Re: BANGKOK: More than 100K at 9pm. Many More Coming. JAMS 50km Long. ArbiSHIT SHITTI
Thai PM vows to retake Bangkok protest site
THANAPORN PROMYAMYAI
April 25, 2010
Thailand's embattled premier vowed to clear Bangkok's commercial heart of anti-government
Red Shirt protesters as he appeared on national television Sunday in a show of unity with his army chief.
Mr Abhisit appeared together with Gen Anupong
But Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva did not say when security forces planned to regain control of the
Red Shirts' sprawling protest site, which has been fortified with barricades made of truck tyres and sharpened bamboo poles.
The Reds, who are demanding elections to replace the government, have for three weeks occupied the Ratchaprasong intersection, and the protesters fear a crackdown is looming after Abhisit rejected their offer of a compromise.
"There will be a retaking of Ratchaprasong but the process, the measures, how and when it will be done we cannot disclose because it depends on several things," said Abhisit.
"The main point now is not whether or not to disperse but how to solve the whole problem," added the premier, who has been holed up in a military barracks since street rallies broke out in mid-March.
The pre-recorded televised appearance by the premier and army chief General Anupong Paojinda was seen as an attempt to quash speculation of a rift between the two men on how to deal with the crippling political crisis.
Anupong said the military would follow government orders.
"We are an army for the nation, for the monarchy and for the people. We will do our job without taking sides. We will follow government policy," he said.
The army chief said Friday that the use of force was no solution to the crisis, which has twice descended into deadly street violence this month that left 26 dead and hundreds injured.
When troops tried to sweep Reds out of Bangkok's historic area on April 10 they suffered a humiliating retreat, and there is growing talk of "watermelon" soldiers -- green outside but red inside -- who support the protesters.
Anupong played down talk of a split within the army, which has been sending out mixed signals on how it prefers to handle the demonstrators, who are defying a state of emergency and a ban on rallies in the capital.
"As for a rift in the army, it is possible there will be rifts in a big organisation but the number of people who have different ideas are not many and this will not cause problems," he said.
Hopes for an agreement to end the long-running protests were dashed Saturday as Abhisit ruled out the Red Shirts' offer to disperse if parliament were dissolved in 30 days for elections.
"No, I reject it. Because they use violence and intimidation I cannot accept this," Abhisit said of the proposal which would have seen a ballot held in 90 days and was a softening of earlier demands for immediate polls.
"The dissolution (of parliament) must be done for the benefit of the entire country, not just for the Red Shirts, and it must be done at the right time," he told reporters.
In response the Reds -- mostly rural poor and urban working class supporters of ousted ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra -- said they would prepare for a military offensive to clear their heavily fortified rally encampment.
"Abhisit has ordered a crackdown on protesters within 48 hours, that is the information I have learned," said Reds leader Nattawut Saikuar late Saturday.
Nattawut did not say where the information came from but other Reds leaders said earlier Saturday they had learned from sympathisers in the army that troops were being mobilised despite ongoing negotiations.
He said they would stick to a policy of non-violence, but other Reds figures speaking on a stage at their sprawling camp in the heart of Bangkok promised a "guerrilla war" against the government.
The United Nations and foreign governments have urged both sides on Thailand's political divide to find a peaceful resolution.
Fears of a crackdown escalated earlier in the week amid warnings from the military that protesters would face live weapons fire in any new clashes.
© 2010 AFP
This story is sourced direct from an overseas news agency as an additional service to readers.
