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Thai Red Shirts Agree to Third Party Negotiations

   VOA News 18 May 2010
   An  anti-government  protester  brings  tires to burn at a clash point
   with soldiers in Bangkok, Thailand, 18 May 2010

Photo: AP

   An  anti-government  protester  brings  tires to burn at a clash point
   with soldiers in Bangkok, Thailand, 18 May 2010

   Leaders  of Thailand's anti-government protesters say they are willing
   to  engage  in peace talks brokered by the Senate in hopes of ending a
   bloody two-month stalemate in Bangkok.
   The  leaders  of  the Red Shirts announced their intentions Tuesday in
   Bangkok,  in  response  to  a  proposal  from  a  group of at least 55
   lawmakers  from  Thailand's  upper  house  of  parliament.  Red Shirt
   leader  Nattawut  Saikua  says  they will not set any preconditions in
   exchange for their taking part in the talks. Â
   The  government  has  not  made a formal response to the proposal, but
   announced  Tuesday  it  is  extending  a  two-day public holiday until
   Friday.
   Thai  troops have been fighting with militants who have spilled out of
   the  protest  zone  into  surrounding  streets  since  Thursday.  The
   violence  has killed at least 37 people, including an army general who
   had been working with the Red Shirts.
   Another  232  people have been wounded.  At least 65 people have died
   since the protests began in March.
   U.N.  High  Commissioner  for  Human Rights Navi Pillay urged the Thai
   government  and  the  Red  Shirts  to  resolve  their conflict through
   negotiation.
   Pillay  appealed  to  the protesters to "step back from the brink, and
   she urged the security forces to exercise maximum restraint.
   Thai   military   aircraft  dropped  leaflets  over  the  Red  Shirts'
   encampment  Monday,  warning them to evacuate by 3:00 p.m. or face two
   years  in  prison.   But  an estimated 5,000 Red Shirts remain at the
   site they have been occupying since mid-March.
   Thai  troops  have  encircled the protest zone and cut off supplies to
   pressure  the  Red  Shirts  into  leaving.   Troops allowed Red Cross
   workers  to  enter  the  area to provide humanitarian aid to women and
   children sheltering in a Buddhist temple.
   The  Red  Shirts want early elections to replace a government they see
   as  illegitimate  and elitist.  Many of them are supporters of former
   Prime  Minister  Thaksin  Shinawatra, ousted by the military in a 2006
   coup and now living in exile.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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