Thousands of protesters demanding the Thai prime minister resign defied a court order to leave land outside his office tonight.
Bangkok Civil Court ruled that the People’s Alliance for Democracy had to immediately clear the area.
But protest leader Samran Rodpetch declared they would not move.
Earlier the court issued arrest warrants for nine leaders of the anti-government movement.
A police spokesman said the charges they faced included insurrection, which carries a maximum penalty of death or life imprisonment.
The group, whose 2006 demonstrations helped undermine the government of then prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, has been holding protests against the current government since May.
Thai interior minister Kowit Watana, meanwhile, appealed to the several thousand alliance supporters encamped outside the offices of prime minister Samak Sundaravej to leave immediately so that a ceremony honouring the country’s royal family could be held there on Saturday.
The alliance is seeking to have Samak’s government step down, saying it serves as a proxy for Mr Thaksin, who was removed in a 2006 coup and faces several pending corruption cases. Mr Thaksin is in self-exile in Britain.
Nearly 2,000 Thai police were lined up against the demonstrators, who moved into the grounds of Government House yesterday afternoon and stayed overnight.
About 500 helmeted riot police forced their way into the compound overnight, briefly clashing with protesters. But fighting stopped after a few minutes, and police were able to take up positions inside the compound, later joined by more colleagues.
The rally has been otherwise peaceful and the protesters have not tried to enter any official buildings there.
The alliance, which is loosely aligned with conservative factions of the monarchy and the military, said their protests were a “final showdown” in efforts to oust the government.
The takeover of the Government House compound was the latest twist in a political crisis that began in early 2006, when critics of Thaksin established the alliance to force him from office over allegations of corruption and abuse of power.
After Mr Thaksin was deposed in the bloodless coup, his party was dissolved and he was banned from public office until 2012.
But Mr Samak led Mr Thaksin’s political allies to a December 2007 election victory, and their assumption of power triggered fears that Thaksin would make a political comeback. He remains popular with the country’s rural majority.
The alliance responded by resuming their protests in May, accusing Mr Samak of trying to amend the constitution to free Mr Thaksin from a string of corruption charges.
Mr Thaksin skipped bail ahead of his latest corruption hearing and flew to England, claiming he would not get a fair trial in Thailand.
Yesterday the alliance stormed and seized the main offices of the government run NBT televisions station, temporarily forcing it off the air. It also sent mobs to besiege four government ministries.
Mr Samak said he had no intention of resigning and expected to end the crisis in a day.
He accused the protesters of trying to spark a confrontation with authorities that would lead to violence.
“They want bloodshed in the country. They want the military to come out and do the coup again,” he said.
AP