Police say they have taken a 'soft stance' against protesters in certain areas [AFP]

Hundreds of riot police fired teargas at the 2,000-strong crowd in Bangkok on Friday, which eventurally pulled back, as a fourth day of demonstrations forced the closure of airports and rail stations in the south of the country.

Demonstrators led by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) have been seeking to force the resignation of Samak Sundaravej, the prime minister, and his cabinet, claiming they are corrupt.

The movement accuses Samak of serving as a proxy for Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister, now in exile in London, who was ousted in a 2006 coup and now faces several corruption charges.

Thailand's ruling six-party coalition agreed on Friday to hold an urgent parliamentary debate on Sunday to discuss the ongoing crisis.

Call for emergency

In the capital, where protesters have been occupying the prime minister's compound since Tuesday, some of Samak's advisers have urged him to impose emergency rule, two government sources said.

A state of emergency would allow the government to deploy soldiers to disperse the protesters. But Anupong Paochinda, Thailand's army chief, said the situation does not currently warrant it.

Thai activists launched street campaigns against Samak on May 25 [AFP]

Police appeared to exercise restraint when the protesters, some armed with golf clubs, batons and bamboo sticks, forced 400 personnel out of the government house grounds early on Friday morning.

Downes said crowds appeared to be provoking police action, but the government was still withholding the use of force.

Samak and police officials have repeatedly said that force will not be used to remove the thousands of protesters.

Police Lieutenant General Suraphol Thuanthong said that they will use a "softened stance [to] give them time to leave the government house".

"But if they continue to defy the court order, then we have to use force to drive them out," he said.

The PAD, whose 2005 protests against Thaksin contributed to his removal in a coup a year later, urged more supporters to gather until the current elected administration fell.

"Today is the judgment day. It is the people's revolution and we must win," Sondhi Limthongkul, a PAD leader, told the cheering crowd from the group's constructed stage on the prime minister's front lawn.

Nine PAD leaders have been charged with insurrection, a crime that can carry the death penalty, after violent raids on government offices and a state TV station on Monday.

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