Monk waits among tiny contingent
Despite heavy security around the Constitution Court for the announcement of the election fraud verdicts, only about 60 people turned up outside the compound to hear the much-awaited result.
The onlookers were completely outnumbered by 500 reporters and more than 1,000 policemen and soldiers guarding the courthouse in anticipation of a much larger crowd and possible disturbances. After the verdict sparing the Democrat Party and its executives was read out, only a handful of the people showed any jubilance, and their celebrations were generally muted. But a group of Thai Rak Thai supporters shouted angry words and criticised the judges, though they were left alone by the police despite being more demonstrative. There was one monk among the small gathering. Phra Preecha Kalayano, a secretary of Maha Chulalongkorn Rajavidyalaya Buddhist University's Faculty of Social Science, said he needed to hear the verdicts by himself, so that he could explain the issue clearly to people who wanted to talk with him. "I want to know the truth, not rumours," he said. "I believed no monk would dare to be here. I'm the only one here today." Reporters and photographers swarmed around Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva when he left the courthouse to head back to his party's headquarters, pushing and shoving to hear his words and take photographs of him. At Thai Rak Thai Party headquarters, around 100 supporters kept their disappointment in check, preferring instead to focus on speeches made by former party MPs and deputy spokesman Kuthep Saikrachang, who congratulated Thai Rak Thai's arch-rival on avoiding disbandment. Kuthep mixed barbs in with his solicitations, however, saying Thailand's oldest party had survived the scrutiny, "even though it has done little good for the country". He expressed hope Thai Rak Thai would also survive the ordeal, which "as a new party was more beneficial to the country". At the Democrat Party headquarters, around 300 supporters yelled and danced upon learning of the verdict. Inside and outside the building, party members shook hands and congratulated each other. At 6pm, or 15 minutes after the verdict was released, everyone in the party's compound sang a very loud rendition of the national anthem.
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