Incomes in Isaan fall well below the national average and are miniscule in comparison to Bangkok, where they are protesting.

VOA: standard.2010.05.14

In Isaan's dry countryside, many say they are angry simply because they are no longer being listened to.

VOA: standard.2010.05.14

The region,known as Isaan, is the country's poorest.

VOA: standard.2010.05.14

This is a subtle riposte to the military junta's accusation that Mr Thaksin and his party do not respect the country's revered monarch, whose portrait is as omnipresent in the Isaan countryside as it is around Bangkok's royal palaces.

ECONOMIST: Heading for uncertainty