Hours after the Thai prime minister said that 'terrorists' were responsible for fomenting the worst day of political violence in almost two decades, the chief of the army has said the PM should bow to calls for an early election.
Army chief Anupong Paojinda said Monday that he supported early elections to end political turmoil, after a crackdown on protesters left 21 people dead and more than 800 injured.
After red-shirted demonstrators vowed to continue their rallies, Paojinda suggested that he was reluctant to use force to break the deadlock, saying a political solution must be found.
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"We must return to politics to solve the problem. It must be ended by political means," Anupong told reporters.
"The problem will be resolved with house dissolution, but when to dissolve depends on the outcome of negotiations," he said.
Defiance on all sides
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva offered last month to hold elections by the end of 2010 - one year ahead of schedule - to end the stand-off, but protest leaders rejected the proposal.
The government on Monday played down speculation it was ready to hold polls in October to defuse the crisis, while the demonstrators said the time for negotiations was over, and vowed to press on with their bid to overthrow the government.
'Terrorists' involved in riots
Yet the PM's comments on 'terrorists' may serve to anger protesters.
"From the overall picture we clearly found that terrorists used pro-democracy protesters to incite the unrest, hoping for total change in our country," Abhisit said in a nationally televised address.
"We have to differentiate innocent people from terrorists," he said, adding that peaceful protesters' demands for democracy should be addressed in the political arena.
Thailand is home to an ongoing Muslim insurgency, mostly concentrated in the south of country.
The Red Shirts, who hail from mainly poor and rural areas of Thailand, insist they will not end their campaign until the government calls an immediate election and Abhisit stands down and leaves the country.
