Abhisit Vejjajiva: Thai PM 'got priorities wrong'

After days of violent confrontations between police and anti-government demonstrators in Thailand, barricades are finally being dismantled and a sense of calm has returned to the streets of Bangkok.

But what sparked the protests and what were the demonstrators hoping to achieve?

Speaking to the BBC, former prime minister and Democrat Party Leader Abhisit Vejjajiva, suggested that the protesters were "disillusioned" and accused the government of wasting "a number of opportunities to restore order".

He also suggested that Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra had "got her priorities wrong" since coming to power and should "get us out of this by taking that first step to show accountability".

"Feelings run high on both sides and our job is to diffuse the situation," he added.