Protests in Thailand: Police intensify crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations as thousands defy emergency decree

Pro-democracy protesters face water cannons as police try to clear the protest site in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, October 16, 2020. Thailand’s prime minister has rejected requests for his resignation as his government steps up efforts to prevent for student-led protesters to gather in the capital for a second day in defiance of a strict state of emergency. (AP Photo / Gemunu Amarasinghe)

Bangkok: Riot police in Thailand cracked down on thousands of student-led protesters who demonstrated in the capital on Friday in defiance of a strict state of emergency, while the prime minister rejected calls for his resignation.

The protesters gathered amid torrential monsoon rains to push forward their demands, including that Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha step down, amend the constitution and reform the nation’s monarchy.

It was the second day that they defied an order not to meet, imposed after protesters disrupted a royal caravan, an unprecedented event in Thailand, where the monarchy is normally celebrated in reverence.

Police used water cannons and charged into the crowd, dispersing protesters, spectators and reporters. Journalists who were hit by the water said it caused a stinging sensation and was dyed blue, to mark protesters for possible later arrest.

The police appeared to have taken over the rally site and much of the crowd retreated down a street to nearby Chulalongkorn University, where some organizers advised them to take shelter if they did not go directly home.

Several protesters and policemen were injured during the shoving and shoving and seven people were arrested. An opposition lawmaker, Pita Limjaroenrat, put the number of arrests at 100.

Police had closed roads and set up barricades around a major Bangkok intersection where some 10,000 protesters defied the new decree on Thursday. Police in riot gear secured the area, while shopping malls in the normally busy business district closed early. Nearby public transport stations were closed to prevent crowds of protesters from approaching.

The protesting students, however, simply moved down the street to another large intersection.

The Prayuth government declared a strict new state of emergency for the capital on Thursday, a day after the boos from the caravan.

The state of emergency prohibits public gatherings of more than five people and prohibits the dissemination of news that is considered to threaten national security. It also gives the authorities broad powers, including the prolonged detention of people without charge.

Several protest leaders have already met since the decree went into effect. On Friday, two other activists were arrested under a law covering violence against the queen for their alleged involvement in the caravan boos. They could face life in prison if convicted.

The protest movement was launched in March by university students and its original central demands were new elections, changes to the constitution to make it more democratic, and an end to the intimidation of activists.

Protesters accuse Prayuth, who as an army commander led a coup in 2014 that toppled an elected government, was unfairly returned to power in last year’s general elections because laws had been changed to favor a pro-party party. military.

But the movement took a surprising turn in August, when students at a rally issued unprecedented criticism of the monarchy and called for its reform. Using direct language usually expressed in whispers, the speakers criticized the king’s wealth, his influence, and that he spends much of his time abroad.

The royal family of Thailand has long been considered sacrosanct and a pillar of Thai identity. King Maha Vajiralongkorn and another key member of the royal family are protected by a lese majesty law that has been regularly used to silence critics who risk up to 15 years in prison if they are deemed to have insulted the institution.

Conservative Thai royalists accuse the protest movement of seeking to end the monarchy, an accusation its leaders deny.

Wednesday’s incident with the royal caravan had surprised many Thais. The widely circulated video showed members of a small crowd interrupting a caravan carrying Queen Suthida and Prince Dipangkorn as it slowly passed. Security personnel stepped between the vehicles and the crowd and there was no visible violence and witnesses described none.

It is normal in Thailand for those waiting for a royal caravan to sit down or prostrate.

“The police did not notify us of the next royal caravan where we had no way of knowing because they did not inform us,” one of the two activists, Paothong Bunkueanum, told reporters before being arrested.

“Once we learned that there was a caravan of the queen and the presumed heir to the throne, I tried to break the line and use my megaphone to get everyone away from the police barriers so that the caravan could easily pass,” he said. He said.

The king has not publicly commented on the protests. Night tv News about the royal family showed him addressing former members of the defunct Communist Party of Thailand who had been given land as part of a reconciliation program in the late 1970s under the patronage of Vajiralongkorn’s father, the late king. Bhumibol Adulyadej.

“Currently, one must understand that the country needs people who love the nation and love the monarchy,” said the king.

Prayuth’s declaration of a state of emergency said the move was necessary because “certain groups of perpetrators intended to instigate an unfavorable incident and movement in the Bangkok area through various methods and through different channels, including obstruction of the royal caravan. “

Prayuth said Friday that he had no plans to resign because he had done nothing wrong. He said his government hopes to withdraw the state of emergency before its normal 30-day duration “if the situation improves rapidly.”

Also on Friday, police raided the offices of the Progressive Movement, a group made up of former lawmakers from a reformist political party that was controversially dissolved by the Constitutional Court.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Digital Economy announced that it would file complaints with the police about five Twitter accounts and five Facebook accounts inviting people to attend the rally on Friday. Such posting could be considered illegal under the state of emergency as well as other laws.