Citizens protest with golf clubs, batons, bamboo sticks

BANGKOK, Thailand – Thousands of demonstrators – some armed with golf clubs, batons and bamboo sticks – defied a court order to end their occupation of the prime minister’s office compound on Thursday, vowing to remain until the country’s leaders resign.
Dozens of members of the People’s Alliance for Democracy clad in military fatigues wielded makeshift weapons as they stood guard around the perimeter of the compound, which the demonstrators have occupied since Tuesday.
As dusk approached, the crowd of several thousand began to swell slightly as some protesters returned after spending the day at their workplaces. They vowed to stay for as long as it takes to push Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej out of office.
“We can withstand any difficult conditions if we can topple Samak,” said Kitja Usaiphan, 43, a fisherman who has been camping at the site since Tuesday.
The alliance accuses Samak’s government of corruption and of serving as a proxy for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup and faces several corruption cases.