Massive Red March takes over the Streets of Bangkok

The red shirts took over Bangkok again this weekend, this time in the form of a Red March, a massive convoy of trucks, motorcycles and even a go-kart or two seeping through the streets of Bangkok. I registered myself in the press tent and then walked the streets taking photos as the convoy was preparing to leave. When a random man swathed in red asked me to hop on his bike for the ride, I didn’t hesitate. As the convoy wound its way through the streets, the support from the sidelines was staggering – at large intersections, thousands of people cheered on the reds when they passed. Despite being enormous, the march was well organized – Red Guards directed traffic and free food and water was on offer throughout the day. From atop buildings, workers stuffed red flags through the windows and cheered from the roof. Several police officers carried roses and boasted huge smiles, some even high-fiving me as I passed.

Though I had a press scarf around my neck and no amount of red on my person, the red shirts and their supporters were obviously extremely excited to have a Farang in their midst. My driver, quiet for the beginning of our time together, quickly realized his position as a minor celebrity, and started driving up to huge groups on the sidelines and pointing back at me yelling ‘Farang!’ and eveyone on the sidewalk would scream and grab my hand. This happened hundreds of times during the day, usually while some others were trying to tie bits of red to my bag or my arm (which I quickly removed!). For all the photos I took of the protesters and the supporters cheering them on, there are also many of me, camera in hand, on the back of a motorbike in a sea of red.

I’ve excerpted some pictures below, but you can check out all of my pictures from the day here. Also see my prior Red Shirts post on the mass protests outside of the Red March.

Red Guards awaiting instructions prior to the Red March’s launch; Waiting in the trucks to leave the main stage area.


Me and my driver, stopping for food; Thousands of motorcycles leading the Red the March, rounding toward Ratchadapisek.

Packed tightly into flatbed trucks; Giving the peace sign under a watchful eye.

Cheering on at the side of the street; Policeman to the side as the supporters showed their enthusiasm.

Taking a food break; Many of the trucks had loudspeakers broadcasting speeches, music or cheers.


Red stretching into the distance; All smiles atop the main campaign truck.

Up close and personal with the police; more motorcycles (from the front this time).

As of today, there is another march planned for this Saturday. This afternoon, an M79 grenade was shot into the Ministry for Public Health, though no one has been arrested. Several photographers and writers have reported the erection of concrete roadblocks with razor wire in the Dusit area and around parliament, adding a new level of security to this week’s activities. In this giant game of chicken, it’s unclear what will happen next – hopefully things stay as relatively peaceful as they have been thus far.

Some further reading:

- As I said in my prior Red Shirts post, this week’s The Economist was not distributed in Thailand, as it contains an article that is quite critical of both the current government and also discusses the King’s role the parliamentary process. Please do head over and read it yourself.

- Entitled “Will a King’s Death Kill Thailand’s Democracy?” this LA Times op-ed certainly breaks some taboos here in Thailand. However, like the Economist article it asks some important questionns that are customarily excluded from the public discourse.

- The Christian Science Monitor has posted an article by Simon Montlake about the media bias here in Thailand and the unfortunate inability to get an honest picture of what is going on – regardless of your political sympathies.

- The Nation published an article about the significance of the Red March entitled “Witness the Death of Deference”.

- The Asia Times Online’s “A Royalist Speaks in Thailand” features excerpts from an interview with Former prime minister and palace insider Anand Panyarachun.

- Nick’s photo set on The New Mandala entitled Bangkok or Bust, Part 1 is extremely interesting and has inspired a serious amount of disturbing vitriol in the comments. Say what you will about political leanings, there’s no real excuse for being as rude as some of the comments are.

UPDATE: On March 28, there was a historic meeting between the Red Shirt leaders and the Prime Minister, which ended in a stalemate and further talks are scheduled for today. However, each side had to elucidate their respective points and perspectives and Bangkok Pundit’s summary is thus an important read.

That is it for the moment. More to come in the next few days,.
-Jodi