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BANGKOK: Thai protesters criticized the spending of King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s palace and staged a “fashion show” parodying members of the royal family at a rally in Bangkok on Thursday that drew thousands of people.
What began as anti-government protests in July have increasingly called for more reforms of the monarchy, breaking a long-standing taboo and challenging a law that establishes a jail term of up to 15 years for criticizing the king and his family.
The palace has not commented on the protests since they began.
The government had no immediate comment on Thursday’s event.
The protester show, featuring a red carpet parade of activists satirizing royalty, took place on the same day that one of the king’s daughters, a designer, would launch a new fashion collection.
Speakers at the rally denounced what they said was wasteful spending by the royal family at a time when Thailand’s economy, which relies on tourism, has been hit hard by the coronavirus.
“It wouldn’t be a problem if this wasn’t our money,” student leader Jutatip Sirikhan told the crowd.
The protesters have called for reforms to the monarchy to reduce the powers of the king.
They have also demanded the reversal of the changes that gave him control of some units of the army and a palace fortune valued in tens of billions of dollars.
The king has spent much of his time in Germany this year and on Monday protesters marched to the German embassy to request an investigation into his actions and lifestyle there.
Germany does not believe the king has so far violated his ban on politics during his stay there, a parliamentary source in Berlin said on Wednesday.
Thai protesters are also seeking a new constitution and the removal of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former junta leader who rejects their accusations that he engineered last year’s elections to maintain power.
