-- Today, (17th.), a'noon. I walked along Rama IV. rd. to HUA LAMPHONG rly. stn., ('buses. & other rd. tfc. running normally; people walking on the pavements; shops OPEN and so on and so forth.), to see if the BOOKAZINE there had any copies of the WE. Fin. Times? 'All sold-out.', I was told.
- Passing-by the spot where y'day. there had been a gathering of people I saw a smaller gathering there today - no-one appeared to be doing anything extra-ordinary, people just standing-around and just doing nothing in particular.
- However, on the way back - I left HLP. at approx. 17.15.hrs. - the IN-bound carriageway was blocked at the tee-junc. with Banthat Tong rd., (HLP. is 700m. away and WAT HLP. is 950m. away.), by a makeshift barricade manned by maybe a score or so of men who were not dressed in any particular uniform - mainly working clothes. A motley crowd of local & mainly working people of all sexes was gathered around listening and nodding in apparent approval to some male speaker, dressed in a purple tee-shirt, who was shouting himself hoarse with emotions. On one side of the truck were the flg. messages, (in English!),:
PLEASE STOP KILLING.
ARMY! STOP MASSACRE; BACK TO YOUR REGIMENT NOW..
- Some half-a-dozen police were observing the scene discreetly in soi Chula 5.; enquiries in my basic Thai, and pointing towards the men at the barrier: "Kohn, seu-uh chuht daeng?' elicited a POSITIVE nod from one of the policeman.
-- I walked-back, passed-by the DUSIT THANI I'sect., (all quiet from the red shirts' encampment.),. Apart from the mil'y. & the police, who were looking as comfortable as one can in such circumstances, about the only others on Si Lom rd. were members of the Fourth Estate. Passing-by the front line at P. Pong 1. stopped to watch some young, pleasant & Ch.-looking media-person, dressed in helmet & black flak.-jkt., giving a report, (a pix. of himself on a small monitor.), wch. he interupted to ask me if I wasn't scarey? "No.". 'Why not?'. "Well, you're a young man with yr. life ahead of you, but I'm an olde man and thus have fewer worries.". After wch., and shaking his head, he ret'd. to giving his report.
-- Back in Soi Than Tawan PRIME MASSAGE did not appear to be OPEN. MANGO TREE was OPEN, RAMENTAI and COCA were CLOSED, several JP.-style girlie bars were OPEN, as was INDRA MASSAGE, wch. had one customer. On the corner both the pharmacy and the 7/11. were CLOSED.
|