No dissolving Thai parliament for now: PM

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva ruled out on Tuesday an immediate dissolution of parliament after violent anti-government protests in Bangkok, and said Thailand faced a decisive moment for the rule of law.

With thousands of demonstrators still camped outside the prime minister's office, Abhisit told Reuters: "If they are not inciting violence, if they are not engaged in riots, if they don't have weapons, then they can exercise their rights."

But Abhisit said he was not interested in making a deal with exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who has been the figurehead of the "red shirt" protest movement that caused chaos in the capital on Monday and forced the postponement of a high-profile Asian summit in Thailand at the weekend.

Thaksin said on Sunday he could return from exile to lead a people's uprising if there was a coup.

Abhisit did not rule out dissolving parliament and calling elections, among the demands of the "red shirts," even though analysts say his chances of winning would be slim.

But such a move "certainly cannot be immediate," he said.

"My real concern with a dissolution is who will ensure that there is not the kind of violence we have seen when parties get to campaign," Abhisit said in a telephone interview.

"Who can say that it would be an election that would showcase democracy if we see the kind of phenomenon that we saw over the last couple of days?" he said. "That's the last thing Thailand needs in terms of democratic development."

The streets of Bangkok saw sporadic battles on Monday between arm soldiers and "red shirt" protesters with petrol bombs seeking to force Abhisit out of office. The soldiers fired assault rifles at the demonstrators several times.

Local residents clashed with the "red shirts" too, and two people were shot dead. Around 100 people were injured.

The demonstrators say Abhisit and his government are illegitimate because they say he came to power in December as a result of parliamentary defections engineered by the army.

The prime minister said: "You need to see the acceptance now of the political sides that they are not going to engage in illegal acts."

Asked if he thought he and his government were facing a make-or-break moment, he said that time came on Sunday when he declared a state of emergency. "And it's not a do-or-die for us," he said, "it's a do-or-die for the rule of law."

He declined to say how he planned to end the standoff. Once it ended, he would try to cooperate with the "red shirts."

"I'm not interested in making a deal with Thaksin," he said.

"But I do listen to the concerns of some people who have joined the "red shirts" in terms of democratic developments. In particular, if they are not satisfied with the constitution, if they think there may be some injustice in the system, I am happy to address those," he said.

At the weekend the protesters forced the government to cancel an East Asia Summit in the beach town of Pattaya, a big embarrassment for Abhisit.

"I didn't think that our society had that extremist element in it... I just think it was a missed opportunity for the country," Abhisit said.

(Additional reporting by Kittipong Soonprasert)