Thai tensions ease as police abandon barricades                                      Tensions in Bangkok have eased remarkably after Thai police abandoned their defence of the besieged government headquarters, allowing protesters to cross barricades on December 3.  Speaking at the Police Headquarters in Bangkok, Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra affirmed her government will not use force against protesters, asking them to soon come to the negotiating table with the government via a people’s forum.  The forum aims to call for participation of scholars and legal experts in a bid to seek measures to peacefully settle the country’s long-running political conflicts.  The statement was made after the police are ordered to stop the use of tear gas and water cannon, and abandon barricades to allow protesters to enter the grounds of Government House and police headquarters in Bangkok .  The protesters streamed into the compound where they were seen shaking hands with officers before leaving.  Although protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban, a former deputy premier, said the fight to unseat the government is not over, the National Security Council said that the sudden change in tactics was reached as the nation prepares to celebrate King Bhumibol Adulyadej's 86th birthday, a day normally marked in a spirit of calm and reverence for the monarch.  Initial statistics show that four people were killed and 256 others injured during clashes resulted from demonstrations against Prime Minister Yingluck.-VNA