Red Shirt leaders say they won’t leave the Rajaprasong protest site ((Again, Bangkok protest site maps are here and here. And my photos from Rajaprasong and elsewhere are here (May 1), here (April 6), and here (April 4).)) until an exact date for potential new elections is set. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva earlier proposed Nov. 14 for a new poll. ((Interestingly, I noticed earlier today that there is already a Wikipedia page called Thai general election, 2010.))
But the red shirts say they want to ensure that the Democrats’ coalition parties are on board with the plan, and the reds point out that only the election commission, not the PM, can call new elections. Red Shirt leaders also say they want to know the exact date that Parliament will be dissolved, which would determine the date for a new poll.
Meanwhile, the PAD — the yellow shirt group that shut down Bangkok’s international airport for a week in Nov. 2008 — have voiced their displeasure with Abhisit’s plan. They say he should step down if he cannot enforce the rule of law, and that he shouldn’t give in to the Reds’ demands.
Earlier, there was a sense that the red shirts might take the deal, and that it would be a few days until they dispersed. Not anymore.
Here are stories about the current state of affairs from the BBC, WSJ, and Reuters.
