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Thousands of Thai protesters took to the streets of Bangkok on Wednesday night to call on King Maha Vajiralongkorn to relinquish control of a royal fortune worth tens of billions of dollars, directing their protest movement directly toward the vast wealth of the once untouchable monarchy.
Protesters have already broken a long-standing taboo by criticizing the king and the police summoned many of the best-known protest leaders ahead of the rally on charges of insulting the monarchy, the first time the law has been enforced since early 2018. .
At least 8,000 protesters, many of them brandishing the yellow toy ducks that have become the latest symbol of the movement, gathered near the headquarters of the Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) to protest the secrecy surrounding the assets of the monarch.
They chose the location after authorities barricaded shipping containers and barbed wire around their original target: the Crown Property Office. SCB is the largest bank in Thailand and the king, who owns a 23 percent stake in the lender, is its largest shareholder.
Authorities placed shipping containers in the streets to prevent a demonstration from taking place at the Crown Property Bureau [Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP]
“We don’t know how he handles it. How he uses it, ”Gail, a 53-year-old consultant from Bangkok, told AFP news agency, while expressing concern about control of real assets. Its total value has not been made public, but it has been estimated at more than $ 30 billion, which would make the king the richest monarch in the world.
“You should live very frugally. The economic situation does not matter to him. He does not care about the welfare of the people, “he added.
The youth-led protests began in July with demands for a new constitution, the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, and reform of the once untouchable monarchy.
The demonstrations have been largely peaceful, but several blows were heard as Wednesday’s protest dispersed and doctors said a man had been shot. A police officer said there appeared to have been a clash between rival groups of vocational students.
Parit Chiwarak, among the protest leaders facing charges of royal insult, said: “Millions of families are fighting, so how can we give our taxpayers’ money to one family to spend luxuriously?”
I did not know that #Bangkok it had its own version of the Berlin Wall. Shipping containers continue to block roads leading to the Crown Property Bureau #Thailand https://t.co/VYa7Y8ZCF0
– Richard Barrow in Thailand (@RichardBarrow) November 25, 2020
Liability requirement
The protesters want the king to be more accountable under the constitution, as well as to reverse changes that gave him personal control not only of royal wealth but of some army units.
The office board was previously headed by the finance minister in an arrangement that gave it a public oversight gloss.
The palace has not commented since the protests began, but when the king was asked about the protesters recently, he said they were loved “anyway.”
Some of the king’s critics sarcastically quoted those words after subpoenas on charges of insulting the monarchy, which Prayuth said in June were not being used at the king’s request.
Thailand has one of the harshest lese majesty laws in the world. It is routinely interpreted to include any criticism of the monarchy, including content posted or shared on social media.
Pro-democracy protesters make the three-finger salute during Wednesday night’s anti-government rally in front of the Siam Commercial Bank headquarters [Jack Taylor/AFP]
Police sources told Reuters news agency that 15 protest leaders face charges, which they must acknowledge before the end of the month.
Government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri told AFP that authorities were “increasingly concerned about attempts to undermine the rule of law” and would use “all relevant laws” to prosecute the rioters.
It is the first time the law has been enforced since early 2018. International rights groups have urged authorities not to prosecute.
“The international community should urge the Thai government to handle the ongoing protests through dialogue and within the framework provided by international human rights standards,” said Adilur Rahman Khan, secretary general of the International Federation for Human Rights, in a release.
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