Thailand's embattled prime minister vowed to clear Bangkok's commercial heart of anti-government Red Shirt protesters as he appeared on television yesterday in a show of unity with his army chief.
But Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva did not say when security forces would retake the Red Shirts' vast protest site, occupied for three weeks and fortified with barricades made from truck tyres and sharpened bamboo poles.
Adding to the tension, the rival Yellow Shirt group, who are backed by the country's elite, are meeting today upon the expiry of a deadline they set a week ago for the government to deal with the Reds.
They have threatened to tackle the Reds themselves, heightening fears of factional violence.
The Reds, who are demanding elections to replace the government, have occupied the Ratchaprasong intersection for three weeks and fear a crackdown is looming after Abhisit rejected their offer of a compromise.
"There will be a retaking of Ratchaprasong but the process, the measures, how and when it will be done we cannot disclose because it depends on several things," said Mr Abhisit.
"The main point now is not whether or not to disperse but how to solve the whole problem," added the Prime Minister, who has been holed up in a military barracks since street rallies erupted in mid-March.
The pre-recorded television appearance by the Prime Minister and army chief General Anupong Paojinda was seen as an attempt to quash speculation of a rift between the two on how to deal with the crippling political crisis.
General Anupong said the military - which mounted a 2006 coup that forced then-premier Thaksin Shinawatra out of power - would follow government orders.
"We are an army for the nation, for the monarchy and for the people. We will do our job without taking sides," he said.
The highly influential army chief said Friday, however, that the use of force was no solution to the crisis, which has twice descended into deadly street violence this month, leaving 26 people dead and hundreds injured.
When troops tried to sweep Reds out of Bangkok's historic area on April 10 they suffered a humiliating retreat and there is growing talk of "watermelon" soldiers - green outside but red inside - who support the protesters.
General Anupong played down talk of a split within the army, which has given mixed signals on how it prefers to handle the demonstrators, who are defying a state of emergency and a ban on rallies in the capital.