ID :
122720
Tue, 05/18/2010 - 13:32
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/122720
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Red Shirt leader accepts Senate offer to mediate talks with govt
BANGKOK, May 18 (TNA) - A top leader of the anti-government Red Shirts on Tuesday said the movement accepted an offer by the Senate to mediate negotiations with the government to end the five-day violence in Bangkok that has taken the lives of 38 people.
United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) Natthawut Saikua
told a news conference at the Ratchaprasong protest site that the Red
Shirts are willing to accept a proposal by Senate Speaker Prasopsuk Boondej that the a group of senators mediate negotiations with
the government and that the UDD is prepared to go to “negotiating table immediately”.
However, the government must order security forces to cease firing at
protesters first if the talks are to be held, Mr Natthawut said.
Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban on Tuesday rejected the ceasefire call from the Red Shirt leaders, saying that the call is unacceptable.
"The security forces are not firing at civilians but carrying out their duties in line with the orders of the Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES)," Mr Suthep said. "The terrorists fired at security forces first, therefore the troops had to return fire in self-defence."
Six days after the Thai government cut electricity, water supplies and all kinds of public transport services at and around anti-government main protesting site at Ratchaprasong intersection, aimed at pressuring the movement to surrender, UDD leader Weng Tochirakarn said the protesters could continue to demonstrate without problems at Ratchaprasong, Bangkok’s prime business district, as food and water
could still be sent to the protesters by their supporters outside.
Mr Weng said UDD leaders are still trying to reopen negotiations with the government aimed at ending the current street fighting between
demonstrators and the government's lineup of police and soldiers in
central Bangkok.
Talks between the UDD leaders and Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on
March 28 and 29 ended in failure. The government now insists that fresh talks can take place after the protesters end their demonstration.
Denying that the protesters are increasing pressure on the government,
with smaller rally platforms being set up, Mr Weng said the new platforms aim to persuade protesters to return to the fold.
Amid Thailand's confusion and political volatility, Minister of Tourism and Sports Chumpol Silapa-archa said before attending Tuesday's weekly cabinet meeting at 11th Infantry headquarters in northern Bangkok, that partners in the coalition government have stood firm on siding with the administration “no matter what decision the prime minister makes.”
Mr Chumpol leads the Chart Thai Pattana Party.
Korbsak Sabhavasu, secretary-general to the prime minister, said late
Monday that a UDD proposal for the United Nations to mediate to end
bloodshed in Thailand is out of question as the government had said that it was not possible because the kingdom has sovereignty.
Mr Korbsak said Mr Natthawut initiated the Monday phone call urging a
ceasefire.
The best way to end the bloodshed is for the protesters to stop their
demonstration, and for its leaders to surrender to the police, said Mr
Korbsak.
“if they don’t want to [surrender] they should ask those outside (the
rally site and now attacking government forces) to return,” Korbsak
added.
At least 38 people have been killed and 279 wounded since the government began its blockade last Thursday on the protesters' camp in the heart of Bangkok.
The UN high commissioner for human rights called for restraint on both
sides and more talks.
"To prevent further loss of life, I appeal to the protesters to step back from the brink, and the security forces to exercise maximum restraint," commissioner Navi Pillay said in a statement from Geneva. "Ultimately, this situation can only be resolved by negotiation." (TNA)
United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) Natthawut Saikua
told a news conference at the Ratchaprasong protest site that the Red
Shirts are willing to accept a proposal by Senate Speaker Prasopsuk Boondej that the a group of senators mediate negotiations with
the government and that the UDD is prepared to go to “negotiating table immediately”.
However, the government must order security forces to cease firing at
protesters first if the talks are to be held, Mr Natthawut said.
Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban on Tuesday rejected the ceasefire call from the Red Shirt leaders, saying that the call is unacceptable.
"The security forces are not firing at civilians but carrying out their duties in line with the orders of the Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES)," Mr Suthep said. "The terrorists fired at security forces first, therefore the troops had to return fire in self-defence."
Six days after the Thai government cut electricity, water supplies and all kinds of public transport services at and around anti-government main protesting site at Ratchaprasong intersection, aimed at pressuring the movement to surrender, UDD leader Weng Tochirakarn said the protesters could continue to demonstrate without problems at Ratchaprasong, Bangkok’s prime business district, as food and water
could still be sent to the protesters by their supporters outside.
Mr Weng said UDD leaders are still trying to reopen negotiations with the government aimed at ending the current street fighting between
demonstrators and the government's lineup of police and soldiers in
central Bangkok.
Talks between the UDD leaders and Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on
March 28 and 29 ended in failure. The government now insists that fresh talks can take place after the protesters end their demonstration.
Denying that the protesters are increasing pressure on the government,
with smaller rally platforms being set up, Mr Weng said the new platforms aim to persuade protesters to return to the fold.
Amid Thailand's confusion and political volatility, Minister of Tourism and Sports Chumpol Silapa-archa said before attending Tuesday's weekly cabinet meeting at 11th Infantry headquarters in northern Bangkok, that partners in the coalition government have stood firm on siding with the administration “no matter what decision the prime minister makes.”
Mr Chumpol leads the Chart Thai Pattana Party.
Korbsak Sabhavasu, secretary-general to the prime minister, said late
Monday that a UDD proposal for the United Nations to mediate to end
bloodshed in Thailand is out of question as the government had said that it was not possible because the kingdom has sovereignty.
Mr Korbsak said Mr Natthawut initiated the Monday phone call urging a
ceasefire.
The best way to end the bloodshed is for the protesters to stop their
demonstration, and for its leaders to surrender to the police, said Mr
Korbsak.
“if they don’t want to [surrender] they should ask those outside (the
rally site and now attacking government forces) to return,” Korbsak
added.
At least 38 people have been killed and 279 wounded since the government began its blockade last Thursday on the protesters' camp in the heart of Bangkok.
The UN high commissioner for human rights called for restraint on both
sides and more talks.
"To prevent further loss of life, I appeal to the protesters to step back from the brink, and the security forces to exercise maximum restraint," commissioner Navi Pillay said in a statement from Geneva. "Ultimately, this situation can only be resolved by negotiation." (TNA)
