Folding Chairs Blog

At the main stage the army is breaking down the headquarters area, the familiar accoutrements of the last few weeks in this area are being cleared away: the powerful floodlights that once searched out possible snipers, the musical instruments (including a full drum kit) that had set the beat for the thousands of demonstrators’ dancing and singing, the labyrinth of cables, computer desks, assorted PA equipment, and TV cameras that served brought the action on the stage to all zones of the camp, and over the airwaves Reds’ television station Peoples TV before its signal was cut, even the still-simmering hot water urns and cooler buckets, all were abandoned intact when the army moved in. The vast netting strung above the stage all the way up as far as the first footbridge to stop anything being thrown down from above, is being ripped down by soldiers, its almost-sinister feeling acres of black mesh sag messily onto the ground, almost perfectly symbolising how the life has finally been extinguished from the camp. The headquarters area is being methodically ripped apart as soldiers look for possible booby traps or incriminating evidence. The dilapidated box-back truck that the leaders of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) used to huddle together in during the final days of the dispute, hunkered down and surrounded by guards, lies empty. Inside it is tatty, the wooden linings scuffed from years of use, there are just a couple of folding tables and a …