Thailand Martial Law: Thais Unfazed By Military Presence

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BANGKOK (AFP) – Some snatched selfies with armed soldiers but most passers-by barely blinked as troops and jeeps mounted with machine-guns took to Bangkok’s streets early on Tuesday, a peculiarly pragmatic Thai response to political upheaval.

Traffic-halting marches, sandbagged bunkers and sporadic violence have become commonplace in a struggle lasting almost seven months to overthrow the government, leaving the majority of Bangkok residents broadly inured to the turmoil.

Three soldiers wearing flak jackets and carrying machine guns stood by a military jeep at one downtown intersection early on Tuesday, politely posing for photographs with commuters as news spread of the military’s declaration of martial law.

A smattering of bemused tourists peered at the troops at the Ratchaprasong junction, a major shopping district which includes high-end hotels. It is also a highly symbolic site after a military crackdown on a “Red Shirt” protest in 2010 left scores dead there. Monday was the fourth anniversary of the crackdown.

via Thailand martial law: Thais unfazed by military presence.

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