‘Watermelon’ Soldiers

Thousands of the red-shirted protesters stormed their satellite TV station Friday, overrunning an army barricade, to get their TV channel back on air a day after the government shut it down. In a bewildering scene, riot police and soldiers threw away their shields after the clashes and shook hands with the protesters. Observers tweeted that some Red Shirt protesters even showed reporters M-16 rifles and shotguns they had seized from the soldiers.

With the police and soldiers openly displaying sympathy for the protesters, more and more people have started to question whether Abhisit is actually getting any cooperation from the military. If not, who is actually calling the shots in Thai politics?

[...]

In recent weeks, however, the term “watermelon soldiers” has been used to describe troops who wear green uniforms, but are sympathetic to the Red Shirts.

- Extracted from NBC News, Whose side is the Thai military on?, available here.

h/t Saksith

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