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BANGKOK: Thailand’s prime minister rejected requests to resign on Friday (October 16) when his government stepped up its efforts to prevent student-led protesters from marching in the capital for a second day in defiance of a strict state of emergency.
Police closed roads and barricaded a major intersection in Bangkok where protesters vowed to meet again to push forward their core demands, including that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha step down, amend the constitution and reform the monarchy. of the nation.
Police in riot gear moved into the area, while shopping malls in the normally busy business district closed early. Nearby public transport stations were being closed to prevent crowds of protesters from approaching the area. In addition to security measures, heavy monsoon rains threatened to keep the number of people below the thousands who had gathered the night before.
READ: ‘I want freedom’: Thai protest despite government ban on meetings
The student protesters said they would simply demonstrate at the end of the street at another large intersection.
The Prayut government declared a strict new state of emergency for the capital on Thursday, a day after protesters gathered in a different part of the city disrupted a royal caravan.
Such actions are unprecedented in Thailand, where those waiting for a royal caravan regularly sit on the ground or prostrate themselves.
The state of emergency prohibits public gatherings of more than five people and prohibits the dissemination of news that is considered to threaten national security. It also gives the authorities broad powers, including the prolonged detention of people without charge.
About 10,000 protesters defied Thursday’s decree to demonstrate at the Bangkok intersection.
Several protest leaders have already met since the decree went into effect.
On Friday, two other activists were arrested under a law covering violence against the queen for their alleged involvement in the caravan boos. They could face life in prison if convicted.
READ: Anti-government protesters regroup in central Bangkok after police dispersal operation
The protest movement was launched in March by university students and its original central demands were new elections, changes to the constitution to make it more democratic, and an end to the intimidation of activists.
Protesters accuse Prayut, who as an army commander led a coup in 2014 that toppled an elected government, was unfairly returned to power in last year’s general elections because laws had been changed to favor a pro-party party. military.
But the movement took a surprising turn in August, when students at a rally issued unprecedented criticism of the monarchy and called for its reform.
Using direct language usually expressed in whispers, the speakers criticized the king’s wealth, his influence, and that he spends much of his time abroad.
The royal family of Thailand has long been considered sacrosanct and a pillar of Thai identity. King Maha Vajiralongkorn and another key member of the royal family are protected by a lese majesty law that has been regularly used to silence critics who risk up to 15 years in prison if they are deemed to have insulted the institution.
Conservative Thai monarchists accuse the protest movement of seeking to end the monarchy, an accusation its leaders deny.
Wednesday’s incident with the royal caravan surprised many Thais. The widely circulated videos showed members of a small crowd interrupting a caravan carrying Queen Suthida and Prince Dipangkorn as it slowly passed. Security personnel stepped between the vehicles and the crowd and there was no visible violence and witnesses described none.
Prayut’s declaration of the state of emergency said the move was necessary because “certain groups of perpetrators intended to instigate an incident and adverse movement in the Bangkok area through various methods and through different channels, including obstruction of the royal caravan. “
Prayut said Friday that he had no plans to resign because he had done nothing wrong.
He said his government hopes to withdraw the state of emergency before its normal 30-day duration “if the situation improves rapidly.”
The legal aid group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said at least 51 people have been arrested since Tuesday in connection with the protests.
Police went on Friday to search the offices of the Progressive Movement, a group made up of former lawmakers from a reformist political party that was controversially dissolved by the Constitutional Court.
LEE: Thailand bans protests as the challenge to the establishment increases
The two activists charged in the incident with the queen are Ekachai Hongkangwan and Paothong Bunkueanum.
Ekachai is a veteran activist who has been physically assaulted several times, apparently in response to his criticism of the military. Paothong, a university student, participated in organizing the protests.
Wednesday’s incident in which the two were allegedly involved was surprising to most Thais, because by tradition and law, members of the royal family are treated with the utmost respect.
“The police did not notify us of the upcoming royal caravan where we had no way of knowing because they did not inform us,” Paothong told reporters on Friday.
“Once we learned that there was a caravan of the queen and the presumed heir to the throne, I tried to break the line and use my megaphone to get everyone away from the police barriers so that the caravan could easily pass,” he said. He said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Digital Economy announced that it would file complaints with the police about five Twitter accounts and five Facebook accounts inviting people to attend the rally on Friday.
Such posting could be considered illegal under the state of emergency as well as other laws.
