About 1,000 people demonstrated in the heart of Bangkok yesterday to express their opposition to US President George W Bush and the Apec summit.
Today is a day of victory for the people who stood fast to their right to protest despite threats and harassment from the government, said Ji Ungphakorn, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University and a leader of the demonstration.
Ji said the people must scrutinise any military and economic bilateral agreements between Thailand and the United States.
Prime Minister Thaksin [Shinawatra] wanted Thai people to behave like smiling children who are retarded and welcome those who pose danger to the world, Ji said, referring to the US president.
Demonstrators participating in the morning march from Chulalongkorn University to Siam Square included farmers, workers, environmentalists, Aids activists, students and artists. They called Bush, who arrived here on Saturday, a war criminal, blaming him for the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan and shouted Bush Go Home! repeatedly.
Seven senators were present to observe the march and make sure authorities did not resort to violence.
The protest was peaceful, but farmers' leader Veeraphon Sopha said that 400 farmers who wanted to join the protest could not reach Bangkok because the bus operators who they hired were threatened by authorities that their licenses could be confiscated if they drove them to Bangkok.
Some of the protest banners read: Bush: The Killer is Coming To Town; George Bush: The Real Terrorist: and Thaksin Broadly Welcome Apec Evil.
When asked what the meeting had to do with the poor, Veeraphon said any trade agreement would inevitably affect farmers and ordinary people.
Associate Professor Chantana Banpasirichote, a Chulalongkorn University sociologist who also joined the protest, said that she and others were sending a message happening around the world that military force should not be used in the name of peace.
As for Apec, it's being manipulated by a big power as a tool against terrorism, said Chantana, adding that she feared the issue of regional security would be narrowly defined through the military perspective alone and not others like food or health security.
Senator Chermsak Pinthong, one of the observers at the protest, was upset about the governments mentality in the temporary cleaning of Bangkok and sending many police officers to oversee the protest.
Do you think [foreigners] don't know that we have disagreements in our society? Do you think they dont know that Bangkok has notorious traffic jams, poor people or feral dogs?
The protesters also set up their own Apec monitoring group to criticise and evaluate output of the meetings day by day. They are holding hold daily press conferences at the Thai Volunteer Service Foundation.
Meanwhile, an unidentified person sprayed graffiti on a concrete poll at the National Stadium Skytrain station adjacent to Maboonkrong shopping centre that read: F ... k Bush.
In the US, a group of Thai students and media yesterday circulated an open letter via email urging Prime Minister Thaksin not to ban any protests against the Apec summit. The email also demanded the prime minister consult with the people before signing any agreement on military collaboration with the US.