PM enters office as protesters dwindle

The Thai prime minister entered his office unhindered yesterday, easing fears of confrontation after 20,000 anti-government protesters surrounded the building the day before demanding that parliament be dissolved and new elections held.

In the second day of protests, about 3,000 demonstrators allied with exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra sat in the midday heat outside the Government House, listening to speakers on a makeshift stage.

Some shouted and threw plastic bottles at riot police and soldiers who were guarding the area, but the Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship's gathering remained largely peaceful.