Round 3 Talk on April's Fool's Day?

Will Round 3 of negotiations between the government and red-shirt leaders take place? If so, it will be on April 1, according to Chmani Sakdiseth, one of the PM's aides attending the first two rounds of talk.

Premier Abhisit Vejjajiva says he is ready for another round of talks. Red-shirt leader Jatuporn Prompan says no more negotiations are set since the gap is too huge between the protestors' 15-day deadline and the government's 9-month proposal for a new election.

Chamni, however, insists that there is still room for discussion and he is still hopeful that the differences can be ironed out.

The red-shirts haven't totally rejected a new round of talk. They are simply "reconsidering their position."

Who's making the final decision? Critics says it's Thaksin Shinawatra who is stalling. But Weng Tojirakarn, one of the three red representatives, insists decisions are being made by collective leadership.

The Reds are also suggesting that Abhisit can't make his own decision either. Some influence above him is dictating things, they claim.

But if the 3rd round of talks happen on April 1, will it be just an "April's Fool's joke." I hope not.

Everybody wants to go home!

Bangkok Post cartoon Yoot reflects the real personal side of the ongoing protest: What do the protestor, Thaksin and Abhisit have in common?

They all are dying to go home.

The day Reds ask Greens to leave

The Red Shirts hailed their move today as a big victory after they persuaded soldiers in seven locations around Bangkok to go back to their barracks. The atmosphere was amicable though it was officially stated later in the day that the military personnel were simply "relocating" and not "evacuating" back to their camps.

The reds, however, weren't successfully in flushing soldiers out of Government House in the evening. After an hour or so of a face-off, the red-shirted leaders called off the move to force soldiers out of the Govt House when the government stood firm that Government House is an important official building that has to be protected at all cost.

The critical move is tomorrow when the reds plan to march to the 11th Infantry Regiment headquarters where PM Abhisit Vejjajiva has used as his operation centre in the past two weeks. Red leader Veera Muksigapong just announced on stage that they will be going there to ask the PM to fulfil his promise to hold talks with the protesters about their demand for him to dissolve Parliament to call new elections.

Some red leaders have threatened to "climb the wall" if they weren't given a chance to meet the PM. But Veera, the UDD's chairman, was more conciliatory in his statement just now. "We just want to sit down and talk with the PM about the House dissolution. I hope the PM will keep his promise to talk," he declared.

The red leaders appear to want to draw the protest to a close as soon as possible now.

The new move called "DE-THAKSINIZATION"

Thaksin Shinawatr was back in his video link connection to the red-shirts last night, after a three-day "sick leave," amidst rumours that he had been advised to lower his profile in this ongoing protest.

"This march isn't about me. It's about democracy," he declared. And when Nattawuat Saikua, one of the core leaders,said Thaksin was "only one of our resource persons," the speculation about "de-Thaksinizatin" of the red protest movement was more or less confirmed.

Behind-the-scenes discussions among some factions of the red movment have centred on how to "go beyond Thaksin" in the protest to pressure the Abhisit government to dissolve the House to call a new election and to make the protest a much more effective and credible movement.

It was agreed that as long as it's seen that the whole protest march was to benefit Thaksin, it could never grow - and couldn't possibly pull the urban "middle class" into the anti-Establishment movement.

Thaksin has heeded that piece of advice to draw in more progressive elements to come forward and join the protest, realizing that the "Trio" -- Veera, Jatupon and Nattawut -- could only go so far.

But that also means that it's going to be more difficult for Thaksin to win back his assets and avoid jail terms with the "de-Thaksinization" strategy.

Things are going to be tougher for him from now on because on the on hand,it's all about Thaksin and on the other, it's not going to be about him anymore.

Believe it or not, the negotiations have begun

Not many people might have noticed it but,as far as I am concerned, the "negotiations" between the government and the red shirts have begun -- albeit on television.

Nation Channel invited Charan Dithavihai, one of the core leaders of the protestors, and Education Minister Chinnaworn Bunyakiat to the "Kom Chat Luek" talk programme Monday night. They both maintained their positions but the atmosphere was friendly and the exchange was as fruitful as one could expect under the circumstances.

A well-known polititical scientist,Dr Pichya Pongswasat,and the anchor, Jomquan Laopetch, tried to "mediate" between the two. It was significant that their tones were accommodating rather than hostile.

The Red Shirts had earlier said they would not accept Chinnaworn as PM Abhisit Vejjajiva as a mediator. But the fact that Charan and Chinnaworn did meet and exchanged ideas rather amicably, to me, was a positive signal.

The talks have started. They need to be followed up. Both sides need a ladder to climb down on.

Abhisit: This isn't a 'class war'

PM Abhisit Vejjajiva, in an interview with "Frost over the World" programme on Al Jazeera TV, says it's "clearly not true" that the ongoing protest is, as billed by the red-shirted leaders, a "class war," reflected by the recent election results and majorities of by-elections in the rural areas last year by his Democrat Party.

"And I find it ironic that some of them say they are fighting for a billionaire...and they claim they are fighting a class war," he said.

Abhisit also said Thaksin Shinawatra, in Montenegro last week and now in Dubai, is "hardly suffering the things that the protestors here are going through and things that the Bangkok people are going through."

If one picture is worth 1,000 words...

These pictures remind all political observers of Thai politics that there was a time when Thaksin Shinawatr, when he was premier, was very respectful towards Gen Prem Tinsulnonda, president of the Privy Council.

Today, Thaksin is calling for the "dismantling" of the "amataya" (elite) headed by Gen Prem.

Ironically, Thaksin has appointed himself "head of the grass-roots people" aimed at overthrowing the "elite" led by Gen Prem.

Even more paradoxical is when Thaksin claims: "The struggle is not about me. It's about democracy."