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General Apichart Phenkitti, the permanent secretary for defence, said that he appealed for those involved in the ongoing political conflict to settle their differences before the King's birthday.

Air Force commander-in-chief ACM Itthiporn Supawong said the feuding sides should not allow their conflict to worsen that would cause sorrow for the King.

"The royal birthday is near and everybody should think of peace and His Majesty the King. People say they love the King and they should think twice before doing anything that would let him down. Don't allow the conflict to expand or lead to some incident that would cause sorrow on this auspicious occasion," said the Air Force chief.

Itthiporn also called for respect to courts of justice, particularly over the judgement expected later this week about the electoral fraud cases against three coalition parties.

"If the power of the judiciary is not respected, there will be confusion. If the rules and court judgements are not followed, some decisive measures must be taken," he said.

His comment followed a threat by pro-government groups to gather outside the Constitutional Court tomorrow, when judgement on the cases is expected to be read.

The Air Force chief yesterday also reiterated a recent call by military commanders for Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat to dissolve the House of Representatives as a way out of the current conflict.

"With the current situation, there are difficulties for the country to go ahead. The government can't continue to stay above the conflict because the country will be at a stand-still. It's better to return the power to the people in a democratic way," he said.