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Twitter follows Thai protests

by mtippett | April 12, 2009 at 09:20 pm

568 views | 53 Recommendations | 3 comments

The situation in Thailand is becoming more violent.

While the government has declared a state of emergency, protesters controlled many streets in the capital Bangkok. They had earlier commandeered public buses and forced military vehicles to halt, in one case climbing on top of two armored personnel carriers, waving flags and shouting "Democracy."
A mob of the red-shirted protesters smashed cars carrying Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his aides on Sunday. The secretary-general of Abhisit's office, Niphon Promphan, was dragged from the car and beaten, suffering head injuries and broken ribs.

The red-shirted demonstrators are supporters of ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra who want new elections, saying Abhisit's four-month-old government took power illegitimately. They also accuse the country's elite — the military, judiciary and other unelected officials — of undermining democracy by interfering in politics.

The news is being reported in the mainstream media and also in social media. One of the trending topics on Twitter was 'red shirts'. Here is the live feed of tweets with this tag:

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mtippett

at 21:23 on April 12th, 2009

There are also some photos that are coming in.

mtippett

at 21:31 on April 12th, 2009

Some live video here.

gerrypopplestone

at 04:44 on April 13th, 2009

What's happening today in Bangkok has nothing to do with the Red Shirts at all! I toured the areas where they stay, this morning, next to Government House. Everything quiet after the day before. But today the streets are full and battle has commenced in all seriousness! The battle of fighting each other during Songkram (Thai New Year) with water pistols (and often buckets of water getting chucked over you (Ive had two buckets full while in a motorbike today!) and being plaistered in talcome powder! Much more fun and far less threatening to the future of the country!

While the Reds may be hogging the news, the rest of Thailand is going about its business - having fun during the New Year holidays.

OK: Pattaya was a complete disaster and the Army and Police Chiefs should be sacked for no proper planning, no strategy and no bottle! And it has put Abhisit in a very poor light.

But the rest of Thailand are pretty fed up with these stupid squabbles that go nowhere and do so much damage to the country!