People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) protesters seeking to unseat caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra are now gathered in central Bangkok’s Lumpini Park. There they sleep in tents in makeshift campsites on lawns, next to running tracks, boating lakes and under big trees.
A People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) protester takes a nap beside her tent, one of many inside Lumpini Park. The PDRC closed down several rally sites at the weekend as protesters moved to the park where better security can be provided. Patipat Janthong
The PDRC protesters moved from several protest sites across the capital to Lumpini Park on Monday after PDRC secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban announced an end to the “Bangkok shutdown” campaign last Friday. He called on his supporters to gather at the park and set up a so-called “Suan Lum village” and continue to keep fighting for the end of the caretaker government and the prime minister.
The Bangkok Post had a look round the Suan Lum village and found that it was divided into seven communities grouped according to which former rally site the protesters had camped out at. Each community is overseen by the PDRC leader who ran the respective former rally site.
For example, Issara Somchai who took care of the PDRC’s rally stage at Lat Phrao intersection is now in charge of the Lat Phrao community in Lumpini’s Suan Lum village.
Each community has its own guards to provide security.
Many protesters yesterday began registering with the PDRC’s administration team to obtain their own PDRC identity cards to make it harder for opponents to infiltrate the village.
“It’s like putting everyone in school camp. So we can manage them and they can take care of themselves more easily,” said PDRC spokesperson Akanat Promphan.
Some communities appear to be competing with each other in a contest to see which community is the most habitable.
They group their tents together and use plastic cords to create boundaries and also to dry clothes.
Some communal tables can be seen in the middle of an open area where people can gather for morning coffee, play chess, watch television or read a newspaper.
Outdoor barbers, massage booths and fried chicken kiosks are scattered among some communities.
Everything is offered free of charge. But if people want to pay, proceeds go into the donation box for the PDRC’s communal kitchens.
Thanyaporn Petprapan, 54, and Sakorn Homchuen, 58, both from Nakhon Si Thammarat, met up at Lumpini Park and have become good friends.
Both are camping in what is called the Victory Monument community.
“She [Ms Thanyaporn] came here just before I did. So she showed me the ropes as it were,” said Ms Sakorn. “Food, water, even underwear are free here. You just need someone to tell you where to get them.”
“Staying here is just like living in a small village. We teach and watch out for each other so strangers are easily identified,” Ms Thanyaporn said.
She said most of the protesters staying at the camp are low to middle-income earners.
Occasionally, there are water shortages, Ms Thanyaporn said.
Some nights protesters complain about having to sleep in hot conditions. But they are still happy. They have found new friends and families with similar views. They all want reform to make Thailand a better place.
Some protesters say Suan Lum village has given them a greater sense of security than living in their own homes.
A Chiang Rai resident who identified herself as Nida, 49, said she bought a house many years ago that has now become part of a red-shirt village.
During one discussion with neighbours about politics, she suggested that people should listen to arguments from all sides rather than just believing in what they are told by the party they support.
Soon after people started shooting at her home and stones were thrown through her windows. She said she is now hoping to move south.
“Perhaps I don’t need to search for a new house for a while,” she laughed. “I am no longer afraid of bullets. Suan Lum is my safe haven.”
PDRC leaders say they are very concerned about safety at Suan Lum village.
Protest co-leader Thaworn Senniam said more than 300 PDRC guards are currently undergoing a one-week training course.
He said he expects about 2,000 PDRC guards to eventually complete the training and become professional security guards.