May 19, 2010By Shawn W Crispin
Asia Times Online
BANGKOK - Spiraling street violence pitting government troops against anti-government protesters has raised fears of a wider, more anomic conflict in Thailand. As the death toll and chaos mount, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has indicated his willingness to use lethal force to restore order and narrowed the prospects for a political compromise that seemed within reach just over a week ago.
The United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) protest group accepted and then backed away from Abhisit's proposed five-point reconciliation road map, which included a November 14 timetable for new polls. The tentative truce collapsed over issues of accountability for protest-related violence and the UDD's refusal to dismantle immediately its sprawling protest site in Bangkok's commercial heart.
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