THAILAND: Embedded with the Redshirts

By Saw Yan Naing

BANGKOK—As journalists wanting to enter the barricaded camp at Ratchaprasong, we joined the queue and were checked by Redshirt security guards.

This may be central Bangkok, but as soon as we were inside the barricade, we were in a different world. Hundreds of red-shirted people sat around—women, children, the elderly, monks—some chatting, some sleeping, some watching the news on TV.

We approached a woman who was lying on a bamboo mat with her infant and asked her for an interview. She agreed. She said she had been inside the Redshirt encampment since March 12.

“We don’t want to get killed,” she said. “But if the army shoots at us, we are prepared to die here for democracy.”

After just a few minutes, her husband appeared. When he heard his wife giving an interview he got angry. He slapped her in the face and pulled her away from us. He told us we should delete any photographs or video we had taken. Sensing a threat, we moved away.

Despite the violent interruption, we continued to interview Redshirt supporters.

Visit 'The Irrawaddy' for the full story.