Thousands of protesters return to the streets after police clashes

Pro-democracy protesters make the three-finger salute during an anti-government rally at Wongwian Yai in Bangkok on October 17, 2020, as they continue to defy an emergency decree prohibiting gatherings. (Photo by Mladen ANTONOV / AFP)

BANGKOK – Thousands of Thai pro-democracy protesters rallied at various locations in Bangkok on Saturday, defying an emergency decree banning gatherings for the third day in a row after clashes saw riot police use water cannons against protesters peaceful.

Officers dispersed thousands of protesters Friday night by spraying water mixed with blue dye and a chemical agent to mark participants for future legal action.

But the escalation in police tactics has not intimidated the burgeoning youth-led protest movement, which is demanding the resignation of a prime minister who first came to power in a military coup and the reform of the kingdom’s powerful monarchy.

One of the main organizing groups in the pro-democracy movement called on its supporters to return to the streets on Saturday afternoon.

“Be prepared both physically and mentally for the demonstration and to face a crackdown if it occurs,” said the Free Youth online publication.

An hour before the start of the protest scheduled for 4:00 pm (0900 GMT), the group announced three different venues for the rallies, outwitting authorities who had closed roads to two suspicious locations that ended up not being the meeting points. .

In the city’s northern Lat Phrao district, hundreds of people gathered in the middle of a street wearing helmets and gas masks at the ready, raising a three-finger salute adopted from the “Hunger Games” movies as a symbol of the pro-democracy movement. .

Across the Chao Phraya River, nearly a thousand people demonstrated in the western Wongwian Yai district shouting “Long live the people, down with the dictatorship!” While in southeast Udomsuk a similar show of force stopped traffic.

Operators of the underground rail networks and Skytrain had shut down services across the city to prevent protesters from joining.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha issued an emergency decree banning gatherings of more than four people for another month on Friday.

The former army chief, who planned a coup in 2014 before being elected to power last year in elections that protesters say was rigged in his favor, also rejected calls for his resignation.

‘You are a tyrant’

At least 65 prominent protesters have been arrested since Tuesday, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights told AFP on Saturday, as authorities stepped up their crackdown on months of slowly mounting unrest.

Since then, eight have been released, including activist Tattep “Ford” Ruangprapaikitseree, who was released on bail on Saturday after his arrest the night before.

He was quick to post on Facebook to denounce the use of violence against unarmed protesters.

“The government is no longer legitimate. Prayut Chan-O-Cha, you are a tyrant, ”he said.

Two other activists were arrested on Friday under a rarely used law prohibiting “violence against the queen” after they joined a group on Wednesday surrounding a royal caravan carrying Queen Suthida, showing a pro-queen salute. democracy while the car passed.

Both men could face life in prison if convicted.

At least three protesters suffered minor injuries and five officers were admitted to the police hospital in the clashes on Friday, authorities said.

The government insisted that the use of force had been legal to detain those who tried to “create divisions” in the country.

“There was neither victory nor defeat for either party. It is a defeat for all Thais, ”government spokesman Anucha Burapanchaisri said in a statement.

Royal reminder

The pro-democracy movement is posing an unprecedented challenge to the kingdom’s powerful monarchy.

The protesters are demanding the abolition of a strict royal defamation law, which carries jail terms of up to 15 years per charge, and that the monarchy stay out of politics.

The institution currently wields enormous influence and is flanked by an arch-royalist military and billionaire clans.

King Maha Vajiralongkorn is on the cusp of power.

Since he ascended the throne in 2016, he has taken personal control of the palace’s vast fortune, worth an estimated $ 60 billion, and moved two army units under his direct command.

The king has yet to directly address the civil unrest, but during a ceremony broadcast on Friday, he told his subjects that Thailand “needs people who love the country, people who love the institution of the monarchy.”

The government insists that reforms to the royal family are prohibited, but this position was becoming untenable, said International Crisis Group analyst Matthew Wheeler.

“The degree of repression necessary to effectively reinstate the ban, including online, would cloud both the government and the monarchy.”

/ MUF

Read next

Don’t miss out on the latest news and information.