Thailand's Red Shirts Accept Abhisit's Reconciliation Roadmap

BANGKOK -- Red Shirt anti-government protesters have conditionally accepted Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's roadmap for national reconciliation in a move that is expected to end the rallies that have paralyzed parts of the capital for months.

Opinions are mixed over whether the plan can bring lasting peace to a country whose unity has become increasingly fractured along lines of wealth, development and the urban/rural divide. But many analysts believe the proposed dissolution of Parliament in the second half of September followed by a general election on Nov. 14 will see the Red-Shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) bring an end to its protests, which have lasted for more than two months now. ...