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Thousands of Thai protesters have marched near the Grand Palace in Bangkok to deliver a series of demands for democratic reforms, including changes to the country’s powerful royal family, in a direct challenge to King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
The protesters, who had camped out overnight in the capital after a major pro-democracy rally on Saturday, also called for a general strike.
The police stopped the crowds in front of the supreme court, but a student leader, Panusaya Sithijirawattanakulwas, was allowed to pass a line of officers to deliver an envelope containing the demands to a police commissioner to pass on to the council. private of the king.
Until recently, direct and public criticism of the royal family was considered unthinkable. Yet in recent months, a student-led grassroots pro-democracy movement has made increasingly bold calls to curb the king’s power and wealth.
“The biggest victory of all is that ordinary people like us can send a letter to the monarchy,” Parit Chiwarak, one of the protest leaders, told the crowd, before announcing further actions to increase pressure on the Thai establishment. .
He has called for a general strike on October 14, the anniversary of the 1973 student uprising, and for people to withdraw money from the Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), of which King Maha Vajiralongkorn is the largest shareholder. “Take out all your money and burn your bank book,” he said.
Crowds were also urged to continue wearing white ribbons, a symbol of the pro-democracy movement, and to display a three-finger salute, an act of defiance borrowed from the Hunger Games. The gesture has been displayed by protesters, especially school students, during the national anthem, which is played twice a day in public spaces such as train stations.
“I want to see people do it in BTS [the skytrain], every train station, every store, even police stations or civil service offices, ”Parit said. “Our courage will extend to those who agree with us.”
Thailand’s royal family is protected from criticism by a strict lese majesty law that carries a sentence of up to 15 years, although Prayuth has said the king requested that no one be prosecuted under the law.
Dozens of protesters, including Parit and Panusaya, have been charged with other crimes, such as sedition, which carries a seven-year sentence. In all, Parit faces 18 separate charges.
Early on Sunday morning, protesters placed a symbolic plaque in Sanam Luang, an area near the Grand Palace, which roughly translates to “royal ground.” The protesters say they will call the area “people’s land” instead.
The plaque, which has attracted criticism from royalists, says: “In this place the people have expressed their will: that this country belongs to the people and is not the property of the monarch as they have deceived us.”
Its design is similar to a different plaque, which had commemorated the end of the absolute monarchy in 1932, but which disappeared from the exterior of a royal palace in 2017.
Bangkok Deputy Chief of Police Piya Tawichai said Bangkok authorities would have to determine whether the plate is illegal and if it is it would have to be removed, Reuters reported.
The king, who spends most of his time in Germany, succeeded his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in 2016 and has since strengthened his authority. The protesters have called for their budget to be cut, their private funds separated from the assets of the crown, and the lese majesty law removed.
They also demand the dissolution of parliament and reforms to the constitution, which was drawn up under the military regime.
