New Thai PM opens dialogue with anti-government protesters

Bangkok: New Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat said on Friday he had opened a dialogue with protesters who have been occupying his official compound for three weeks, in a bid to end a campaign that has alarmed investors.

Somchai, a brother-in-law of ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, declined to discuss details of what he had said to leaders of the anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), but said he was optimistic there would be positive results.

"We all are Thais and we should not hate each other for ever. Our differences on ideas can be ironed out through dialogue," Somchai told reporters.

A four-month street campaign against the government has hurt confidence in the economy and damaged tourism.

Parliament elected Somchai, a 61-year-old former judge and government bureaucrat, as prime minister on Wednesday to replace Samak Sundaravej, who had to step down last week after being found guilty of a conflict of interest.

Somchai says national reconciliation is his first priority, but his close links with Thaksin could ensure continued tension with the PAD, whose anti-government campaign in late 2005 led to the bloodless coup against Thaksin that followed in 2006.