Protest in Thailand; Parliament postpones opening

BANGKOK, Thailand — Thailand's Parliament has postponed a joint session of Parliament as thousands of anti-government protesters surrounded the building in a bid to unseat the government.

Samart Kaewmeechai, the deputy house speaker, says today's meeting was canceled because members of Parliament could not access the building.

Thousands of protesters from the People's Alliance for Democracy marched to Parliament at sunrise in a rally billed as their final bid to oust the government. Protesters have been camped at the prime minister's office compound for three months.

The parliamentary session was not immediately rescheduled.

Protesters calling themselves the People's Alliance for Democracy blocked the gates to the Parliament, trying to prevent lawmakers from entering, and tried to cut electrical wires outside the building to create a blackout ahead of the session.

The demonstrators initially called the protest to block Parliament from debating a bill to rewrite the constitution.

That contentious issue was dropped at the last minute and lawmakers said they would debate legislation related to an upcoming regional summit.

Protesters have occupied the grounds of the prime minister's office for three months in their effort to topple the government, which they allege is the puppet of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

They accuse Thaksin, who was ousted by a 2006 military coup, of corruption and abuse of power, and claim the constitution bill before the legislature would help him stage a comeback.

Thaksin is in exile, a fugitive from a two-year jail term imposed after he was convicted last month of violating a conflict-of-interest law.

The last time the group marched on Parliament, police efforts to disperse them resulted in running street battles. Two people were killed in the Oct. 7 violence and hundreds injured.

Police said 2,400 policemen were stationed outside Parliament, which is about half a mile from the prime minister's compound. "Police and soldiers will not be armed with lethal weapons, only shields and batons," government spokesman Nattawut Sai-gua told The Associated Press.

The alliance's supporters are largely middle-class citizens, who say Thailand's electoral system is susceptible to vote-buying and argues the rural majority — the Thaksin camp's power base — is not sophisticated enough to cast ballots responsibly.

They propose replacing an elected Parliament with one that is mostly appointed.