I’m here in Bangkok helping out with our coverage following Thursday’s military coup. Here’s our main story as of Sunday early evening local time:
Pop-up protests are spreading around Thailand’s capital in a growing show of dissent against the latest in a long line of military juntas here.
The rallies, lasting an hour or two at a time, aren’t what the generals had in mind when they staged the 12th successful coup d’état in Thailand’s modern history Thursday. Troops seized one pro-democracy leader at a protest site in western Bangkok that day, firing shots in the air to disperse the crowds. Elsewhere in the city, soldiers detained four leaders of populist Red Shirts movement as the coup unfolded and later held two former prime ministers.
Separately, I penned a story yesterday about how social media is flourishing here despite warnings from the army:
In the early days of Thailand’s first coup in the smartphone age, social-media outlets appear to be ignoring warnings not to allow criticism of the military—and users aren’t holding back.
Meanwhile, my advice for following the news remains the same: Keep an eye on our home page and live stream. And check out my Twitter list of Bangkok journalists.
In addition, I’ve been Tweeting text and images, as ever, at @Newley.
