After reading Admin's post this morning, I grabbed my camera and shot down to Suan Lum to see what I could see...

 

 

 

First thing was a convoy of soldiers which never deployed - these guys went into the barracks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was a standoff and lots of shouting...

 

 

 

 

 

 

This guy lay down on the floor - he wasn't knocked, he was trying to make a protest, but eventually he just looked a bit foolish, 'cos no-one else lay down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were plenty of leaders - some of whom were trying to calm things down and some who were clearly trying to cause trouble.  I'll try to identify them as we go through.  This guy was saying, "OK Khun Maew... what next?"  (just kidding)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then the 'violence' broke out.  This consisted of Reds pushing forward and Soldiers holding their ground.  There weren't many punches thrown and I saw not a single one from the Soldiers.  The Reds, however, did not carry any visible weapons, while the soldiers had big batons - which they didn't use.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The crowd had a big mix - kids and women were in attendance again.  Soldiers were very calming and polite.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The army leader kept calm and tried to discuss with the leaders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The protestors used flags and metal railings to throw at the soldiers... but not very effectively.

 

 

 

There are two characters here - the chubby skinhead at the front was trying to calm things down.  The brown-skinned guy in the black and striped top was trying to cause more violence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The older guy in the shades and Muslim skullcap showed up later and did a lot of shouting at soldiers...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah... that's right... YOU.  Busted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Things calmed down for a bit and the soldiers relaxed a little...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then the negotiations begun - thank Heavens for the Blue Shirt(!) guy...

 

 

 

This guy showed up... but he seemed more like an observer - HUGE for a Thai guy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Water was handed out and shared with Soldiers...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Negotiations started in earnest...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seemed in good humour and quite relaxed.  Although some Reds were pretty animated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A little behind the trouble, I came across this guy on the bike... he had been exhorting people forward and trying to get people fighting.  In this picture, the big guy in the cowboy hat is telling him off - and he doesn't like it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A big column of Riot Police showed up marching down the street.  These guys looked a bit handy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although some were a bit fat and one guy was a virtual midget - I bet he was hardly over 5 feet!

 

 

 

 

 

 

They lined up on Lang Suan for a few minutes - long enough to catch their breath...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then they went into Lumpini Park Barracks - of their own accord. As they went they were cheered and clapped by Red shirts - zero hostility at this point...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today feels like the UDD have upped the ante.  They were told not to spread through the city and they agreed not to.  But then they changed their minds and began moving to the banned areas.  I'm not sure it's a good idea to split your forces - it makes them easier to handle.  There is definitely a feeling of potential violence in the air.  I wonder when we are going to see Red Shirts attacked by pissed off people.

 

 

 

 

Great post EB. Wish I knew you were just one street over :-)

Great reporting there, David.

I can't imagine what the end of this chapter will look like.

Awesome pics, better reporting than Nation or BKK Post ;-)

Thanks EB , of course it make s them easier to handle, Julius Caesar wrote this 2000 years ago in " De Bello Gallico" (about the Gallic wars): "Divide et Impera" : divide and rule!

i'm waiting for noreasonsman's journal so we can know what's REALLY happening !!!

Yeah, maybe he can explain it to those of us who were there :-)

Funny about the Bangkok Post comment. I saw another white guy there taking photos. And I kept thinking, "I'm finding better spots than him." Finally he was within shouting distance - and I was standing in the back of a conveniently parked pick-up, right in the middle of the ****.

So I dragged him out of the crowd and into the pick-up bed. Turns out he shoots for the Bangkok Post - but he kept missing the good shots (like the wai and the water donation). I could probably sell some of these pics.

Seng (bored) Red Shirt, Poor Thai Police

great journal

thanks for the journal...those of us living thousands of miles away appreciate it.

good shot !

nice pixs,dave..

thailand is going to be failstate!!!

go youtube n seach for Maew Rap ,Thaksin Rap 2....

thanks for the heads up......i timed my trip to bkk perfectly....

From my experience the pictures that will be worth money will have to show blood, or very human interest related, like mothers with their kids at the front of the lines. If the shot of the reds handing the water to the police would have shown one of the police accepting a bottle, and shown him taking it, that might be worth money. Very human interest related. Reuters/submissions might be interested.

dear!! you could be a reporter..

Good work Dave.

Was that a chick in riot gear in one of your pics???

Total turn-on.

good photos.

those codpiece are way too big for Thai riot police.