May 3: Thailand’s Premier said on Monday he would unveil a political roadmap to end a tense standoff with Opposition protesters following the country’s deadliest civil violence in almost two decades.
But the authorities said they were still planning an operation to disperse the anti-government “Red Shirts”, who have been occupying parts of the capital since mid-March in their campaign for immediate elections. “I will present a political solution or roadmap” out of the crisis, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said in Parliament.
He said the outcome needed to be acceptable to the entire country, not only to politicians or the protesters. Mr Abhisit said he hoped to announce the roadmap within the next few days but it was unclear whether his plans would be enough to persuade the thousands of Red Shirts on the streets of the capital to end their rally.
“This conflict and the situation cannot simply be resolved through force,” he said separately in an interview with Japanese media. The mostly rural poor and urban working class “Red Shirt” protesters have occupied parts of Bangkok since mid-March in their bid to topple a government they see as elitist and undemocratic.
There have been a series of tense confrontations between the demonstrators and the security forces in Bangkok, where 27 people died and nearly 1,000 were injured in civil unrest in April.