APINYA WIPATAYOTIN
The special parliamentary session yesterday was ''a waste of time'' in the eyes of People's Alliance for Democracy supporters, who stood firm on their demand that Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej step down.
Mr Samak's resignation, not the House debate, is the only way to defuse the political crisis, they said.
The protesters watched the live broadcast of the debate on NBT on giant screens put up at Makkhawan Rangsan bridge.
It was the first time the PAD had tuned in to the government-run NBT channel instead of ASTV.
The alliance has repeated accused the NBT of blindly serving the government. They stormed the TV station on Tuesday and briefly put it off the air.
However, the PAD demonstrators closely monitored the station yesterday. They cheered whenever the MPs or senators spoke in favour of the anti-government group and booed and jeered when the government MPs spoke.
Bangkok Senator Rosana Tositrakul was their favourite speaker as she defended about 30 senators who visited the protesters to seek first-hand information on the violent clash which took place on Friday.
A total of 66 demonstrators were injured in the scuffles with police at the Makkhawan bridge, Government House and the Metropolitan Police headquarters. The protesters loudly disagreed when they saw People Power party MP Chatuporn Promphan tell parliament that over 60 million people were ready to protect the government.
Winai Thamrongsathan, a 55-year-old demonstrator from Phitsanulok, voiced his disappointment with the special House session. ''Don't expect the debate to end the standoff,'' he said.
''The government has gone too far. Prime Minister Samak should resign if he wants to end the crisis,'' he said.
Wanida Pongpanich, a nurse from Trat province, agreed that Mr Samak's removal was the only solution.
The nurse was at the scene of Friday's clash and was barred by police from providing first aid to the injured.
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