Quick note — I’ve been out and about all day reporting on the red shirt protests here in Bangkok. It’s difficult to update Newley.com remotely, but I’ve been posting snippets of text and a few images on Twitter. Follow me here.
More soon…
Category: Misc.
In addition to the images of the red shirt protests I posted yesterday, I wanted to share a couple of mobile phone videos I shot. ((Gadget-related aside: Yes, I took these with my trusty Nokia E71. Its keypad may be too small, but its multimedia capabilities and web browsing are decent.))
These videos are far from masterful, technically speaking, but I wanted to give you a sense of what the demonstrations look and sound like.
Please note that both of these videos were shot yesterday — Sat., March 13, 2010. (The protests are still continuing, and I don’t want there to be any confusion about when I recorded these.)
Here’s a 360-degree look at the red shirts gathered around the main stage area around 6:30 p.m. yesterday. (Direct link to the video is here, and it’s embedded below.)
And here’s a look at pedestrians cheering red shirt protesters near Victory Monument yesterday. (Direct link to the video is here, and it’s embedded below.)
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Images from today’s red shirt protests
Here are some images from today’s red shirt protests. I snapped these at Victory Monument and at Rajadamnoen Rd. See my tweets for context.
You can find more pics in my complete Flickr set.
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Red shirt protests in Bangkok: day one
Thailand’s anti-government red shirt protesters began gathering here in Bangkok today. All in all, it was a surprisingly quiet day.
The demonstrations, as we know, are expected to culminate with — red shirts say — a protest comprising one million participants on Sun., March 14. Many observers, however, doubt that the reds will be able to muster such a large showing.
Many people here in Bangkok expected the day to be chaotic. Businesses closed early. Schools cancelled classes. And while there were small demonstrations in some parts of city, it was largely a day like any other in central Bangkok.
But more and more demonstrators are expected to begin arriving in Bangkok tomorrow (Sat. the 13th).
This Bangkok Post story summarizes the day’s events. And the Nation has some images here. For some analysis, there’s this story from Reuters. And here’s some context from AP. Meanwhile, Global Voices has this extensive post with background info and links to several online resources.
Stay tuned…
(Image source: Bangkok Post.)
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Red shirt protests start tomorrow
Quick note — this NYT story does a good job of surveying the scene ahead of the upcoming red shirt protests, which are due to start tomorrow (Fri. the 12th) here in Bangkok.
I will, as ever, be blogging here and posting snippets on Twitter. If you see any good articles or have any first hand accounts to share, let me know: newley AT gmail.com
Stay tuned…
I have devoted numerous posts to Thailand’s ongoing political instability of late, often linking to various media reports. But I realized that I have neglected, in recent months, to point to some of my own stories. So here’s a re-cap:
In addition to filing pieces about breaking news in Thailand for ABC News Radio in New York, ((I’ll try to give you a heads up next time a story is due to run. I’ll most likely mention it quickly on Twitter.)) I am now covering business and economics issues in the region for BNA, in Washington, DC.
I cannot link to my BNA stories here since they’re subscriber-only, but some recent topics I have covered include:
- Thailand’s Map Ta Phut industrial estate issue ((Hence my interest and subsequent posts on the topic here at Newley.com))
- Labor issues and economic governance in Vietnam
- Asia’s economic recovery
- How exporting firms in Thailand are using the country’s various free trade agreements
I also recent wrote a recent story for AFP about Thai rice farmers and free trade. You can see the piece on the Jakarta Globe site here. It ran on March 7.
And, finally, I have written a number of fun travel/lifestyle stories for CNNGo.com of late. Here are a few:
- Attention dogs: How to live the good life in Bangkok
- 3 work-friendly Bangkok office escapes
- Q&A with Bangkok 8 author John Burdett
- The Siam Sunray: Chasing down Thailand’s ’signature’ cocktail ((You’ll recall that I blogged about the Siam Sunray here a while back.))
Bangkok Post: “Govt lowers security net“:
The cabinet is due today to endorse the invoking of the Internal Security Act to cover all of Bangkok ahead of the red shirt rally this weekend.
Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, in charge of national security, yesterday said the security monitoring committee would forward its recommendation to invoke the law to today’s meeting of the cabinet.
The law, which makes the armed forces the lead agency in maintaining law and order, has been proposed from Thursday until March 23 because of fears the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship’s protest could extend beyond Sunday.
The committee is also proposing that all districts in Nonthaburi and 22 other districts in Ayutthaya, Chachoengsao, Nakhon Pathom, Pathum Thani, Samut Prakan and Samut Sakhon also be covered by the act, an army source said.
Those areas were considered major routes or key gathering places for members of the UDD. A final decision on where the act would be put in force apart from Bangkok would rest with the cabinet today, the source said.
Supporters of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra are due to begin flooding into Bangkok on Friday.
The demonstration in the capital is set for Sunday at Sanam Luang and Ratchadamnoen Avenue to ratchet up pressure on the government to quit or dissolve the House to set the stage for a general election.
The UDD says it will be able to gather one million protesters, but the committee chaired by Mr Suthep expected only a six-figure turnout.
And there’s more on the ISA from Reuters: “Thailand to Impose Security Law For Rally“:
The Thai government plans to invoke a tough security law, giving the armed forces broad powers to control a rally in Bangkok by supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a minister said on Monday.
The Internal Security Act (ISA) allows the country’s top security agency, the Internal Security Operations Command, to impose curfews, operate checkpoints and restrict the movement of demonstrators if protests by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) turn violent.
“Based on information we have received, there are many groups of protesters and some may attempt to use violent means,” Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said following a meeting with top security officials, adding that violent acts may include bombings and seizure of government offices.
The ISA, to be formally invoked after a weekly cabinet meeting on Tuesday, would be imposed from March 11 to March 23 in Bangkok and surrounding areas, where anti-government protesters plan to rally to press for new elections.
Following the decision to use the ISA, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva cancelled his planned March 13-17 visit to Australia, a spokesman said, without elaborating.
Thaksin’s red-shirted supporters plan to kick off their rallies in the provinces on March 12 before moving to Bangkok on March 14, merging in the historic heart of the capital.
And there’s also this, from AFP: “Thailand to jail migrants at political rallies — minister“:
Thailand will imprison and hand out heavy fines to any migrant workers who attend mass anti-government rallies in Bangkok this weekend, the labour minister said today.
Migrants would be subject to a five-year jail term and fines of up to 100,000 baht ($3358) if found among protesters loyal to fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra who are due to gather in the capital on Sunday.
“Employers will (also) be fined up to 100,000 baht for each migrant worker and (the migrant’s) work permit will be cancelled immediately,” Labour Minister Phaitoon Kaeothong said.
(Emphasis mine.)
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WSJ on Map Ta Phut
Today’s WSJ has a good piece about the Map Ta Phut industrial estate case. The article looks at not just the economic impact of the stalemate, but of growing environmental awareness in the region.
Give it a read, as this is a very important — and under-reported — story here in Thailand.
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What I’ve been reading
Eight links that have caught my eye of late:
- “Bangkok Under Fire on Immigration Policy” — WSJ
- “Why Thailand still uses discredited bomb detectors” — CSM
- “FACTBOX — Key political risks to watch in Thailand” — Reuters
- “The Mekong: A River And A Region Transformed” — NPR special series
- “Typos may earn Google $500m a year” — New Scientist
- “Dolly, Rejection and Radiohead Journalism” — Wired.com
- “Booking a Flight the Frugal Way” — NYT‘s Frugal Traveler
- The Vintage Mac Museum — Motohiko Narita
Thailand’s Supreme Court ruled a few hours ago that Thaksin must surrender $1.4 of $2.3 billion in frozen assets.
Here’s an NYT story with the details:
The Supreme Court on Friday confiscated $1.4 billion in frozen assets from the fugitive former prime minister, Thaksin Sinawatra, after finding him guilty of illegally concealing his ownership of a family company and abusing his power to benefit companies he owned.
But it softened the blow by allowing him to keep the remainder of his $2.3 billion fortune, saying that “to seize all the money would be unfair because some of it was made before Thaksin became prime minister.”
I spent several hours at the court house today. Here are some images. As you’ll see, there were dozens of police, crowds of TV crews and photographers, and not many red shirt protesters (though many of them gathered elsewhere).
(Update: Welcome, BP readers. For more posts about Thailand, be sure to subscribe to the Newley.com RSS feed and follow me on Twitter.)