Thai "Red Shirts" paraded the bodies of dead protesters and empty coffins though the tense capital Monday, warning the time for negotiation was over after the bloodiest political unrest in 18 years.
The protesters vowed to press on with their bid to overthrow the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva following weekend clashes in Bangkok which left 21 people dead and more than 800 injured.
Pick-up trucks carrying two bodies and 14 empty caskets draped with Thai flags led a procession of cars, trucks and taxis filled with Red Shirts that snaked its way through central Bangkok, to cheers from some bystanders.
"There will be no talks with the government. We will not talk with killers," said Reds leader Jatuporn Prompan. "What else is there to talk about?"
Seventeen civilians, including a Japanese cameraman, and four soldiers were killed Saturday after the army launched a crackdown on the supporters of fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, following almost a month of mass demonstrations.
The Red Shirts, who hail from mainly poor and rural areas of Thailand, insist they will not end their campaign until the government calls fresh elections, and Abhisit stands down and leaves the country.
"We want people in Bangkok to know what happened to the Red Shirts because the government and the army control the news," said Chakkricth Kadeeluck, a 34-year-old watch seller from Chonburi, east of Bangkok.
"The Red Shirts want the people to know the truth."
Abhisit offered last month to hold elections by the end of 2010 -- one year ahead of schedule -- to end the stand-off, but protest leaders rejected the proposal.
The government also played down local media reports that Abhisit might offer to bring forward the polls to October.
"There was no talk of elections in October yet," government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn told AFP.
Thousands of Reds, who accuse the current government of being elitist and army-backed, have refused to end a month of mass rallies that have dealt a heavy blow to the country's vital tourist sector.
Deepening fears about the impact of the political crisis on the economy sent Thai stocks plunging more than five percent in early afternoon trade on Monday as Thailand's neighbours voiced their concern about the turmoil.
The Reds charge that the government is illegitimate because it came to power in 2008 after a court ousted allies of fugitive ex-premier and telecoms tycoon Thaksin from power.
Many are seeking the return of Thaksin, who was toppled in a bloodless coup in 2006, hailing his policies for the masses, such as cheap healthcare.
Shaken tourists have been seen packing up and leaving the capital after bloody clashes spread into the Khaosan Road backpacker district, where Thai flags, red roses and incense sticks were placed on pools of blood.
Saturday's violence erupted when troops tried to clear one of two sites in the centre of the city which have been occupied by the protesters for the past month.
As the clashes intensified gunshots echoed around the city and both sides accused the other of using live ammunition. Emergency services said two protesters were killed by gunshot wounds to the head.
The army later retreated, calling for a truce with the demonstrators. One group of soldiers was taken hostage by the Reds but police said they had been released on Sunday.
The bodies of four soldiers killed in the clashes were due to be returned to their families for private funeral ceremonies after autopsies.
The family of the Japanese cameraman who was fatally shot in the chest while covering the clashes arrived Sunday in Bangkok, where his wife said she was "bewildered" at the tragic turn of events.
"He was the best husband and father. I am very sorry that he couldn't come home with that smile," she said in a statement.
