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Published on July 27, 2007

Although officials were not sure about the reason for the protest, many recalled an incident last year when a crowd of farmers sealed off headquarters to demand debt amnesty. BOT staff couldn't get in or out to lunch.

Therefore, when rumours swirled about another mob of farmers approaching, bank workers started packing their stuff, ready to go home.

They had reason to be leery. As recently as last week, no more than 10 protesters from the anti-coup White Pigeon Group arrived to demand that BOT Governor Tarisa Watanagase quit, saying she must be held responsible for failing to keep her promise that the baht would not rise above 36 to the US dollar.

Such a claim was rebutted by reporters on the BOT beat, who told the protesters they had never heard Tarisa make such a promise.

Returning to the scene yesterday as the officials were fleeing the bank, our reporter decided to find out why the protesters were on the march.

She found a few farmers who had come ahead of

the rest to survey the site. Even though she was a bit scared about possible violence, she took a deep breath and walked up to the protesters, asking why they were there.

To her surprise, they greeted her with friendly smiles. One of them told her they came in peace. Yes, they had come to ask for debt amnesty but weren't targeting the central bank.

They had walked all the way from Government House to the Agriculture Ministry to make their voices heard. But then in the afternoon, the sky darkened with rain clouds, and the protesters began thinking about moving to a sheltered area.

"We're just here to seek shelter," said one farmer, pointing to the bridge in front of the BOT where protesters can stay overnight during rainy weather.

At that moment, the reporter wanted to tell the governor the protesters meant no harm, but she missed her chance. Tarisa had gone home. Eventually, the rest of the farmers decided not to move to the BOT after all, because the more elderly among them didn't care to walk that far.

Lesson learned from the incident: protesters come for many different reasons, even mundane ones.

jeerawat@nationgroup.com