http://www.lightstalkers.org/galleries/contact_sheet/19466 Thailand turmoil On August 25th, after several months of political turmoil, 30,000 protesters, led by the People's Alliance for Democracy, occupied Samak Sundaravej's Government House compound in central Bangkok, forcing him and his advisers to work out of a military command post. They asked Samak to resign as Prime Minister, as they accused him to be corrupted and his Govern to be a simple puppet in the hand of former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, now in esile in UK. Thousand of people, coming from every corner of the country, gathered together for joining the protest. PAD protesters initially consisted primarily of middle and upper-class residents of Bangkok. These included prominent socialites and some lesser members of the Thai Royal family. Nowadays the PAD's support base expanded to include civil servants, state enterprise labor unions, the urban middle-class, conservative Buddhist groups, and Southerners. The PAD has proposed constitutional amendments that would make 70% of Parliament a royally-appointed body, with elections accounting for only 30%. This is what they call “New Politic”. Government House and the area around it became an open air market during the months-long protest and seizure. A variety of stalls selling clothing, food, Buddhist amulets, a variety of second hand goods. These photographs describe the situation during the first weeks of the protest, giving a feeling for the atmosphere during this troubled event. http://www.lightstalkers.org en-us http://images.lightstalkers.org/avatars/7861/Foto_64_small.jpg http://www.lightstalkers.org/Gianfranco Tripodo <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/813975/001TRG200806H_0903_small.jpg' /><br />Bangkok, Thailand, 27/8/2008. Protesters led by PAD(People Alliance for Democracy) gathered in front of Governement House to ask dimission of Prime Minister.<br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/813975'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/813975 Thu, 05 Mar 2009 18:46:13 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/813975 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/813975/001TRG200806H_0903_small.jpg' /><br />Bangkok, Thailand, 27/8/2008. Protesters led by PAD(People Alliance for Democracy) gathered in front of Governement House to ask dimission of Prime Minister.<br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/813975'>view full-size image</a> Gianfranco Tripodo <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/814656/002TRG200806H_1004_small.jpg' /><br />Bangkok, Thailand, 27/8/2008. Protesters led by PAD(People Alliance for Democracy) gathered in front of Governement House to ask dimission of Prime Minister.<br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/814656'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/814656 Fri, 06 Mar 2009 12:40:44 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/814656 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/814656/002TRG200806H_1004_small.jpg' /><br />Bangkok, Thailand, 27/8/2008. Protesters led by PAD(People Alliance for Democracy) gathered in front of Governement House to ask dimission of Prime Minister.<br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/814656'>view full-size image</a> Gianfranco Tripodo <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/814659/003TRG200806H_1248_small.jpg' /><br />Bangkok, Thailand, 27/8/2008. Protesters led by PAD(People Alliance for Democracy) gathered in front of Governement House to ask dimission of Prime Minister.<br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/814659'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/814659 Fri, 06 Mar 2009 12:41:36 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/814659 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/814659/003TRG200806H_1248_small.jpg' /><br />Bangkok, Thailand, 27/8/2008. Protesters led by PAD(People Alliance for Democracy) gathered in front of Governement House to ask dimission of Prime Minister.<br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/814659'>view full-size image</a> Gianfranco Tripodo