Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra called on all Thai people to respect the King's call for solidarity to ensure enduring statehood, asking for national reconciliation among all the Thais, according to local media report on Saturday.

Welcoming groups of supporters who gathered at Government House Friday, the prime minister said that the nation "now needs peace and order, as well as harmony and unity among all Thais."

Let the Saturday rally planned against him at the Royal Plaza here, led by media mokul Sondhi Limthongkul, be the "last nightmare of the nation," Thaksin was quoted by the Thai News Agency as saying.

"After Saturday's demonstration, let's all Thais be harmonious and united for the sake of national prosperity and progress," the premier said.

However, a top aide of Sondhi assured journalists that demonstrators joining Saturday's rally intended to gather peacefully, but in strength, to demonstrate their determination to force the premier from office.

The prime minister reiterated that he will not step down due to the pressure of "a handful of people" who are against him, but he will, instead, continue to work for the nation to the best of his ability.

"I'll never blackmail the 19 million Thais who elected me in the last general election," Thaksin vowed, adding, "I'll keep my promise and won't disappoint them."

Thaksin asked for more time to turn his promise into reality, saying, "give me more time to complete my second four-year term and you will see more progress and more development in the nation. "

Source: Xinhua