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| Protesters flood Bangkok streets | |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Thousands of protesters have descended onto the streets of Bangkok to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and his cabinet. | Thousands of protesters have descended onto the streets of Bangkok to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and his cabinet. |
| They occupied the offices of the state broadcaster NBT, and surrounded the main government offices, forcing most civil servants there to stop working. | They occupied the offices of the state broadcaster NBT, and surrounded the main government offices, forcing most civil servants there to stop working. |
| One report says police have now ended the occupation of NBT. | One report says police have now ended the occupation of NBT. |
| The protesters say Mr Samak is merely a proxy for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, now in self-imposed exile. | |
| The groups which organised this protest - brought together in a loose alliance called the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) - are united in their hostility to Mr Thaksin, says the BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok. | |
| The alliance has repeatedly been able to bring thousands of supporters onto the streets this year, and been allowed unusual leeway by the security forces, our correspondent says. | |
| 'Long holiday for government' | |
| On Tuesday, protesters forced many government offices to stop work. | |
| "We are now controlling most of the key government offices to prevent them from coming to work," said Sondhi Limthongkul, a leading figure in PAD, according to AP news agency. | |
| "Today, we declare a long, long holiday for the government." | |
| Protesters also stormed the offices of the state broadcaster NBT, briefly forcing it off the air. | |
| AP later reported that the occupation had ended with the arrest of several dozen protesters, though this was unconfirmed by other sources. | |
| This is a mass protest movement with a difference, our correspondent says. | |
| Central role | |
| Despite the name, the People's Alliance for Democracy is actually campaigning for an end to democracy, arguing that in Thailand Western-style elections have only led to corrupt and ineffective governments. | |
| Instead, it wants a largely appointed parliament, and a legalised role for the military as a kind of referee in Thai politics, our correspondent adds. | |
| The PAD has already played a central role in Thai politics, beginning three years ago as a movement to bring down Thaksin Shinawatra, then the most powerful elected leader Thailand had ever known. | |
| Its protests set the stage for the coup that ousted him in 2006, and probably helped ensure the legal cases against him went ahead this year, resulting in Mr Thaksin and his wife going back into exile. | |
| Mr Samak is still defiant, insisting he has a democratic mandate from last December's election - but he seems unable to shake off this determined and apparently well-funded opposition movement, our correspondent adds. |