Red Shirts

BANGKOK — Thousands of antigovernment protesters occupied the commercial heart of Thailand’s capital yesterday, forcing the closure of major shopping malls, and said they will not leave until the prime minister dissolves Parliament and calls new elections. The government first ordered them out before the end of the day but as the deadline passed said negotiations would continue today. It was the fourth weekend demonstration in Bangkok by the mainly poor, rural protesters known as the Red Shirts.

Thailand's Cabinet approved compensation Tuesday for victims of the violent political conflicts that have wracked the country for almost seven years, as the new government takes steps toward reconciliation. About 2 billion baht ($62.8 million) in total will be given to people who suffered physical and mental losses since mass protests started in 2005, government spokeswoman Thitima Chaisaeng said. The protests led to a 2006 military coup that further polarized supporters and opponents of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

BANGKOK — Thai protesters forced a shutdown of Bangkok’s busy elevated-train system yesterday and promised to expand their street demonstrations, escalating weeks of anti-government demonstrations that have paralyzed much of the capital. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said he hoped to resolve the standoff peacefully even as the government canceled garbage collection in the barricaded encampment in the city’s commercial district that thousands of protesters have occupied since last month.

BANGKOK — Thailand’s prime minister defended himself against a censure motion in Parliament yesterday and said there would be an independent investigation into whether the army used undue force to clear antigovernment protesters from Bangkok’s streets. The opposition Puea Thai Party says the army’s use of live ammunition and armored personnel carriers to break up the two-month-long protest was excessive and resulted in civilian casualties. The thousands of Red Shirts had been calling for Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to dissolve Parliament immediately and call new elections.

BANGKOK — A major Thai hospital evacuated patients and suspended all but emergency surgery yesterday after antigovernment protesters stormed in to hunt for security forces they suspected were taking positions there overlooking their barricaded enclave. Meanwhile, a top security official accused protesters of targeting one of the country’s most sacred Buddhist shrines in a grenade attack last month. The accusation about the attack, which took place near the Defense Ministry, appeared aimed at stirring up public anger against the so-called Red Shirts.

BANGKOK — Soldiers opened fire on antigovernment protesters who battled them with firebombs and homemade rockets yesterday in a second day of escalating violence as troops tried to clear the rioters from the streets of downtown Bangkok. The clashes have killed 10 people and wounded 125, including two soldiers, the government said. The troops used tear gas, rubber bullets, and live rounds on demonstrators, who set fire to tires and a police bus. Explosions echoed through streets emptied of shoppers and tourists, and plumes of black smoke rose amid...

BANGKOK — Thailand’s prime minister said yesterday that he would dissolve Parliament in September, paving the way for new elections demanded by antigovernment protesters, if they end their crippling occupation of Bangkok’s commercial district. But in a sign of the deep mistrust between the opposing sides, the demonstrators said they would not go home until the government made its promise official and specified a date for the legislature’s dissolution. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva also faced opposition from activists who see...

BANGKOK — As many as 100,000 people demonstrated peacefully against Thailand’s government at a party-like rally yesterday, but the capital was being kept on edge by their threat to continue protesting until Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva calls new elections. Loud pop music and rural delicacies such as spicy papaya salad competed with fiery rhetoric for the attention of the crowd, many of whom had come from provinces in the countryside. The festive tone was aided by hundreds of new arrivals coming from boats festooned with red banners on the Chao Phraya River.

BANGKOK — Thailand’s leader defended the deadly army crackdown on protesters besieging the capital’s heart, saying yesterday that the country’s very future was at stake. Protesters dragged away the bodies of three people from sidewalks — shot by army snipers, they say — as soldiers blocked major roads and pinned up notices of a “Live Firing Zone.’’ “I insist that what we are doing is necessary,’’ Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said in a defiant broadcast on national television, making it clear he would not compromise.

BANGKOK — The Thai government suspended its plan to cut water and electricity supplies to antigovernment demonstrators camped in a posh central Bangkok neighborhood, heeding pleas from residents and foreign diplomats who live and work there. But it also withdrew its offer to hold elections in November, bringing Thailand’s months-old political crisis back to square one, days after it appeared that a compromise was imminent. The so-called Red Shirt protesters believe Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s coalition government came to power illegitimately...

BANGKOK — Thailand’s leader defended the deadly army crackdown on protesters besieging the capital’s heart, saying yesterday that the country’s very future was at stake. Protesters dragged away the bodies of three people from sidewalks — shot by army snipers, they say — as soldiers blocked major roads and pinned up notices of a “Live Firing Zone.’’ “I insist that what we are doing is necessary,’’ Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said in a defiant broadcast on national television, making it clear he would not compromise.

BANGKOK — Soldiers opened fire on antigovernment protesters who battled them with firebombs and homemade rockets yesterday in a second day of escalating violence as troops tried to clear the rioters from the streets of downtown Bangkok. The clashes have killed 10 people and wounded 125, including two soldiers, the government said. The troops used tear gas, rubber bullets, and live rounds on demonstrators, who set fire to tires and a police bus. Explosions echoed through streets emptied of shoppers and tourists, and plumes of black smoke rose amid...

BANGKOK — The Thai government suspended its plan to cut water and electricity supplies to antigovernment demonstrators camped in a posh central Bangkok neighborhood, heeding pleas from residents and foreign diplomats who live and work there. But it also withdrew its offer to hold elections in November, bringing Thailand’s months-old political crisis back to square one, days after it appeared that a compromise was imminent. The so-called Red Shirt protesters believe Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s coalition government came to...

BANGKOK — Thailand’s prime minister said yesterday that he would dissolve Parliament in September, paving the way for new elections demanded by antigovernment protesters, if they end their crippling occupation of Bangkok’s commercial district. But in a sign of the deep mistrust between the opposing sides, the demonstrators said they would not go home until the government made its promise official and specified a date for the legislature’s dissolution. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva also faced opposition from activists who see his peace offering as...

BANGKOK — A major Thai hospital evacuated patients and suspended all but emergency surgery yesterday after antigovernment protesters stormed in to hunt for security forces they suspected were taking positions there overlooking their barricaded enclave. Meanwhile, a top security official accused protesters of targeting one of the country’s most sacred Buddhist shrines in a grenade attack last month. The accusation about the attack, which took place near the Defense Ministry, appeared aimed at stirring up public anger against the so-called Red Shirts.

BANGKOK — Thai protesters forced a shutdown of Bangkok’s busy elevated-train system yesterday and promised to expand their street demonstrations, escalating weeks of anti-government demonstrations that have paralyzed much of the capital. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said he hoped to resolve the standoff peacefully even as the government canceled garbage collection in the barricaded encampment in the city’s commercial district that thousands of protesters have occupied since last month.

BANGKOK — Savage clashes between protesters and Thai soldiers killed at least 18 people and injured hundreds before both sides retreated, no closer to ending a monthlong occupation of parts of the capital by demonstrators demanding new elections. Hopes were expressed for negotiations today. Bullet casings, rocks, and pools of blood littered the streets where pitched battles raged for hours yesterday. It was the worst violence in Bangkok since more than four dozen people were killed in an antimilitary protest in 1992.

BANGKOK — Thailand’s prime minister defended himself against a censure motion in Parliament yesterday and said there would be an independent investigation into whether the army used undue force to clear antigovernment protesters from Bangkok’s streets. The opposition Puea Thai Party says the army’s use of live ammunition and armored personnel carriers to break up the two-month-long protest was excessive and resulted in civilian casualties. The thousands of Red Shirts had been calling for Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to dissolve Parliament immediately and...

BANGKOK — Soldiers in full combat gear garrisoned the Thai capital’s central business district yesterday, laying razor wire across sidewalks in front of astonished tourists as they faced off with demonstrators demanding a change of government. So-called Red Shirt protesters accused the military of preparing “a killing field’’ — the latest confrontation in Thailand’s long-running political crisis. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, speaking on government-run television channels, said he would not set a date for protesters to be forced out of...

BANGKOK — Savage clashes between protesters and Thai soldiers killed at least 18 people and injured hundreds before both sides retreated, no closer to ending a monthlong occupation of parts of the capital by demonstrators demanding new elections. Hopes were expressed for negotiations today. Bullet casings, rocks, and pools of blood littered the streets where pitched battles raged for hours yesterday. It was the worst violence in Bangkok since more than four dozen people were killed in an antimilitary protest in 1992.