DHAKA: Defiant Thai opposition protesters vowed to ignore a state of emergency that came into force across the tense capital on Wednesday, refusing to abandon their fight to bring down the government.

Thailand prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra is under intense pressure to step down after more than two months of street rallies aimed at ousting her elected government and installing an unelected ‘people’s council’.

‘We’re not taking any notice of the state of emergency and are continuing our protest as usual,’ rally spokesman Akanat Promphan told media, reports The Straits Times.

‘It shows that the government is getting desperate because the momentum is with us.’

The backdrop to the protests is a years-long political struggle pitting the kingdom’s royalist establishment against fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, Yingluck’s older brother who was ousted by the military seven years ago.

BDST: 1540 HRS, JAN 22, 2014