Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has held talks with protest leaders in an effort to defuse growing tension and avert possible confrontation after protesters intensified their drive to topple the government.
Mr Abhisit held almost three hours of televised talks with leaders of the movement, who broadly support twice-elected former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, but there was no sign of progress towards ending the deadlock.
The embattled premier, who has spent much of the past two weeks at a military base, has refused to bow to demands for a new election, arguing that the country is too divided to go to the polls.
He smiled and promptly concluded the talks after one leader, Jatuporn Prompan, asked him to dissolve parliament within two weeks. ‘I don't think we need to have ultimatums or deadlines,’ Mr Abhisit said.
‘I'm willing to have more talk like this, hopefully a second round, a third round and you can protest all you want. If we try to draw a dividing line, things will not be over,’ he added.
After two weeks of peaceful rallies, the ‘red shirts’ have stepped up their campaign to topple the government with a new level of brinkmanship that has raised tension and stoked fears of clashes between demonstrators and security forces.
Mr Abhisit agreed to meet the leaders after tens of thousands of protesters rallied outside the military command centre where he has based himself.
