Pattaya-area activists regrouped to stage another pro-democracy protest Sunday but found little interest amid heavy rain and an economically battered populace.
The Pattaya People’s Group defied police orders to disband their gathering on Pattaya Beach opposite Royal Garden, shouting slogans and staging a sit in to rail against the military-backed government.
The demonstration, the second in two days, failed to attract even a couple of hundred people during the late afternoon rainstorm. It didn’t help that the city is mired in a depression-level economic downturn, leaving many struggling business owners unwilling to rock the boat any further.
Organizers had tried to rally Saturday afternoon at Bali Hai Pier before police chief Pol. Col. Khemarin Pitsamai announced via loudspeaker that the assembly was illegal as organizers had not applied for a permit.
Organizers simply picked up their protest and moved it to the beach in front of the Pattaya Police Station. As organizers sat while their application was debated and ultimately declined, as large group of people, fed by imports from as far as Chachoengsao rallied on the beach.
Sunday’s protest also did not have the required permit, but as it was small and peaceful, the protest was allowed to conclude and disperse on its own.
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