http://www.lightstalkers.org/galleries/contact_sheet/27389 BANGKOK, Thailand: 24 June 2007. A spirited but peaceful crowd turned out in modest numbers to protest military-led rule in Thailand. The protesters, led by supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra — who was ousted in a bloodless coup last September, marched from Sanam Luang, past the Democracy Monument to Army Headquarters where they were met by members of the police and security forces. In the previous days, rumours had been circulating that the protesters were going to seize the Army Headquarters which houses the military Council for National Security (CNS) but low numbers and a late afternoon thunderstorm resulted in the protest being called off well before the 11pm cut off imposed by the Government. Democracy advocates, anti-poverty campaigners, and even Buddhist monks have staged protests against the government in recent months. However, with most of Thaksin’s power-base outside of Bangkok and with little support from the middle class, the protests have not matched the scale or intensity of the anti-Thaksin protests which occurred in the lead up to the military coup in September 2006. A powerful anti-corruption team set up by the military recommended in May that he and his wife Pojaman face charges over a controversial land purchase and authorities have frozen 1.5 billion dollars in assets belonging to Thaksin and his family. Last month, the military-appointed Constitutional Tribunal dissolved his Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party and barred Thaksin from politics for five years due to election law violations. The military has used the legal moves as justification for the coup, which they said was necessary to weed out corruption under Thaksin's government. The new government has promised to hold elections by the end of the year, but the disbanding of Thaksin's TRT means most of the party's top members cannot run. http://www.lightstalkers.org en-us http://images.lightstalkers.org/avatars/33460/jules_small.jpg http://www.lightstalkers.org/julian tennant <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1115299/Thai_protest_1_small.jpg' /><br />BANGKOK, Thailand: 24 June 2007. <br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115299'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115299 Sat, 25 Sep 2010 00:41:02 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115299 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1115299/Thai_protest_1_small.jpg' /><br />BANGKOK, Thailand: 24 June 2007. <br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115299'>view full-size image</a> julian tennant <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1115296/Thai_protest_2_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115296'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115296 Sat, 25 Sep 2010 00:41:22 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115296 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1115296/Thai_protest_2_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115296'>view full-size image</a> julian tennant <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1115302/Thai_protest_3_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115302'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115302 Sat, 25 Sep 2010 00:41:45 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115302 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1115302/Thai_protest_3_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115302'>view full-size image</a> julian tennant <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1115305/Thai_protest_4_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115305'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115305 Sat, 25 Sep 2010 00:42:13 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115305 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1115305/Thai_protest_4_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115305'>view full-size image</a> julian tennant <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1115308/Thai_protest_5_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115308'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115308 Sat, 25 Sep 2010 00:42:35 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115308 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1115308/Thai_protest_5_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115308'>view full-size image</a> julian tennant <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1115311/Thai_protest_6_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115311'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115311 Sat, 25 Sep 2010 00:42:47 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115311 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1115311/Thai_protest_6_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115311'>view full-size image</a> julian tennant <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1115314/Thai_protest_7_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115314'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115314 Sat, 25 Sep 2010 00:42:59 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115314 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1115314/Thai_protest_7_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115314'>view full-size image</a> julian tennant <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1115317/Thai_protest_8_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115317'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115317 Sat, 25 Sep 2010 00:43:11 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115317 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1115317/Thai_protest_8_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115317'>view full-size image</a> julian tennant <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1115320/Thai_protest_9_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115320'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115320 Sat, 25 Sep 2010 00:43:23 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115320 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1115320/Thai_protest_9_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115320'>view full-size image</a> julian tennant <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1115323/Thai_protest_10_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115323'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115323 Sat, 25 Sep 2010 00:43:33 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115323 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1115323/Thai_protest_10_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115323'>view full-size image</a> julian tennant <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1115326/Thai_protest_11_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115326'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115326 Sat, 25 Sep 2010 00:43:46 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115326 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/1115326/Thai_protest_11_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/1115326'>view full-size image</a> julian tennant