Bangkok crisis: Um, there's no TV in the Red Shirt camp

Communication: it's a wonderful thing when it's done right:

... "Immediately vacate the area that is considered dangerous," the government said during a televised announcement. "Terrorists are trying to cause deaths in the area."

The government offered free transport for citizens to return home.

Red Shirt reaction

But the deadline came and went with few Red Shirts complying with the government's demand that they vacate a three-square-kilometer area where they have been holed up for weeks.

There was also some confusion about how much the Red Shirt protesters knew about the ultimatum, as government leaflets were dropped far from the protest zone and electronic TV and cellular signals were blocked. ...

Thankfully the Red Cross heard the government's earlier order that women and children should leave the camp for their own safety; the organization has been helping them evacuate, although there's no figure for how many have left. The order extended to the elderly, although again it's unknown how many left.