Iconic
Red-shirt demonstrators hold up a placard of ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin. In the background is a billboard with the King's image
The scene: A dinner party in a Bangkok penthouse, silverware clinking on fine China, various foams and reductions tickling cultured palates. An out-of-town guest turns to a Thai man and asks about the red-shirted protesters calling for the government's downfall. "Who supports the red shirts?" asks the foreigner, trying to understand the years-long standoff between the red shirts and the pro-government yellow shirts. "No one," replies the Thai, dismissively, sniffing a fine Bordeaux. Then, as an afterthought, he adds, "Well, except for the poor."
When the red shirts announced plans to stage...
