this reason that when the red shirts started their 'red march' as the local papers called it, I was happy. There were talks before of a violent uprising in the run up to Thaksin Shinawatra's financial court case on 26th February, but instead the UDD decided to launch a peaceful protest a couple of weeks later, aimed at forcing the government to dissolve parliament and hold a general election. Although I did not, and still do not, know enough to fully support the red shirts, I supported their willingness to openly voice an opinion peacefully, and to speak out and oppose the government without being phased by the Thai cultu