Thai PM rejects peace deal offer
Source: Agencies |
April 25, 2010, Sunday
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THAI Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday rejected a new offer by anti-government demonstrators to end weeks of increasingly violent protests in return for early polls.
The red-shirted supporters of ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra said on Friday they would end a three-week occupation of Bangkok's ritzy shopping district if the government dissolved parliament and announced elections in 30 days, softening a previous demand for an immediate dissolution.
Asked by reporters if he accepted the proposal, Abhisit replied: "No, I don't."
He added: "They keep saying they will escalate the situation. That's why the government cannot consider the proposal."
With the new offer, the government would then have had another 60 days to hold the election.
The violence and deepening political divide has spurred talk of civil war in Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy.
The United Nations and foreign governments have urged both sides to show restraint after street violence killed 26 people and injured hundreds.
The central bank said the crisis was hitting confidence, tourism, private consumption and investment.
The Fitch Ratings agency downgraded its outlook on Thailand's local currency.
The red shirts say Abhisit came to power illegitimately in December 2008, after courts dissolved a pro-Thaksin party that led the previous government.
Tens of thousands of red shirts remain in a fortified encampment in central Bangkok, vowing to stay until parliament is dissolved and defying a state of emergency that bans large gatherings.
The military says the crowd includes "terrorists" willing to use violence to bring down the government.
"We're ready to wipe out terrorists and we'll do it at an appropriate time," army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said.
"We need to make sure very few innocent people are there before doing anything."
Red-shirt protesters bolstered their barricades after those tough remarks.
The red shirts also want Abhisit to begin an independent investigation into a clash that killed 25 people and wounded hundreds in a failed attempt to disperse the protesters on April 10.
The compromise offer came shortly after army chief Anupong Paochinda offered his own overture, telling his commanders there would be no crackdown because it would do more harm than good.
The red-shirted supporters of ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra said on Friday they would end a three-week occupation of Bangkok's ritzy shopping district if the government dissolved parliament and announced elections in 30 days, softening a previous demand for an immediate dissolution.
Asked by reporters if he accepted the proposal, Abhisit replied: "No, I don't."
He added: "They keep saying they will escalate the situation. That's why the government cannot consider the proposal."
With the new offer, the government would then have had another 60 days to hold the election.
The violence and deepening political divide has spurred talk of civil war in Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy.
The United Nations and foreign governments have urged both sides to show restraint after street violence killed 26 people and injured hundreds.
The central bank said the crisis was hitting confidence, tourism, private consumption and investment.
The Fitch Ratings agency downgraded its outlook on Thailand's local currency.
The red shirts say Abhisit came to power illegitimately in December 2008, after courts dissolved a pro-Thaksin party that led the previous government.
Tens of thousands of red shirts remain in a fortified encampment in central Bangkok, vowing to stay until parliament is dissolved and defying a state of emergency that bans large gatherings.
The military says the crowd includes "terrorists" willing to use violence to bring down the government.
"We're ready to wipe out terrorists and we'll do it at an appropriate time," army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said.
"We need to make sure very few innocent people are there before doing anything."
Red-shirt protesters bolstered their barricades after those tough remarks.
The red shirts also want Abhisit to begin an independent investigation into a clash that killed 25 people and wounded hundreds in a failed attempt to disperse the protesters on April 10.
The compromise offer came shortly after army chief Anupong Paochinda offered his own overture, telling his commanders there would be no crackdown because it would do more harm than good.
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