(Guardian) Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters are occupying parts of central Bangkok, meeting no resistance from the authorities.
Police and soldiers maintained a low profile as the "shutdown Bangkok" drive got under way in Thailand's capital. The mood was festive, with many protesters singing and dancing in the streets.
Led by former deputy premier Suthep Thaugsuban, thousands of protesters have set up permanent barricades and encampments at seven sites across the city. Major intersections that normally teem with cars and trucks are blockaded, but city trains and river ferries have been operating, most shops are open and motorbikes have plied the roads freely.
"Don't ask me how long this occupation will last," Thaugsuban said in a speech to supporters carried by the movement's BlueSky television channel. "We will not stop until we win."
Suthep – a career politician who has led the People's Democratic Reform Committee against Yingluck Shinawatra's government for the past two months in a bid to rid the country of corruption - has threatened to shut down Bangkok for up to 20 days in order to replace Yingluck's caretaker government with an unelected people's council.
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