Asia-Pacific
Thai activists reject peace talks offer
(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-03-21 21:16
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BANGKOK - Opposition activists in Thailand rejected a government offer for dialogue on Sunday after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva ruled out dissolving parliament and assigned a junior minister to attend the talks.
Red-shirted supporters of ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who rallied for an eighth day on Sunday, insisted they had not closed the door but would talk only with Abhisit and on the condition that house dissolution was on the agenda.
"We will talk with the prime minister only," one of the protest leaders, Jatuporn Prompan told reporters. "No one will meet with Chinnaworn."
The protests have so far been peaceful, which helped lift Thai stocks to a 20-month high last week, with foreigners continuing to pour money into the bourse, attracted by some of the cheapest valuations and best dividend yields in Asia.
About 30,000 "red shirts" remained at their encampment in Bangkok's historic heart, a day after at least twice that number fanned out across the city on motorcycles and pickup trucks to drum up support for their campaign.
Abhisit has refused to bow to pressure to dissolve parliament, insisting the country is too divided to face an election. Analysts said the talks would be futile because neither side had anything to bring to the table. Abhisit said the government was willing to listen to the "red shirts'" grievances but immediate house dissolution was not an option.
"Everyone from the coalition parties agree that the government will not dissolve the house," Abhisit said in a televised news conference.
"We should not go into too much detail, but we will probably discuss broad principles such as the right timing for house dissolution, and how," he said in an earlier address.
But analysts said the stakes were too high for both sides and talks were unlikely to produce any compromise.
"There's nothing to talk about," said Somjai Phagaphasvivat, a political scientist at Bangkok's Thammasat University.
"The minimum the 'red shirts' will accept is house dissolution and the government will not yield to that. The root cause of the problem will not be addressed and talks will just pave the way for more protests and upheaval in future."
