BANGKOK, Thailand: Thailand's prime minister said Friday he won't negotiate with a radical group that has occupied his office in a bid to oust him, as a new mediation effort by Parliament raised a glimmer of hope for ending the country's political crisis.

The effort by lawmakers to find a solution reflects their growing frustration over the crisis, which has virtually paralyzed the government for the past 12 days and raised fears of an economic downturn, especially in the crucial tourism industry. The standoff stems from a campaign by the People's Alliance for Democracy - a loosely knit group of royalists, wealthy and middle class urban residents, and union activists - to oust Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and his government, accusing it of corruption and violating the constitution.

Samak, who refuses to go, reiterated Friday that he won't negotiate with the alliance. "No, that won't be necessary," he told reporters.

Samak has said he will call a referendum to ask the people if the alliance's campaign is justified. However, he did not reject outright the new proposal by Parliament to let Senate Speaker Prasopsuk Boondet act as a mediator. The decision to attempt mediation was made by the opposition Democrat Party and leaders of the two chambers of Parliament - the Senate and House of Representatives.

"The speaker has agreed to find a way to get the two sides to sit down and talk to find a way out," Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva told reporters. He said Prasopsuk will also meet the army chief. "The legislature can play a role here. The government has proposed a referendum but that process would take a long time and may not be ready in time to deal with the crisis," Abhisit said.

Alliance leaders have already rejected the referendum, and most analysts say it would be a futile exercise and divide the country. Thousands of alliance members who took over the compound of Samak's office, the Government House, on Aug. 26 remain ensconced there under makeshift tents. It is the first time in history that the seat of government has been overrun by civilians.

Panithan Wattanayagorn, a political analyst from Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, welcomed the mediation idea, saying Prasopsuk has a reputation of being fair and honest.

"It now depends on whether the two sides would be willing to talk and come up with a solution. It doesn't look like either side would budge easily," he said.

The alliance protesters accuse Samak of being a stooge of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was removed from power by a military coup in 2006 following months of street protests by the alliance.

Samak came to power in general elections held by the military government in December 2007. Alliance leaders says the elections were fraudulent, and that Samak is running the government as a proxy for Thaksin while he is in exile in Britain. Operating on a radical platform that critics say would set back Thailand's democracy, the alliance says Parliament must be revamped so most lawmakers are appointed rather than elected, arguing that the impoverished rural majority - Thaksin's political base - is too susceptible to vote buying.

On Friday, Samak said he will meet with security officials in the next few days to discuss whether to lift the state of emergency he imposed in Bangkok on Tuesday. Also, police warned against street protests after a gunman on the back of a motorcycle opened fire on a crowd of about 100 students demonstrating against Samak late Thursday, injuring two slightly.

"We explained to the students last night that the city is under the state of emergency - and they understood and dispersed," said police spokesman Surapol Tuantong. "The situation is very politically charged. Right now, it's not a good idea to gather," he said. "There are many parties involved and when something like this happens, it's hard to find the perpetrators."

Source : AP