from the global economic crisis, and preparing for royal events and a regional summit toward the end of the year.
Months-long protests against the government boiled over into violence last Tuesday, when police unleashed tear gas on rowdy protesters trying to stop a session of parliament in Bangkok's historic district.
Two people were killed and nearly 500 injured in the resulting chaos.
'The government is sorry for the incidents a couple of days ago,' Mr Somchai said, but also urged protesters from his foes in the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) to respect the result of elections in December.
'This government came from elections... Any demonstrations should be within the law and not violate other peoples' rights,' he said.
The PAD have vowed to march to the national police headquarters in Bangkok on Monday to protest the recent crackdown.
The group launched their campaign in May, claiming that the ruling People Power Party (PPP) is just a puppet of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who they accuse of corruption and nepotism.
The head of the armed forces General Songkitti Jaggabatara said on Saturday that the government must solve the unrest.
Mr Somchai, a brother-in-law of Thaksin, has been in his post for less than a month.
The PPP won elections in December 2007 - the first polls since the September 2006 coup ousted Thaksin - but have been beset by protests and court decisions, one of which removed Somchai's predecessor Samak Sundaravej. -- AFP
