By Newley Purnell
BANGKOK--Protesters and troops squared off at a McDonald's
restaurant in central Bangkok on Sunday, the latest in a series of
sporadic protests against the Thai army's takeover of the country
Thursday.
Dozens of soldiers ringed the establishment at approximately 10
a.m. local time, apparently to detain an activist with the populist
pro-democracy Red Shirt group who announced via his Facebook page
that he would appear at the location around that time, daring
authorities to apprehend him. (Click here to read more about the
latest developments in Thailand.)
The activist, Sombat Boonngamanong, wasn't present. But after a
short while, a man wearing a red shirt sat down on the steps in
front of the restaurant in defiance, holding his hands in the air,
with both hands forming victory signs.
Soon troops gathered him up and dragged him off. Fellow
protesters resisted, resulting in a shoving match. Shortly after,
more scuffles broke out between the growing crowd of demonstrators
at other locations nearby, including the Gaysorn shopping mall
where luxury brands including Louis Vuitton have outlets.
Protesters berated the camouflage-clad soldiers, yelling at them
to "get out." Some demonstrators held signs that said, among other
things, "We want democracy" and "Stop!! No coup."
In a play on the tourist slogan "Thailand: Land of Smiles", one
placard read "Land of Slime."
One woman, wearing dark sunglasses and black tape over her
mouth, held up a sign that said "Long Live the People."
"We came here to show that we want a democracy," said Orr
Samart, a 40-year-old garment industry worker from Bangkok who was
holding a sign that said "Why coup?"
The soldiers "just want to keep the power" for themselves, Ms.
Orr said, noting that she came because she saw a message on
Facebook encouraging protesters to rally at the McDonald's at
noon.
Thai army chief Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha seized power in the
country's 12th successful coup d'état, saying that the move was
necessary to restore order after months of large and sometimes
violent pro and antigovernment protests. Since then, nearly 200
people have been instructed to report to the armed forces for
questions, including two former prime ministers.
Write to Newley Purnell at newley.purnell@wsj.com
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