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Noppadon said he had explained the situation to his British counterpart David Miliband and the business community in the United Kingdom to build confidence in his government.

"Everybody here understands that street protests are normal in any democratic country and they don't have to hurt government stability," Noppadon said in a press briefing via a telephone conference from London.

However, the psychological effect could jeopardise the tourist industry in the long run since visitors might fear street protests could lead to violence, he said.

The government respected the basic rights of the people to gather for political expression but a protest aimed at toppling the elected government is abnormal, he said.

"As my British counterpart Miliband said, an elected government with majority support in Parliament has the legitimacy to rule," Noppadon said.

Thousands of people led by the People's Alliance for Democracy have staged a street protest on Rajdamnoen Avenue since May 25. At first they called on the government not to amend the militarysponsored Constitution, but as Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej prepared to call a referendum on the changes, the protestors shifted their aim to toppling the government, calling Samak to step down or to dissolve Parliament.

Noppadon's European tour between June 110 will include the Netherlands, France and Belgium. Its aim is to build confidence in the government.