A new and improbable mascot has emerged in the front lines of Thailand’s pro-democracy protests: a giant, bloated duck.
When protesters tried to get past the concrete barricades of the past and gather outside parliament, they faced a police response that rights groups deemed unnecessary and excessive. Protesters calling for democratic reform, including curbs on monarchical power, were repeatedly fired upon with tear gas and water cannon. Some water eruptions involve chemical inflammation.
Amidst the chaos, the collection of giant ducks, initially protested as a joke, was immediately revived. He is then celebrated as the hero of the movement.
Images of the standoff were widely shared on social media. So even later photos were taken Hard-looking duck, Q g gi and purple shades coated, fired a water gun.
At a rally on Wednesday, protesters chanted slogans praising the bravery of the ducks, and protesters marched on Thai police headquarters. Read a sign, “Stop right phulavava to annoy people and ducks. Protest artwork emerged online, illustrated Ducks as muscular fighters To save students and a Superhero figure.
Young Thai activists regularly use humor and creativity, said Tracy BT, a researcher at the Australian Australian Strategic Policy Institute, which specializes in Thai politics. This time, he said, the yellow inflated rubber ducks have become a new symbol for the pro-democracy movement, not only because they are beautiful, but also because they highlight the sheer absurdity and inconsistency of the situation.
Human Rights Watch has expressed concern about the police response and said it had seen the use of water cannon jets with purple paint and apparent teargas chemicals, teargas grenades and pepper spray grenades on Tuesday.
At least 55 people were injured, most of them in tears, according to Bangkok’s Emergency Medical Service. It was also friction between pro-democracy activists and sahivadio. Six pro-democracy protesters were treated for gunshot wounds.
Police refused to use live ammunition or rubber bullets, saying they were investigating. The water cannon was used on Tuesday as protesters tried to enter a restricted area near parliament, a spokesman said.
The ducks were initially brought in to ridicule the authorities at Tuesday’s rally, who blocked access to the parliament building. Opponents joked that the only way to reach parliament, where possible changes to the constitution are being discussed, is to send a rubber duck to the river bank. He wanted MPs and senators to approve a proposal that would repeal changes to the charter in military rule, but this was rejected.
Joshua Wang, a leading Hong Kong activist who supports the Thai pro-democracy movement, praised the search for protesters. “Wins creativity,” he said on Twitter. “Long live rubber duck.”
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