If your protest doesn’t make front page headlines, is it still a protest?

What the Yellow Shirts had labeled just one week ago as a “major march” turned out to be 2,000 people gathering for a walk from their protest site to the Rama V statue to swear an oath of patriotism. Their walk violated the Internal Security Act, but police didn’t stop them. The police presence was significant- 13 companies of officers.

Coverage of the Yellow Shirts walk yesterday was not front page headlines in today’s paper. Thankfully the Bangkok Post devoted the front page to real news: Egypt, The Thailand/Cambodia fighting with the last article on the front page with a header of Politics and discussing Charter change bills that were voted on yesterday.

Yesterday’s protest and the media coverage of it felt very similar to protests in the USA: some people in the streets, a bit of noise, but nothing newsworthy.