The leader of Thailand’s anti-government protest movement says he is willing to negotiate with Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to end the political crisis if she is willing to talk with him live on television.
Suthep Thaugsuban made the offer, which included several other conditions, on Thursday as increasing violence in the country has prompted fresh calls for negotiations.
Yingluck has said her government wants negotiations, but that the protesters must stop blocking elections and other constitutional processes.
Yingluck’s opponents want to replace her government with an appointed council.
Also on Thursday, her supporters prevented an anti-corruption hearing against her, blocking access to the session’s venue.
Known as the Red Shirts, the supporters blocked access to the headquarters of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, as it prepared to hear charges of negligence against her for allegedly mishandling a government rice subsidy program. Yingluck Shinawatra’s supporters say the anti-graft agency is persecuting the prime minister.
The charges against the prime minister could lead to her impeachment after three months of street protests by her opponents.
On Wednesday, Thai security officials said that unknown armed men fired sporadically and threw grenades in three areas of Bangkok, where demonstrators are camped out.
The shootings came hours after anti-government protesters gathered outside police headquarters in the capital to demand a probe into deadly attacks on them.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged the parties to “engage as soon as possible in meaningful and inclusive dialogue toward ending the crisis and advancing genuine reform,” according to UN spokesman Martin Nesirky.
HN/HSN
Source Article from http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/02/27/352487/thai-pm-challenged-to-televised-debate/