Thai anti-government protesters on Monday walled shut the gates to Government House to prevent caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra from returning to the seat of her administration.
Hundreds of protesters marched on government house and erected walls in front of the compound’s two main gates, in a bid to prevent the Prime Minister from returning to the government’s main offices on Wednesday, Blue Sky TV reported.
Suthep Thaugsuban, who heads the People’s Democratic Reform Committee that has been staging protests in Bangkok for the past three months, led the march on government house.
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On Friday, hundreds of riot police briefly retook intersections near the compound, but they later retreated from the area.
Chalerm Yubamrung, director of the government’s special command to enforce the emergency decree in the capital, vowed over the weekend to reopen government house to a allow Ms. Yingluck to return to work on Wednesday.
The Cabinet had to abandon its offices at government house in late November when the compound was surrounded by demonstrators.
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Mr. Suthep, who faces an arrest warrant on sedition charges for leading the anti-government protests, at a rally on Sunday night challenged Mr. Chalerm to reclaim government house by Wednesday, calling him a coward should he fail.
Mr. Suthep has been leading protests in Bangkok since early November to try to force Ms. Yingluck and her caretaker Cabinet to resign to pave the way for an appointed prime minister to implement political reforms before the next election.
The People’s Democratic Reform Committee blocked voting in the February 2 snap election, leading to delays that may postpone the establishment of the next parliament and government by months.