There remains a lot of tension between the Thai government and the protesters

BANGKOK: The Thai government and the country’s pro-democracy movement did not appear any closer to resolving their differences on Saturday (October 24), as the deadline for protesters approached for Prime Minister Prayut Chan- o-cha will resign.

Prayut’s office issued a statement repeating his request to resolve the differences through Parliament, which will discuss the political situation in a special session starting Monday.

“Although the current political situation comprises many opposing views between different groups, we should use this as an opportunity for Thais to consult with each other on what is best for the nation,” the statement said.

Prayut issued a call last week to allow parliament to seek a solution to the crisis and, in a gesture to appease protesters, reversed a state of emergency for Bangkok that he had imposed a week earlier and that made protest demonstrations illegal.

“If all parties undertake to exercise full restraint and flexibility, the circumstances would be more conducive to reducing the current tense political conflict and reaching an outcome that is acceptable to all parties concerned,” said Saturday’s statement, citing the spokeswoman. of the Anucha Burapachaisri government.

The protesters, however, said they were sticking to the Saturday 10 pm deadline for Prayuth to comply with their demands that he resign and that his arrested colleagues be released from jail.

One of the protest leaders, Jatupat “Pai Dao Din” Boonpattararaksa, told a crowd outside the Bangkok remand prison that the protesters should gather there on Saturday and consider their next step while waiting for a response from Prayut.

The protesters had demonstrated outside the prison on Friday to press for the release of their comrades. They welcomed the release of Jatupat, who called for the release of seven other people who were still imprisoned.

However, three prominent protest leaders were denied bail on Saturday morning.

In addition to calling for Prayut’s resignation, the protesters’ core demands also include a more democratic constitution and reforms to the monarchy.

The protesters accuse Prayut, who as then commander of the army led a coup in 2014, was unjustly returned to power in last year’s general elections because laws had been changed to favor a pro-military party. The protesters also say that a constitution written and approved under a military regime is undemocratic.

READ: Demonstration in front of Thai prison demands the release of protesters

The implicit criticism of the monarchy, which protesters believe wields too much power, has angered Thai conservatives because it has traditionally been treated as sacrosanct and a pillar of national identity.

There is concern that the situation could become more volatile, because in the last week there has been a mobilization of forces claiming to be defenders of the monarchy.

The royalists held demonstrations in various cities, in many cases led by local officials. On Wednesday, a small counter-protest in Bangkok turned violent when some attendees attacked anti-government students.

King Maha Vajiralongkorn made a rare appearance Friday night as he, Queen Suthida and other members of the royal family walked through a crowd of fiery royalists who had gathered on a street to cheer him on as he passed.

The king, in an unusually informal way, was seen in a widely circulated video thanking a viewer who earlier in the week had raised a poster supporting the monarchy amid anti-government supporters. The video showed the queen pointing the man to the king.

Vajiralongkorn also spoke briefly with Suwit Thongprasert, a royalist activist who had been part of a group whose violent protests in 2014 lobbied an elected government that helped spark the Prayuth-led coup. Suwit was a Buddhist monk known as Buddha Issara when he was the leader of the right-wing People’s Democratic Reform Committee during the 2014 protests.