Massive Red Rally In Bangkok Today

[Livinginexile]

We live on Chareon Nekon Road close to Bkk bridge.

My wife, son and myself walked to our local shopping centre this afternoon and on the way back watched the endless procession of red shirts coming from the Bkk bridge side of town.

Honestly there was thousands of them! we watched them for over an hour going past, does anyone know where they were heading?

One thing that suprised me was all the local suport they were getting.

I mean I thought Bkk was "yellow shirt" territory but there was thousands of people lining the streets shouting suport. These people were not paid suporters, they were shop owners, business owners, people driving the oposite way cheering them on, people hanging out of windows waving anything that was red!

It really was a carnival type atmosphere. It was very impressive.

Edited March 20, 2010 by Livinginexile

[SeanMoran]

Thank you. It is wonderful to hear that the march goes on in good and peaceful ways. It's surely not been easy for those strong people to make it this far into the week after next, from the 12th.

[JetsetBkk]

"One thing that surprised me was all the local support they were getting."

One they won't get is much support on this forum.

Two replies so far.

[Jingthing]

Many Isaan folks live in Bangkok, natch.

Remember when Thaksin was PM he funneled money to his base areas, and punished the areas where he lacked support. Who needs a leader of only a PART of the country? Thaksin is massively divisive. It would be tragic if he ever comes back to power here.

Edited March 20, 2010 by Jingthing

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Here is even The Nation acknowledging local support. Not sure if we'll see this one in the News section to I'll post it here:

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/2010/...t-30125174.html

Red shirts lap up urban support

By PRAVIT ROJANAPHRUK

THE NATION

Many in working- and lower-middle classes back movement

The massive 20-kilometre-long red-shirt motorcade around Bangkok Saturday proved beyond doubt that many working-class and lower-middle-class people in the capital support the red shirts, as they came out in force to wildly cheer the caravan as if their liberators had arrived.

Police estimate 65,000 red shirts took part in the procession with 10,000 motorcycles and 7,000 other vehicles, mostly pickups and lorries, involved. The real numbers are hard to estimate, however.

The seemingly endless motorcade left the protest site at 10am and made its way through major streets such as New Phetchaburi, Ratchadaphisek, Lat Phrao, Ramkhamhaeng and Rama IV.

In the Pratunam area, just in front of Platinum Fashion Mall, at least 200 people along the streets and pedestrians on the overpass ecstatically cheered the red procession as it marched on for more than five hours until 3.45pm.

The whole atmosphere resembled a carnival or fiesta. Many bystanders went onto the streets to interact more closely with those in the procession. The caravan rolled on at what could be considered brisk walking pace.

Many of those cheering the red shirts donned red or had something red on them, such as a handkerchief or a headband. They jumped, danced, waved and shook their foot clappers. They also handed out bottled water to members of arguably the longest political caravan in Thai history.

A clear majority of those waving and cheering were working-class and lower-middle-class people, highlighting the growing disquiet over class inequality among the poor as well as indicating class solidarity.

A clear majority of the sympathisers appeared to be street vendors, clerks, waitresses, hotel cooks, security guards, taxi drivers, motorcycle-taxi riders, and local residents coming from the more congested and poorer parts of Bangkok.

Some shouted: "Abhisit [Vejjajiva, prime minister] get out!" Others shook hands and patted the shoulders of red-shirt protesters who passed by. Looking cheerful and confident, they seemed to have the belief that they would eventually prevail. Car-honking and loud anti-Abhisit and anti-old-elite slogans were heard along the route.

At a restaurant at the Lat Phrao-Ratchadaphisek intersection, one middle-class customer, who is not a red-shirt supporter, told The Nation: "These days people simply say they want to see either a quick victory or defeat. They're tired of it."

Some hostile reception was reported in areas such as Onnuj and Klong Tan with a bottle thrown at Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship co-leader Natthawut Saikua missing its target in the Klong Tan area.

Many of those who opposed the march, which paralysed much of Bangkok's traffic, kept off the streets and posted their dismayed feelings online.

"Why don't they shut their own province down? People are fed up," read one such posting on prachatai.com online newspaper.

Some subway gates were temporarily shut yesterday from 10.40am, leaving those who were trapped agitated. "You are just creating an image that these people are violent and cruel!" one woman commuter reprimanded a subway staff member at Exit 1 of Phra Ram 9 station. "They don't even carry weapons."

A man in his mid-fifties was furious, as he could not exit from the gate. "This kind of stupidity will only earn more sympathisers for the reds ... This country has gone nuts! If you're to shut the gate why don't you shut down the whole subway as well so I won't have to use it."

Krishna Sajjadej, a subway staff member, apologised to the 30 or so stranded commuters, who were not easily appeased.

In the afternoon, at a petrol station near the Lat Phrao-Ratchadaphisek intersection, two red shirts speculated as to why Abhisit would not resign or dissolve the House. One said it was because the military and the elites who controlled him had told the premier not to do so.

"But we shall eventually oust him," said a middle-aged red shirt.

-- The Nation 20 March 2010

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[webfact]

that event was (is) covered extensively in News Clippings

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