PRO-democracy protesters yesterday threatened to block roads outside Government House for five days in an attempt to force the government to dissolve Parliament.

Traffic came to a halt around Government House after hundreds of protesters put up a tent and blocked Phitsanulok Road.

The Royal Household Bureau decided to change the route Their Majesty's the King and Queen were about to take, diverting it to Sri Ayutthaya Road after realising that Nakhon Pathom Road was heavily congested and crowded with protesters.

Protesters calling themselves the "169 Pro-Democracy Group", including several well-known organisations such as the Campaign for Popular Democracy, moved from their original site in Sanam Luang to the front of the Civil Service Commission building on Monday night.

They constructed a makeshift stage and put up tents on Phitsanulok Road, before verbally attacking the government and putting on a concert. They have been demanding a House dissolution since Saturday.

The group blocked two lanes of the road and caused traffic congestion in and around Government House.

The situation got worse when over 1,000 laid-off workers from Thai Kriang Textile Co Ltd, who had earlier stayed away from Phitsanulok Road, joined the pro-democracy group yesterday morning, blocking all four lanes.

About 500 police were dispatched to monitor the situation.

The workers have demanded that the government negotiate with the company to have all the lawsuits against them dropped and allow 390 laid-off staff to return to work.

The company filed lawsuits against the workers demanding compensation for blockading the factory, forcing it to cease operations.

Meanwhile a leader of the Assembly of the Poor (AOP) who spearheads a dam protest near the pro-democracy group said he would not join the latter because he did not want to create pubic confusion.

Pakdee Chanthakiat said each group was protesting against a different thing and the Assembly of the Poor just wanted the government to accept all 16 AOP demands and did not want Parliament dissolved.

One of the demands was to have a government-organised televised public hearing to work out solutions to their problems.

Suriyan Thongnuiad, another AOP leader, yesterday turned down an opportunity to appear on "Krongsatanakarn'' ("Examining the Situation") on Channel 11 tomorrow. He said his reason for refusing had been that the place, the format and who conducted the hearing should have been approved beforehand by his group.

The assembly had earlier stated that they wanted noted compere Dr Chirmsak Pinthong to moderate the programme.

Supreme Commander Gen Mongkol Ampornpisit said the protesters did not disrupt their Majesty's travelling plans, but the Royal Household Bureau decided that the scenes of protesters' setting up their tents on Nakhon Pathom Road was unsightly.

Deputy Interior Minister Chamni Sakdiset appealed for all parties to be patient and that the government would dissolve the House in a few months after the budget and election bills were passed.

Chamni said that the government could not allow road blockades to materialise every day and believe that most people stood by the government and disliked the protesters' methods.