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BANGKOK – Protest leaders said they agreed in principle Tuesday with a government-proposed compromise to end Thailand's deadly political crisis, but refused to leave their camp in Bangkok's streets until details can be worked out.
Pressure on both sides to end the 8-week-old stalemate has grown in recent days, with the government fending off calls for a crackdown on the paralyzing protest and the anti-government "Red Shirts" attempting to recover from a public relations debacle caused by their raid of a hospital.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva had previously demanded that the protesters leave the streets before a compromise could be reached. But with damage to the economy and political stability growing, Abhisit went on nationwide television Monday night to present his plan for rescuing Thailand from the political morass in which it has been trapped since a 2006 military coup deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on corruption allegations.
The plan includes an offer of new elections on Nov. 14 — about a year before Abhisit's term would end — if the Red Shirts stop their protests.
Veera Musikapong, a Red Shirt leader, said after meeting with colleagues Tuesday that they "unanimously welcomed the reconciliation process" but did not commit themselves to abandoning their street demonstration.
"We're staying, but if an agreement could be reached easily and can stand, then I think we will leave soon," Weng Tojirakarn, another protest leader, told The Associated Press.
The Red Shirt demonstrators — consisting of supporters of Thaksin and others who believe the coup was a blow to democracy — accuse Abhisit of taking power illegitimately through back-room deals and military pressure on legislators. The protesters have been camped in Bangkok's streets since mid-March, demanding Abhisit dissolve Parliament and call new elections.
Pressure on both sides to end the 8-week-old stalemate has grown in recent days, with the government fending off calls for a crackdown on the paralyzing protest and the anti-government "Red Shirts" attempting to recover from a public relations debacle caused by their raid of a hospital.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva had previously demanded that the protesters leave the streets before a compromise could be reached. But with damage to the economy and political stability growing, Abhisit went on nationwide television Monday night to present his plan for rescuing Thailand from the political morass in which it has been trapped since a 2006 military coup deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on corruption allegations.
The plan includes an offer of new elections on Nov. 14 — about a year before Abhisit's term would end — if the Red Shirts stop their protests.
Veera Musikapong, a Red Shirt leader, said after meeting with colleagues Tuesday that they "unanimously welcomed the reconciliation process" but did not commit themselves to abandoning their street demonstration.
"We're staying, but if an agreement could be reached easily and can stand, then I think we will leave soon," Weng Tojirakarn, another protest leader, told The Associated Press.
The Red Shirt demonstrators — consisting of supporters of Thaksin and others who believe the coup was a blow to democracy — accuse Abhisit of taking power illegitimately through back-room deals and military pressure on legislators. The protesters have been camped in Bangkok's streets since mid-March, demanding Abhisit dissolve Parliament and call new elections.
