Protests continue in Thailand

(Vatican Radio) Tensions remain high today in the capital of Thailand, where protestors shrugged off a promise by the prime minister to hold snap elections.

Protest leaders addressing supporters in Bangkok said they will continue hounding the prime minister and her family until Yingluck Shinawatra leaves office and Thailand drops its electoral system to bar the Shinawatras and their circle from politics for ever.

Prime Minister Yingluck's ruling Puea Thai Party is popular with Thailand's poor, and analysts say it is likely to win elections again — including the snap election promised in early February.

On Tuesday, the prime minister said she had made so many concessions she didn't know what more she can do. She says the constitution requires her to remain in office as a caretaker leader until elections.

The main protest leader argues because the opposition is unlikely to win elections what he wants is to replace elected government with an appointed panel — a proposal some people in Thailand criticise as undemocratic.

The United States appears to echo that: The U.S. State Department has called for a resolution that reflects the will of the Thai people and strengthens the rule of law.

For now, the security forces are standing back, refusing to confront the protestors.

But observers say the protestors' shutdown has angered the government's many supporters — and in the past standoffs of this kind have ended in clashes.

Listen to Alastair Wanklyn’s report: