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BANGKOK: Thai riot police fired tear gas and water cannons at protesters who tried to force their way through barbed wire barricades in front of the parliament on Tuesday (November 17) as lawmakers discussed possible changes to the constitution.
The protesters are demanding changes to the constitution drawn up by the former military government of Thailand. They also want the removal of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, a former ruler of the army, and reforms to curb the powers of the monarchy.
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Police set up barricades in front of the parliament, where hundreds of royalists previously demonstrated to ask lawmakers not to change the constitution.
CNA correspondents at the scene saw protesters screaming and running as police fired several shots of tear gas and water to disperse the crowd.
Some protesters screamed in pain after being hit by the blasts of water, which stung their skin on impact, and some were observed to have vomited afterwards.
Live television footage showed a water cannon being fired at a vanguard of anti-government protesters who arrived wearing helmets and masks and attempted to remove the coils of wire. The protesters threw colored smoke bombs at the police.
A police officer reacts after tear gas was fired during an anti-government rally in Bangkok on November 17, 2020 (Photo: AFP / Jack Taylor).
A man wears a mask to wipe his face after police used a water cannon containing water mixed with chemicals during a demonstration near the Thai parliament in Bangkok on November 17, 2020 (Photo: AFP / Mladen Antonov).
“Footmen of the dictator!” the protest group Juventud Libre posted on Twitter photos of the riot police wearing helmets using the water cannon.
Police stated that protests were prohibited within 50 meters of the area. Hundreds of protesters gathered nearby.
Lawmakers were discussing various proposals on how the constitution can be amended, some of which would exclude the possibility of changes in the way King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s monarchy is treated under the constitution.
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Also discussed is the role of the Senate, which was selected in its entirety by Prayut’s former military government and helped ensure that it would retain power with a parliamentary majority after a disputed election last year. Prayut says the vote was fair.
Opposition MPs have also called for changes to the constitution.
Police spray a water cannon on protesters during a rally near the Thai parliament in Bangkok on November 17, 2020 (Photo: AFP / Mladen Antonov).
A riot policeman covers his face as tear gas is fired during a rally near the Thai parliament in Bangkok on November 17, 2020 (Photo: AFP / Mladen Antonov).
The protests since July initially targeted Prayut and constitutional change, but have since called for the monarch’s role to be more clearly accountable under the constitution and for the changes that gave the current king personal control of the royal fortune to be reversed. and some army units.
“The reform of the constitution will lead to the abolition of the monarchy,” royalist leader Warong Dechgitvigrom told reporters at the rally.
The protesters have said they do not intend to abolish the monarchy.
Police use water cannons with water mixed with chemicals to disperse protesters in Bangkok on November 17, 2020 (Photo: AFP / Mladen Antonov).
A protester wearing glasses and a gas mask stands behind barricades and barbed wire during a rally near the Thai parliament in Bangkok on November 17, 2020 (Photo: AFP / Jack Taylor).
