Around 100 vendors gathered yesterday along Krung Kasem Road outside the office and shout-ed slogans condemning Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin. They were held at bay by around 150 municipal police officers.

About 500 other vendors camped in the market area overnight to guard it against 300 local and municipal policemen.

Nearby is a phalanx of heavy machinery rented by the Pom Prab district office, which is ready to demolish the stalls when the vendors agree to leave the market and move to a nearby disused cinema building.

A group of vendors met with Apirak earlier yesterday to demand he have the police withdraw from the market or they would stage an indefinite rally outside the BMA compound.

Apirak said later the municipal police would remain but they were under instruction to use only non-violent measures against vendors in case of a clash.

Kowit Tharana, an adviser to Apirak, questioned a policy by deputy governor Wallop Suwandee to allow Saphan-Sabsin Phatthana Co Ltd, a private company, to manage vending space inside the Ambassador cinema, saying the BMA should manage the space itself.

Kowit said it could be unlawful for the BMA to exercise state authority against vendors and forcing them to use a service run by a private company. He said the per-stall fee in good locations was as high as Bt300,000.

The adviser claimed he recom-mended against giving an operat-ing concession to the firm in June but Wallop was still able to push the issue through. Apirak knew of Wallop's recommendation but did nothing to stop it.

Wallop said the BMA was not forcing the vendors to move to the cinema, and it was "too late" to talk about the BMA managing the new area's vending space.