English Story

泰国红衫运动提出和解新条件

Thailand's red-shirt leaders say they will continue their weeks-long protest in Bangkok unless certain conditions are met.

泰国红衫运动领导人称,除非政府满足他们某些条件,否则曼谷的反抗活动将会继续。

Red-shirt protesters have occupied central Bangkok for weeks
Red-shirt protesters have occupied central Bangkok for weeks

The red-shirts accepted PM Abhisit Vejjajiva's offer of 14 November polls but said they would not go home until the deputy PM surrendered to police.

They say Suthep Thaungsuban must answer for(对……负责) the deaths of protesters in a 10 April clash.

Mr Abhisit had given the red-shirts a Monday deadline to respond to his plan.

Both the ruling elite and the red-shirts are divided over how to end the protests.

Mr Abhisit's reconciliation(和解,调和) plan includes holding elections in November and so dissolving(分解,消融) parliament in mid-September.

At a news conference, the red-shirts said they broadly accepted the timeframe(时间表) laid down in the road-map.

But they said that they wanted to ensure there were no double standards in the repercussions(反响,影响) before agreeing to close down their protests.

They said many of their members had been accused of terrorism or been subject to arrest warrants, so Mr Abhisit and Mr Suthep should be subject to the same scrutiny(监视,详细审查) .

Mr Abhisit has parliamentary immunity but Mr Suthep should surrender to police to face accusations(控告,谴责) of murder, they said.

Mr Suthep was in charge of security operations on 10 April, when 25 people were killed in a failed attempt to disperse(驱散) protesters. His role was subsequently(随后,后来) given to army chief Gen Anupong Paojinda.

"If Suthep refuses to surrender himself to police, we refuse to end the rally," red-shirt leader Nattawut Saikua told reporters. "If Suthep surrenders to police, then we will go home."

A government spokesman says the deputy prime minister will meet the head of special investigations on Tuesday to hear the accusations levelled against him.

But the BBC's South East Asia correspondent, Rachel Harvey, says it is not clear whether or not this is in response to(响应,回答) the protesters' demands or part of a complex deal that has been rumoured to be in the offing for days.

Protests swell

Thousands of protesters remain in camps along major thoroughfares(大道,通路) in the centre of Bangkok.

Two policeman were killed in the city over the weekend, bringing the protests' toll to 29.

The prolonged(延长的,持续很久的) demonstration has forced the closure of shops and hotels and led to a sharp drop in the vital tourism industry.

Over the weekend reinforcements from the northeast of Thailand arrived at the protestor's camp, swelling(膨胀的,突起的) numbers which had recently appeared to be dwindling(缩小,变小).

The protestors, a loose coalition of left-wing activists, democracy campaigners and supporters of ousted leader Thaksin Shinwatra, say the government is illegitimate(非法的,私生的) because it came to power through a parliamentary deal rather than an election.