Abhisit thanked the security forces for their work and for showing "respect for human rights." The work could have caused lot of stress for them, he noted, but "it's a pride to serve His Majesty the King."
He accused "certain people" of give false information to foreign media, which is believed to be referring to remarks by exiled former Premier Thaksin Shinawatra, whom the red-shirt protesters support, that "many protesters were killed" in an interview with US media CNN.
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A man kneels down to stop Thai soldiers from marching towards the Government House in Bangkok, capital of Thailand, April 13, 2009. [Huang Haimin/Xinhua]
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He vowed to continue his work until he achieves his mission to bring back peace and order back to country, and urged cooperation from all sides of people, including information to authorities about suspicious activities by protesters.
The Thai prime minister appealed to protesters who have genuine political ideology, "I have listened to your demands, but please help the government by returning to your homes now, which the government will help facilitate with."
After imposing the state of emergency over Bangkok and surrounding areas on Sunday afternoon, Abhisit had promised to restore order in the country in three or four days during the Songkran Festival, the water-splashing holiday which kicked off on Monday to coincide with the start of a urban war fight between protesters and the authorities.
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A man throws a wooden stick to Thai soldiers while they try to march towards the Government House in Bangkok, capital of Thailand, April 13, 2009. [Huang Haimin/Xinhua]
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(Xinhua News Agency April 14, 2009)