Thailand issued arrest warrants yesterday for protest leaders besieging the main government complex, as authorities scrambled to find a peaceful end to the administration's most serious challenge yet.
As riot police moved in, leaders of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) vowed to stay inside the Government House compound until Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej bows to their demands to step down.
"The Criminal Court has approved arrest warrants for nine people as proposed by the police, including five PAD leaders," a court official said.
"They face four charges -- the most severe is treason," he told AFP.
On Tuesday, up to 35,000 demonstrators stormed a state-run television station, besieged at least three ministries and finally invaded the grounds of Government House, stepping up a campaign to bring down Samak's administration.
Police have indicated that they will enter the compound to arrest the PAD members, but Interior Minister Kowit Wattana appeared to he holding out for a peacefully solution.
"I ask protesters of the PAD to please withdraw from the Government House compound immediately. You can rally somewhere else," he told reporters.
But despite government pleas, the threat of arrest, and even the onset of a tropical rain storm, protest leaders refused to budge.
"If you want to arrest us, come here and arrest us here -- it is the government who must go," Somsak Kosaisuk told protesters, most of whom were wearing yellow shirts out of allegiance to revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
Small scuffles broke out between police and protesters early yesterday, deputy national police spokesman Major General Surapol Tuanthong said, but he insisted there would be no violence.
"They are not going to disperse the crowd -- we are trying to negotiate," Surapol told AFP, adding that about 14,000 protesters remained inside the compound.
An AFP correspondent at the scene saw hundreds of police, some with batons and shields, in the enclosure. The security forces appeared relaxed, watching the ongoing rally on the manicured lawns of Government House.
One police officer who refused to be named said that 2,000 police were deployed outside Government House, while 500 were inside.
The premier, who was working yesterday from army headquarters, said Tuesday that his approach would be "soft and gentle" and that police would simply surround the seat of government until everyone had left.
Samak has won praise from Thailand's often-hostile English-language press, with a poll published Tuesday showing nearly 68 percent of Bangkok residents surveyed did not agree with the Government House siege.
Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political analyst based at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn university, told AFP the protest could backfire as the city's residents tire of the disruption.
"They have broken the law and it could be a serious setback for them," he said. "The government has a lot of options -- they have time on their side."
Since taking office, Samak has faced a series of setbacks. Court decisions forced three top government officials to resign, while the ongoing PAD protests have helped send the stock market down nearly 18 percent since May.