Thai 'Reds' accept roadmap but refuse to go home

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BANGKOK, May 4 (AFP): Thailand's anti-government protesters agreed Tuesday to enter the prime minister's proposed reconciliation process, raising hopes of an end to a tense political crisis that has claimed 27 lives.
But the 'Red Shirts' said they would not end their mass rally in the heart of the capital yet, calling on Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to make clear when he will dissolve parliament for elections and to withdraw troops.
"Red Shirt leaders unanimously agree to join, and welcome, the reconciliation roadmap proposed by the prime minister to prevent further loss of life," protest leader Veera Musikapong announced from the rally stage.
Abhisit said in a nationally televised address late Monday that he was ready to hold elections in mid-November if all parties accepted his reconciliation plan, but the protesters said the Election Commission should set the poll date.
"We will continue the rally until Abhisit says clearly when he will dissolve the House. Then we will discuss our next move," one of the protest leaders, Jatuporn Prompan, told reporters.
The protests by thousands of mostly poor or working-class Reds -- now in their eighth week -- have paralysed Bangkok's commercial heart.
A series of bloody clashes between the demonstrators and security forces in Bangkok have left 27 people dead and nearly 1,000 people injured in the country's worst civil unrest in almost two decades.
Thailand's fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra -- whose is idolised by many of the protesters -- called for the two sides to settle their differences.
"Reconciliation is good for everybody," he said in a phone-in to a meeting of the opposition Puea Thai Party. "Today, don't think about the past but look to the future. That is how national reconciliation will happen."
Many of the "Red Shirts" are seeking the return of the telecoms tycoon-turned-politician, hailing his policies for the masses.