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BANGKOK (AP) – Pro-democracy activists in Thailand staged a fourth straight day of high-profile protests in the capital on Saturday, thwarting authorities’ efforts to stop them, including shutting down the city’s public transportation systems. .
Unlike the protests the day before, in which the police used a water cannon to disperse protesters, Saturday’s demonstrations were peaceful, with no reports of clashes as participants began to return home at night.
The protesters are calling for Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha to step down, for the constitution to be amended to make it more democratic and for the nation’s monarchy to undergo reforms.
All stations in Bangkok’s Skytrain elevated transit system were closed on Saturday afternoon to try to prevent protesters from gathering. The underground MRT system was also closed and the police blocked several roads.
The protesters nonetheless gathered as planned at the Skytrain stations, where they held small makeshift rallies, effectively establishing a temporary but active presence throughout the city.
The organizers then issued a new notice for supporters to gather at three stations outside the central area of the city, where access was easier. Once that was announced, participants raised money so they could take taxis to avoid traffic closures.
“Right now we can’t do much,” said a 26-year-old hotel worker who asked to be called just Veronica. “What we can do now is just show our power to show the outside.”
Several thousand people gathered at various locations, some taking turns broadcasting their views through a megaphone. By nightfall, the police had not bothered them, even when some groups began to march down the street. Protesters began to disperse at 8 pm, the time organizers had said the protests would end.
The protesters acted despite the state of emergency imposed by Prayuth on Thursday that puts them all subject to arrest.
They also did not appear intimidated by the crackdown on their demonstration in central Bangkok on Friday night, in which riot police, backed by water cannons, cleared the streets in about an hour.
No significant injuries were reported in that confrontation. It was the first time in three months of sporadic protests that the authorities used such forceful tactics against the student-led movement.
A 20-year-old student who used Ryo’s name said Friday night’s events had hardened his resistance.
“I respect the political opinions of the people, but after the incident yesterday, I feel that it was very hard, perpetrating violence against unarmed people who had no weapons to defend themselves,” he said.
Protective equipment, such as goggles, was distributed in some places on Saturday.
The violent dispersion on Friday night led the Popular Party, the organization that groups the protesters, to declare in a statement that “the government and the military have established themselves as enemies of the people.” Most of the group’s top leaders have been arrested.
The protesters have gone to great lengths to elude authorities, using social media to gather supporters before the police have time to block them. The government has announced plans to take legal action against the Twitter and Facebook accounts advertising the protests, but new calls to action were published on Saturday.
Protesters accuse Prayuth, 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. Protesters say a constitution promulgated under a military regime and approved in a referendum that campaigning against it was illegal is undemocratic.
The protesters’ call for monarchy reform has significantly raised the political temperature in Thailand, enraging many older conservative Thais for whom any critical discussion of the royal family amounts to treason.
King Maha Vajiralongkorn and other key members 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.
Prayuth’s declaration of the state of emergency said the move was necessary because “certain groups of perpetrators intended to instigate an adverse incident and movement in the Bangkok area through various methods and through different channels, including obstruction of the royal caravan. “
He was referring to an incident on Wednesday that showed some members of a small crowd interrupting a caravan carrying Queen Suthida and Prince Dipangkorn in their wake.
On Friday, two activists were arrested under a law covering violence against the queen for their alleged involvement in the incident. They could face life in prison if convicted. They denied any wrongdoing.
