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http://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2014/jun/03/mockingjay-movement-thai-protests-meet-the-hunger-games-in-pictures

Could this mark a new era of peaceful protests?
The Mockingjay symbol is distinct in that it's a silent, unprovocative show of dissent.
Surely putting it down would be a terrible PR exercise on the part of the government

This will not have any effect on the army. They have no intention of holding democratic elections in the near future (which will definitely see Yingluck returning to power). And most of the general population is also indifferent to this, as the security situation has improved dramatically.

I agree with you that it won't have any effect, but I disagree with you saying that they have no intentions of holding elections. They do not want to hold power. And there is no way Yingluck is coming back. Her party, maybe, probably depending on what reforms take place. But I'm pretty sure Yingluck is done for.

By the headline I thought people would be killing each other off in some sort of Hunger Games style  lol.

The Thai military says it will arrest anyone who uses the salute, which is also a response to bans on political gatherings of more than five people.
Junta spokesman Colonel Weerachon Sukhondhapatipak said authorities were "monitoring the movement" and would take action if the salute is performed in large groups.
He said that if protesters ignore a warning to stop "we will have to make an arrest".
source : http://web.orange.co.uk/article/news/hunger_games_salute_banned_in_thailand

If westerners stopped going on holiday in Thailand (not very likely) until there are democratic elections, it would send a much more powerful message to the military regime.

Thailand is undoubtedly growing in popularity as a tourist destination and is advertised in multiple tourism brochures and travel guidebooks.
No doubt Thailand needs the tourists .... without all these tourists Thailand would be a poor 3rd world country....

Tourists will continue flocking to Thailand, as there is no other affordable destinations around. The neighboring ones are either too conservative (Malaysia, Indonesia.etc) or are lacking the infrastructure (Myanmar, Cambodia.etc).

Uh no...Tourism isn't even close to the majority of the Thai economy. You should get your facts straight.

Also, the Army is straightening the country out. It needs straightening out in the political sector badly, first and foremost.

Most people assume automatically that the Army must be bad guys taking power for themselves, but in reality that's not the case at all.

Hmmm... seems like you are right there. Tourism contributes to around 6% of the GDP of Thailand. But still, it is a very significant figure. Most of the European nations have it at less than 1%.

Thailand has been hit pretty hard by the drop in tourism because of the troubles.

It's very significant for certain provinces like Phuket where their economy is heavily based around tourism. But there are 77 provinces if you include Bangkok and there is a wide range of industry taking place across the country.

Yeah I thought tourism would have contributed a lot more to Thailand's economy.

The contribution made by tourism is sometimes difficult to measure, so most of the statisticians under-estimate its contribution to the GDP. Although the official figures are 6%, I believe that in reality, it is much more. Possibly in the 10-15% range.

I think that's reasonable to assume. They almost certainly underestimate because a lot of people live here full time and might not be considered tourists by the stats but they send their money from outside the country and spend it on things like rent, food, cars ect.

And what if all the people continue to use this salute? army wont have enough jails to move the people in.. that is just a stupid ban to try to make fear whitin the people but in reality it cant work.

Hardly anyone is ever going to use that silly salute. Most people are relieved that the Army finally took over and has brought back some stability. The only annoying part is the curfew which is slowing going away anyway.