Counting demonstrators
Vagabond
anti-Thaksin demonstrators there and the spirit was high.
But it was interesting to read in the Internet edtion of The Nation
that 50 000 people attended the event. I didn't see 50 000 people. Do
they have any idea how many that is? Only the largest sports arenas can
take 50 000 people. It is a HUGE mass of people. They can't fit under
the Siam Skytrain station like this crowd for the most part did.
My guess is that there were maybe five thousand people, possibly as
high as ten thousand if you count people standing along the route and
demonstrations coming in from the sides. This is pretty impressive on a
workday anyway.
VB
Sandy Cruden
This is pretty impressive on a workday anyway.
Crowd numbers are very difficult to estimate and of course the Sonthi
faction will claim a wildly exaggerated number, whilst the PM's people
will claim that a much smaller crowd was there.
A lot of people appear to be taking time off work at present, Huay
Khwaang subway carpark was full at 11.30 and I had to drive to the
Laard Praaw parking station, it was almost full and I had to park on
the very top (9th) floor, on a normal day you can get a spot on the 5th
or 6th floor. IT Mall at Fortune Town was very busy yesterday
afternoon, it looked more like a Saturday or Sunday crowd. The subway
was very busy during the day as well, many people carrying bags of food
and drinks and umbrellas apparently going into town to join the
protests. Most buses were packed and I noticed quite a few with cloth
banners tied to the sides I wonder who authorised that? There is still
almost a holiday atmosphere in the city.
Through the night we had thunder, It's overcast and just starting to
rain outside, a good downpour might dampen the protester's spirits.
Sandy
Huay Khwaang
Vagabond
>Most buses were packed and I noticed quite a few with cloth
>banners tied to the sides I wonder who authorised that?
I saw that too. The bus company MRTA is controlled by Bangkok city
which is controlled by the Democrat Party?
One bus had the yellow banner halfway torn off, maybe a pro-Thaksin
person had tried to remove it.
VB
Sandy Cruden
perhaps it depends on the political persuasion of the driver which
banner he ties on his bus :-)
Sandy
Huay Khwaang
....lobert....
sanitary PAD are giving way, Sondhi, Chamlong and Lunag Ta Mahabua knew
they cannot last long and have not received support from the people.
Tchiowa
Sandy Cruden wrote:
> VB wrote:
> This is pretty impressive on a workday anyway.
> ****************************************
>
> Crowd numbers are very difficult to estimate and of course the Sonthi
> faction will claim a wildly exaggerated number, whilst the PM's people
> will claim that a much smaller crowd was there.
And, sadly, the press is talking sides and using the wildly exagerated
number. I took some pictures while they were on Sukhumvit headed toward
Siam Paragon. I counted a small section of them then "guesstimated"
based on that. There couldn't have been more than about 5,000 in that
group.
If you ever get to a football game where there are 40 or 50,000 people
in attendance look around. Not only do you see a mass of people like
you do at the demonstrations, but as you look around they seem to go on
forever. 100,000 people is a huge number of people and I think that the
BKK Post is wildly overestimating the crowd size.
Sandy Cruden
100,000 people is a huge number of people and I think that the
BKK Post is wildly overestimating the crowd size.
I've been in crowds of close to 100,000 in Melbourne and in London a
few years back, yes that is a vast number of people.
Sandy
Huay Khwaang
My Hobby
"Vagabond" <retor...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1143658989.5...@e56g2000cwe.googlegroups.com...
Siam to the Emporium? It looked like the crowd strethced all the way between
Siam and Emporium and filled the street. If so, that was an impressive
number.
Vagabond
>Siam to the Emporium?
This demo was less than that.
VB