BANGKOK - " Thousands of anti-government demonstrators broke through police and military lines Tuesday to flood the streets around Bangkok's business district and other areas of Thailand's capital. The Red Shirt protesters, many on motorcycles, massed near Silom Road, a financial center, from the commercial shopping district they had occupied since Saturday. Earlier, the demonstrators pushed against police lines and pelted the riot squads with eggs and plastic water bottles along the tree-lined Rajdamri Avenue in front of the Four Seasons Hotel. After several hours of confrontations and negotiations, the demonstrators rushed through the blockade. Protest leaders have defied a government order to vacate the commercial heart of Bangkok as they try to pressure Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to relinquish power. They vowed Tuesday to stage convoys through 11 main city roads the administration has declared off-limits to them. "We will teach the government a lesson ��" that every road belongs to the people," said a protest leader, Nattawut Saikua. On Tuesday morning, about 1,000 riot police and soldiers faced off against a similar number of protesters on Rajdamri Avenue as luxury hotels in the area barricaded their doors, guests taking photographs from a safe distance. Similar confrontations were reported in other areas. Some of the protesters clambered atop police trucks parked across the road to block the demonstrators. The light overhead railway that runs above Rajdamri Avenue was shut down by the operators. "We were going to see a movie," said Les Stanley, a 55-year-old Australian resident in Bangkok. "Oh well, this is more interesting than a movie." The government restated that it wanted to solve the crisis peacefully. "Under the current climate, many citizens wouldn't want violence to take place or confrontation. And we've been mindful of that concern," government spokesman Panithan Wattanayakorn said as the clashes began. Business leaders have called for an end to the crisis, predicting even greater shocks to the economy and tourism if it persists. More than a dozen shopping malls were set to close their doors for the fourth day in Bangkok's luxury shopping district, which includes five-star hotels like the Four Seasons, the Hyatt and InterContinental. Guests at the hotels there were checking out in greater numbers.
