Thailand Mourns Its Dead as Violence Subsides : Civil unrest: 3,300 protesters freed from jail. 100 others accused of crimes are still held.

“Big Su is a murderer,” said a pamphlet handed out in central Bangkok, using the newspaper nickname of Thai Prime Minister Suchinda Kraprayoon.

A blood-soaked shrub wore a yellow sign that read: “The Tree of Democracy.” Joss sticks burned in memory of the dead, and passers-by hung garlands of purple orchids on the shrub’s broken branches.

Mourners tied a black sash around the wide girth of the capital’s Democracy Monument. Small knots of people gathered with paper Thai flags on the monument’s steps and read political tracts by the light of matches.

Army troops and pro-democracy demonstrators withdrew from the streets of Bangkok on Thursday, bringing an end to four days of violent clashes with a compromise on political reform. But the impact of a week in which at least 40 protesters were killed and more than 650 wounded left the country, widely known as the “Land of Smiles,” shellshocked by the bloodshed.

“The government was wrong to shoot those protesters,” said Somchai Pairoh, a 43-year-old businessman who was among hundreds who went to inspect the bullet-scarred monument Thursday night. “Suchinda should resign. If he doesn’t, there will be a wave of new protests.”

“Dreams Die: Suchinda to Remain Prime Minister,” said the banner headline in the morning newspaper The Manager.

The violence ended after Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej intervened in the crisis and asked Suchinda and the leader of the pro-democracy forces, Chamlong Srimuang, to negotiate an end to their differences to avoid further bloodshed.

Chamlong was immediately freed from prison. Thursday morning, the government released without bail another 3,300 protesters who had been arrested during the disturbances.

Police Maj. Gen. Jaruk Mekvichai said that about 100 demonstrators are still being held because they were charged with vandalism or arson.

After the announcement of the political compromise, the government lifted a 9 p.m.-to-4 a.m. curfew that had been imposed Wednesday night to head off further unrest. It also revoked a ban on three newspapers.

Grocery stores and shops reopened for the first time since Monday, and the city’s streets were once again jammed with bumper-to-bumper traffic.

The Thai stock market soared in response to the compromise, rising 61.30 points, a gain of nearly 10%, regaining what it had lost during the unrest.

After the stern lecture from the king, Suchinda and the opposition agreed to turn the crisis over to the Parliament, which will take up a constitutional amendment that would require the prime minister to be an elected official.

Suchinda, a former commander in chief of Thailand’s armed forces, was not elected prime minister but was appointed to the post April 7 by a coalition of five pro-military parties. Pro-democracy forces have been demanding his resignation, arguing that his appointment perpetuates the military’s grip on political life.

Western diplomats said they believe that the immediate threat of violence has been headed off by the king’s intervention in the dispute, particularly his warning that further bloodshed would leave the country “worthless.”

“But the issues are exactly where they were two weeks ago,” said one diplomat. “The deal has no teeth.”

Some Thai analysts believe that Suchinda will use the adoption of the amendment as a face-saving way to bow out of politics. But diplomats noted that the five parties that appointed him still hold 195 seats in the 360-seat Parliament and have the power to override any opposition demands that the amendment apply not just to future prime ministers but to Suchinda as well.