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| Southeast Asia |
| Thai political deadlock |
| 2010-03-22 |
| [Straits Times] THAILAND was locked in political stalemate on Sunday with demonstrators planning a fresh protest with their own blood after refusing talks offered by the government. Buoyed by a huge parade, the defiant 'Red Shirts' said they would paint a white canvas with blood left over from the gallons donated by supporters and splattered on the prime minister's house and offices over the past week. 'We will depict our fighting in poems and paintings,' Red Shirt poet Visa Kantab told the red-clad crowd gathered at their main rally site in Bangkok's old quarter on Sunday, the eighth day of their protest. 'After we have finished, we will display our artwork on the stage, and after we are victorious, we will frame it as evidence of history,' he said. Saturday's carnival-like protests, which swelled to 65,000 people, aimed to recruit urban support and revive their waning rally demanding the dissolution of parliament and immediate elections. Thaksin, who lives in exile to avoid a jail term for corruption, spoke to supporters via videolink on Saturday night, thanking those who took part in the parade. 'I'm really proud of you. I almost cried,' he said. Today I want to invite everyone to join us to call for democracy. You don't have to wear red, but just have one ideology: democracy,' said the ex-premier, who was deposed in a coup in 2006. Earlier, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the demonstrators had agreed to send two senior Red Shirts to meet one of his ministers and a government official, for talks on Monday arranged by senators. But after their colourful convoy returned to the main rally site, the Red Shirts stuck to their demands for snap polls. 'We will talk only with Abhisit and with the condition of house dissolution,' Mr Nattawut told reporters. He denied that the Reds were 'closing the door' on talks. Mr Abhisit, who has spent most of the rally holed up in an army barracks due to security fears, said on Sunday that he would not meet protesters immediately. 'They can talk to me but before reaching that step, they must meet representatives to talk about the outline of talks,' he said on his weekly television programme. 'If (the Red Shirts) come it means they are interested in democracy. If not, they are following what Thaksin wants them to do,' he added. |
| Posted by:Fred |