BANGKOK – Thailand's prime minister, backed by a formidable military force, rejected an ultimatum to dissolve Parliament on Monday as tens of thousands of red-shirted protesters vowed to continue their push to oust the government.
They later set another deadline, threatening to pour 1 million cubic centimeters of blood drawn from their ranks at Government House, the seat of government, if their renewed demand was rejected by 6 p.m. Monday. The amount of blood would require more than 2,000 people to donate one pint of blood each.
Source: Yahoo News, AP
They later set another deadline, threatening to pour 1 million cubic centimeters of blood drawn from their ranks at Government House, the seat of government, if their renewed demand was rejected by 6 p.m. Monday. The amount of blood would require more than 2,000 people to donate one pint of blood each.
- "The blood will be taken from the body and democratic soul of the Red Shirts," said a protest leader, Nutthawut Saikua, referring to the popular name for the protesters. He said they would start drawing blood at 8 a.m. Tuesday if the government didn't meet their demand.
- In the first reported violence of the protests, two soldiers were wounded when four grenades exploded inside an army headquarters ringed by the demonstrators, said army spokesman Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd.
- He did not blame the demonstrators but said there has been intelligence that some elements had been planning such attacks. The grenades were fired from an M-79 launcher, he said.
- Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, the key target of the massive demonstration, earlier said he could not give in to the protesters' demand to dissolve Parliament by midday but left room for compromise.
- The demonstrators marshaled around the heavily defended 11th Infantry Regiment headquarters where Abhisit has been hunkered down in recent days, but after the deadline passed they began a march back to their main encampment.
- "Asking for the dissolution of Parliament before noon in exchange for a halt to the demonstrations, we all agreed it can't be done. However, it doesn't mean the government coalition parties and I won't listen to their ideas," Abhisit said on nationwide television.
- Some 100,000 Red Shirt protesters have been camped out along a boulevard in the old part of Bangkok. A force of more than 50,000 soldiers, police and other security personnel has been mobilized in the capital area.
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