Word: pads
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...piece of blue tarp laid behind loops of razor wire and stacks of tires serves as the makeshift headquarters of the anti-government alliance that has thrown Thai politics into anarchy. Sitting cross-legged on the sheeting, Sondhi Limthongkul, the co-leader of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), explains why thousands of protesters have occupied Bangkok's Government House, Thailand's seat of power, for more than a week to call for the resignation of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej. "It's taken for granted in the West that democracy is the best system," says Sondhi, a media mogul...
...first, the mood at the besieged compound was celebratory, with the Alliance supplying plenty of free food and drinks - and even veteran rock stars coming to entertain the crowds. But early on Sept. 2, the atmosphere took a sudden turn when a deadly street battle erupted between the PAD and a counter-protest group that supports the embattled Prime Minister. Dozens were injured as mobs attacked each other with whatever weapons were on hand - bamboo sticks, guns, even the odd golf club. At least one protester lost his life in the melee. Later that day, Samak declared a state...
...military coup and now faces corruption charges. "We are ready to fight," vowed Jantana Klinchan, a sandwich vendor from central Thailand, as she swayed to a folk song calling for political change. "We are not scared to defend ourselves." That kind of brinksmanship may be just what the PAD wants. Its leaders decry the electoral system in Thailand, alleging that vote-buying in poor rural areas largely discredits any poll results. (Indeed, Samak's People Power Party is facing possible dissolution by the courts because of an electoral-fraud conviction of its former deputy leader.) "If democracy brings Samak, then...
...finding that alternative path - especially if it means prolonging the sit-in throwing Bangkok off balance - risks stoking more violence. And it's not clear who members of PAD, which is not a political party itself, want to lead the country after Samak. Although many of those barricaded at Government House support the opposition Democrat Party, their numbers lagged behind the PPP's in last year's polls. Even Sondhi isn't willing to name a single person whom he believes could successfully lead the country. "We know we have to change," he says, "but we don't know...
Nevertheless, PAD supporters say they will hold their ground until Samak is out. "The first thing is to get rid of the government," says Surapol Chinakulprasert, a 48-year-old second-hand goods trader clapping along as PAD leaders rallied their troops from a giant stage set up in the garden of Government House. "Then we can figure everything else...