Thai PM proposes forum for political reforms after Feb 2 polls

In a bid to calm protesters seeking her resignation, Thailand's embattled Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra today proposed a new forum for political reforms to be implemented by the next government after the February 2 general elections.
Reaffirming that the snap polls will go ahead, she said the proposed panel would bring together all players to sit in the same room and discuss political reforms as a peaceful means to avoid any future deadlock.
For the past two weeks, thousands of protesters have marched in Bangkok in a bid to replace Yingluck with an unelected "People's Council".
On Monday, Yingluck was forced to dissolve the lower house of the parliament and call an early election by February 2 as 160,000 protesters gathered around her office. The numbers on the street have dwindled considerably since the announcement.

The protesters, led by former deputy premier Suthep Thaugsuban, accuse Yingluck of acting as a proxy for her fugitive brother Thaksin.
"The government has an open mind to all opinions and will join the forum to find the best way out for Thailand," Yingluck said at a nationally televised press conference.
The government was seeking a common ground for the future of the country through political reforms, which would be undertaken after the elections, she said.