[ad_1]
BANGKOK (BLOOMBERG) – Thailand’s Parliament is set to vote on a roadmap for constitutional amendments on Wednesday (November 18), a day after the most violent anti-government protest in years left more than 50 people injured.
Lawmakers will vote on how to amend the letter, one of the key demands of pro-democracy groups, which are also calling for monarchy reform and the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
On Tuesday, a demonstration near Parliament turned violent after police fired water cannons laced with irritants to disperse the crowd and some government supporters clashed with protesters.
The youth-led groups have called for another meeting in Bangkok on Wednesday to pressure lawmakers to consider their demand for a major rewrite of the Constitution.
The clashes point to an escalation in the movement for months, with pro-establishment groups also holding regular demonstrations.
“If Parliament does not accept the amendment that the people want, there will be no more commitment,” said Juventud Libre, one of the protest groups on Facebook. He said the letter must be amended to bring the monarchy under the Constitution.
Parliament’s vote on the charter track is another attempt to placate the protesters, who have broken long-standing taboos on publicly criticizing the royal family and questioning laws that stifle discussion about the monarchy.
While lawmakers can vote to amend the letter, political analysts say the changes likely won’t address all the protesters’ demands.
Thailand’s current charter has been the subject of controversy since its inception after Prayut, a former army chief, took power in a coup in 2014.
Protesters and critics saw it as an instrument to help the royalist establishment maintain its grip on power, and Prayut returned as leader after the 2019 elections.
The letter allows the army-appointed Senate, whose powers the protesters want to eliminate, to vote for the prime minister.
[ad_2]
