Tuesday, April 14, 2009

'We have to stop because we need to look after the lives of our supporters,' said Jatuporn Prompan, one of the leaders of the red-shirted protesters loyal to former premier Thaksin Shinawatra who still commands widespread loyalty among the rural poor.

Protesters had been camped at the building for three weeks and violence flared in Bangkok on Monday, with two people killed and more than 100 wounded. A peaceful end to the demonstration would be a boost for Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and partly reassure investors fretting about Thai political risk.

Rating agencies had said that if unrest persisted, domestic and foreign investment could be badly hit and there was a risk that Thailand's sovereign ratings could be downgraded.

The violence has also damaged Thailand's crucial tourism industry.

Army spokesman Colonel Sansern Kaewkamnerd said earlier on television the authorities estimated about 2,000 protesters were encamped at Government House.

The 'red shirts' vowed to return, however.

'This is not the end. We'll be back. Our leaders will meet after Songkran to discuss our next move,' one protest leader, Nattawut Saikuar, told Reuters.

On Monday there were violent clashes at a big intersection in the capital, which the red-shirted demonstrators had barricaded and which troops cleared with repeated charges, firing shots.

Black smoke had billowed over the city of 12 million people after protesters set fire to buses to block the troops. A fire was started in one government building.

Mr Abhisit, who declared a state of emergency in Bangkok on Sunday, told Reuters it was a 'do-or-die' moment for the rule of law and he would not negotiate with Thaksin.

Financial markets remained closed for the three-day Thai New Year holiday, reopening on Thursday. The holiday meant the roads of Bangkok, normally clogged, were quiet this week.

The rest of the country was also quiet, with Sansern noting only two incidents outside Bangkok on Monday, when red-shirted protesters tried to stop transmission of a state television channel.