No Talks, No Retreat, No Surrender
An estimated 5,000 anti-government protesters are refusing to leave an area of central Bangkok despite being given a deadline to disperse by the Thai government. Earlier, red shirt leaders had appeared to be open to negotiation, but they wanted troops to withdraw first. The Thai government said they will not withdraw troops until the protesters disperse. Publicly, neither side is backing down although it is still not clear whether there is a behind-the-scenes channel of communication open between the government and the protest leaders.
The situation is extremely tense, with the possibility that the crisis could be approaching a bloody end-game either today or tomorrow. A number of the protesters have said they have nothing to lose and are prepared for a fight to the death. There is still a chance that the military could play a waiting game to increase the pressure on the red shirt leaders to surrender.
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