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BANGKOK: Protesters in Thailand resumed their activities on Friday (October 23) after a day break, and turned their attention to other protesters who remain in jail after their arrest.
A crowd gathered in front of the Bangkok remand prison, their numbers rising to 2,000 after dark. The crowd hailed the release of one of the protest leaders, Jatupat Boonpattararaksa, but demanded the release of seven others.
“We have all come here to await the release of our seven friends,” Jatupat told the crowd after his release. “If they are not released, we will expel Prayut Chan-o-cha.”
Indeed, overthrowing Prayut is one of the key objectives of the protesters, who have intensified their efforts over the past 10 days with large demonstrations in the capital. His other key demands are to change the Constitution to make it more democratic and to reform the monarchy.
READ: Thai royalists confront protesters in Bangkok
The implicit criticism of the royal institution has angered Thai conservatives because the monarchy has traditionally been treated as sacrosanct and a pillar of national identity.
The protest outside the prison was relatively low-key, but there are concerns that the weekend could bring a confrontation, as the deadline for Prayuth’s resignation set by the student-led protesters expires.
Several protesters said they intended to spend the night outside the prison.
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Activists gather outside the pretrial prison, in which some of the activists are held, in Bangkok, Thailand, on Oct. 23, 2020 (Photo: AP / Sakchai Lalit).
Activists show images of protest leaders being detained during a protest in front of the pretrial detention, in which some of the activists are held, in Bangkok, Thailand, on October 23, 2020 (Photo: AP / Sakchai Lalit ).
The protests were launched several months ago by university students, but increased in frequency and intensity last week. They continued despite a declared state of emergency for Bangkok that made their meetings illegal, and even after a demonstration was forcibly broken up by riot police backed by water cannons. They also spread to other areas of the country.
In a gesture to appease the protesters, Prayut revoked the state of emergency on Thursday.
He has urged the protesters to let Parliament deal with their complaints. Parliament will debate the political crisis on October 26-28.
Despite the concession, the protesters continue to insist that Prayut resign. They said they would return in large numbers if he did not meet the three-day deadline to resign, which would appear to end on Saturday night.
The call for a solution in Parliament was unlikely to win over the protesters, as some of their main complaints are that the Constitution and the political structure it created are undemocratic, in part because it was drawn up after a 2014 military coup.
Prayut himself led that coup, which toppled an elected government during political unrest that included widespread street protests.
To complicate the situation, there are the counter-protests of the royalists who claim to defend the monarchy. Some have taken place in various cities across the country this week, including one in Bangkok that sparked clashes.
