Bangkok, Thailand (CNN) -- Thousands of anti-government protesters defied an order Sunday to disperse from the capital's commercial center, but the government said it would use negotiation -- not force -- to get them to comply. Police estimated that as many as 50,000 members of the group United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship were at the Rajprasong intersection in the heart of Bangkok. They forced the closure of luxury shopping malls, blocked entrances to five-star hotels and made access to a holy shrine difficult. A spokesman for the government's peacekeeping operations, Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd, said that the protesters had "incited and created a situation which has caused great inconvenience to the conduct of business and the pursuit of normal activity."
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Up to 50,000 protesters occupy commercial heart of the Thai capital
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Opposition "red shirts" demand that PM Abhisit dissolve parliament soon
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Supporters of Thaksin Shinawatra say they will continue until demands are met
Prime Minister @placeholder took to the airwaves Sunday, urging people in the affected area to be patient.