Is 'red shirt' protest coming apart at the seams?

BANGKOK - Thai anti-government protesters appeared split on Monday over whether to call off their crippling demonstration after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva demanded a swift response to a peace plan that includes an early election.

The "red shirt" protesters, drawn from the rural and urban poor, cancelled news conferences on Sunday evening and Monday morning amid reports their loosely organized leadership could not agree on a common response.

"The government has failed to show any sincerity to us," one leader, Weng Tojirakarn, told supporters from the stage erected at the protest site. "So far there has been no response from the government to any of our requests, which include calling off the state of emergency before ending the protest."