A REFERENDUM emerged this afternoon as the embattled Thai government's proposed solution to the present political crisis.
The suggestion came after a special Cabinet meeting.
Cabinet ministers gathered at 10.30am after Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej told the country in a speech three hours earlier that he planned to stay in office.
His speech will severely disappoint anti-government protestors -- and the prospect of a nationwide voter referendum may divide them.
Some are likely to want the present confrontation brought to an end quickly. Others are likely to refuse to stop protesting until the PM resigns.
Details of the referendum plan are yet to emerge.
One early report said there would be just one question, should the government stay in office?
Another report said there could be as many as three questions:
..Should the government continue in office, resign, or dissolve the House for a snap election?
..Should the People's Alliance for Democracy (the main national protest group) continue or end its protests?
..Should the PAD's proposal on new politics to revamp the electoral system be accepted?
At least one political analyst saw the referendum suggestion as a crafty way of leaving PAD supporters divided and the present government in control.
With Phuket's tourism industry suffering economic pain from the weekend's unexpected siege by protestors, the island today was back to being a safe haven but watching national politics closely.
Talking for more than 50 minutes this morning, the PM strongly made the point that he still has a majority mandate to remain as the elected leader.
Some media speculated that the hastily-called radio and television speech could mean that Khun Samak was going to resign. However, anti-government protestors would not have liked what they heard.
In a long speech made for Radio Thailand but also broadcast nationally on television, the PM defended his right to rule.
What he said contrasted with one national newspaper's heading: ''Samak on the brink of exit.''
The pressured PM said he would only quit if there was a national election, but he was not calling one.
''I will stay on to protect democracy in this country,'' he said. The whole world is watching us.
''I need to uphold the rule of law because we are not a barbaric country."
The same small, unelected group of people who worked against former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra were now working against him, Mr Samak said.
He said he planned to hold a television question and answer session this afternoon.
Khun Samak appears determined to out-talk those who oppose him and perhaps persuade more people of his right to stay on as elected leader.
Television viewers could only hear the PM and not see him, but he sounded confident and upbeat.
His speech was interrupted at 8am when there was a two-minute break for the national anthem.
Only Khun Samak's resignation is certain to bring an end to months of turmoil in Bangkok.
The turmoil eventually spread to other centres and over the weekend, led to the closure of Phuket International Airport and other hubs, throwing Thailand's tourism industry into jeopardy.
However, the airport has since reopened, and tourists are arriving and leaving without any sign of disruption.
A declaration of a state of emergency, although limited to Bangkok, has alarmed foreign governments and would-be tourists.
Today protests are limited to the immediate area around Government House in Bangkok. Visitors to Bangkok should avoid this area.
The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and Thailand-based PATA members confirmed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' statement that ''in other districts of Bangkok and the rest of the Kingdom, people continue to carry out their livelihood as usual with the country's economic and financial system functioning normally''.
Travel warnings by several countries are seen as a precaution.
Experts are still assessing the cost of the three-day stoppage at Phuket airport to resorts and airlines and the damage to Phuket's image as a peaceful holiday destination.
Phuketwan continues to receive messages from business groups, individuals, families and honeymooners asking for an opinion on whether the island is safe.
The PAD has huge support on Phuket and has since blamed infiltrators for the protest at the airport becoming more significant than they planned.
Hundreds, perhaps thousands of PAD supporters on Phuket have travelled to Bangkok to take part in the occupation of buildings and continuing protests while others on the island watch daily live television broadcasts
Representatives of the Phuket tourism industry organisations yesterday held a media conference to draw attention to the region's economic plight.
Phuket Tourism Association deputy chairman Purit Maswongsa said tourist arrivals had dropped by 50 percent compared with the same period last year.
Iam Thawornwongwong, head of the Phuket Chamber of Commerce, urged PAD supporters not to seal off the airport again. It had taken a long time to revitalise tourism after the 2004 tsunami.
The chamber, the provincial tourism business association, the provincial tourist guide association and resort associations all sent representatives to the conference.
Key Events:
December 23: Samak leads the People Power party (PPP) to election victory.
February 6: Samak unveils a cabinet made up of members of a six-party coalition which holds nearly two-thirds of parliamentary seats.
February 28: Former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, in self-imposed exile for 17 months, gets hero's welcome from supporters as he returns to Thailand and goes straight to court, where he is released on bail on corruption charges.
May 25: The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), a collection of anti-government groups, launches street protests calling for Samak to resign for seeking constitutional amendments they believe are aimed at helping Thaksin.
July 8-10: Court decisions force out of office three senior government officials and Yongyut Tiyapairat, the house speaker and PPP deputy leader.
July 15: A military standoff breaks out near a disputed temple on the Thai-Cambodia border, with the PAD accusing Samak of relinquishing Thai territory to help Thaksin with a business deal in the neighbouring country.
July 31: Thaksin's wife, Pojaman, is convicted of tax evasion and released on bail.
August 11: Thaksin and his wife go into exile in Britain, claiming they will not get a fair trial on the corruption charges mounting against them.
August 26: At least 35,000 PAD-led protesters raid a TV station, surround three ministries and break into Bangkok's main government compound in what they say is their ''final war'' against the government.
August 29: Scuffles break out between police and PAD supporters still laying siege to Government House. Protests spread. Hundreds of PAD protestors assemble around Phuket International Airport. Some reach the tarmac. Flights stopped at 3.50pm
August 30: Stranded passengers arrive at airport in hope of flights resumption. Airport General Manager Wing Commander Wicha Nurnlop says that in some ways, the airport blockade is ''worse than the 2004 tsunami.''
September 1: About 11am the announcement comes: the protest at the airport is over, and flights are to resume later in the day. About 3.50pm a Thai Airways Boeing 777 from Bangkok touches down, first of the airlift in, and an exodus out.
September 2: Overnight clashes leave one dead and dozens injured in Bangkok so Samak declares a state of emergency in the capital, allowing the army to move in to help restore order. Thai Election Commission finds the PPP guilty of buying votes and recommends the party be disbanded.
September 3: Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag resigns. Army chief Anupong Paochinda tells Samak that despite state of emergency he will not use force to disperse anti-government protesters from Government House. Phuket resort occupancy rates slump to 30 percent and recovery could take two years.
Look for
The suggestion came after a special Cabinet meeting.
Cabinet ministers gathered at 10.30am after Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej told the country in a speech three hours earlier that he planned to stay in office.
His speech will severely disappoint anti-government protestors -- and the prospect of a nationwide voter referendum may divide them.
Some are likely to want the present confrontation brought to an end quickly. Others are likely to refuse to stop protesting until the PM resigns.
Details of the referendum plan are yet to emerge.
One early report said there would be just one question, should the government stay in office?
Another report said there could be as many as three questions:
..Should the government continue in office, resign, or dissolve the House for a snap election?
..Should the People's Alliance for Democracy (the main national protest group) continue or end its protests?
..Should the PAD's proposal on new politics to revamp the electoral system be accepted?
At least one political analyst saw the referendum suggestion as a crafty way of leaving PAD supporters divided and the present government in control.
With Phuket's tourism industry suffering economic pain from the weekend's unexpected siege by protestors, the island today was back to being a safe haven but watching national politics closely.
Talking for more than 50 minutes this morning, the PM strongly made the point that he still has a majority mandate to remain as the elected leader.
Some media speculated that the hastily-called radio and television speech could mean that Khun Samak was going to resign. However, anti-government protestors would not have liked what they heard.
In a long speech made for Radio Thailand but also broadcast nationally on television, the PM defended his right to rule.
What he said contrasted with one national newspaper's heading: ''Samak on the brink of exit.''
Travelling to Phuket and need advice? Just ask us via the Comment box below
The pressured PM said he would only quit if there was a national election, but he was not calling one.
''I will stay on to protect democracy in this country,'' he said. The whole world is watching us.
''I need to uphold the rule of law because we are not a barbaric country."
The same small, unelected group of people who worked against former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra were now working against him, Mr Samak said.
He said he planned to hold a television question and answer session this afternoon.
Khun Samak appears determined to out-talk those who oppose him and perhaps persuade more people of his right to stay on as elected leader.
Television viewers could only hear the PM and not see him, but he sounded confident and upbeat.
His speech was interrupted at 8am when there was a two-minute break for the national anthem.
Only Khun Samak's resignation is certain to bring an end to months of turmoil in Bangkok.
The turmoil eventually spread to other centres and over the weekend, led to the closure of Phuket International Airport and other hubs, throwing Thailand's tourism industry into jeopardy.
However, the airport has since reopened, and tourists are arriving and leaving without any sign of disruption.
A declaration of a state of emergency, although limited to Bangkok, has alarmed foreign governments and would-be tourists.
Today protests are limited to the immediate area around Government House in Bangkok. Visitors to Bangkok should avoid this area.
The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and Thailand-based PATA members confirmed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' statement that ''in other districts of Bangkok and the rest of the Kingdom, people continue to carry out their livelihood as usual with the country's economic and financial system functioning normally''.
Travel warnings by several countries are seen as a precaution.
Experts are still assessing the cost of the three-day stoppage at Phuket airport to resorts and airlines and the damage to Phuket's image as a peaceful holiday destination.
Phuketwan continues to receive messages from business groups, individuals, families and honeymooners asking for an opinion on whether the island is safe.
Do you have a view on developments in Thailand? Tell us via the Comment box below
The PAD has huge support on Phuket and has since blamed infiltrators for the protest at the airport becoming more significant than they planned.
Hundreds, perhaps thousands of PAD supporters on Phuket have travelled to Bangkok to take part in the occupation of buildings and continuing protests while others on the island watch daily live television broadcasts
Representatives of the Phuket tourism industry organisations yesterday held a media conference to draw attention to the region's economic plight.
Phuket Tourism Association deputy chairman Purit Maswongsa said tourist arrivals had dropped by 50 percent compared with the same period last year.
Iam Thawornwongwong, head of the Phuket Chamber of Commerce, urged PAD supporters not to seal off the airport again. It had taken a long time to revitalise tourism after the 2004 tsunami.
The chamber, the provincial tourism business association, the provincial tourist guide association and resort associations all sent representatives to the conference.
Key Events:
December 23: Samak leads the People Power party (PPP) to election victory.
February 6: Samak unveils a cabinet made up of members of a six-party coalition which holds nearly two-thirds of parliamentary seats.
February 28: Former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, in self-imposed exile for 17 months, gets hero's welcome from supporters as he returns to Thailand and goes straight to court, where he is released on bail on corruption charges.
May 25: The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), a collection of anti-government groups, launches street protests calling for Samak to resign for seeking constitutional amendments they believe are aimed at helping Thaksin.
July 8-10: Court decisions force out of office three senior government officials and Yongyut Tiyapairat, the house speaker and PPP deputy leader.
July 15: A military standoff breaks out near a disputed temple on the Thai-Cambodia border, with the PAD accusing Samak of relinquishing Thai territory to help Thaksin with a business deal in the neighbouring country.
July 31: Thaksin's wife, Pojaman, is convicted of tax evasion and released on bail.
August 11: Thaksin and his wife go into exile in Britain, claiming they will not get a fair trial on the corruption charges mounting against them.
August 26: At least 35,000 PAD-led protesters raid a TV station, surround three ministries and break into Bangkok's main government compound in what they say is their ''final war'' against the government.
August 29: Scuffles break out between police and PAD supporters still laying siege to Government House. Protests spread. Hundreds of PAD protestors assemble around Phuket International Airport. Some reach the tarmac. Flights stopped at 3.50pm
August 30: Stranded passengers arrive at airport in hope of flights resumption. Airport General Manager Wing Commander Wicha Nurnlop says that in some ways, the airport blockade is ''worse than the 2004 tsunami.''
September 1: About 11am the announcement comes: the protest at the airport is over, and flights are to resume later in the day. About 3.50pm a Thai Airways Boeing 777 from Bangkok touches down, first of the airlift in, and an exodus out.
September 2: Overnight clashes leave one dead and dozens injured in Bangkok so Samak declares a state of emergency in the capital, allowing the army to move in to help restore order. Thai Election Commission finds the PPP guilty of buying votes and recommends the party be disbanded.
September 3: Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag resigns. Army chief Anupong Paochinda tells Samak that despite state of emergency he will not use force to disperse anti-government protesters from Government House. Phuket resort occupancy rates slump to 30 percent and recovery could take two years.
Look for
TRENDS
every day, Monday to Friday, at Phuketwan. It's essential reading. To tell us your news, email bigislandmedia@gmail.com or telephone 081 6513489. 
