More than 40 people were injured in the clash that shook Bangkok

At least 41 people were injured after clashes between protesters and police in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand.

The protesters tried to reach parliamentary court yesterday, November 17, where lawmakers are debating possible changes to the constitution.

They threw smoke bombs and bags of paint at the police. Police retaliated with a tornado and pepper spray.

The proposed changes to the constitution are one of the central requirements of Thailand’s longstanding protest movement.

Other things include reforms to the monarchy and the removal of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former general who came to power in a 2014 coup.

But the BBC’s Jonathan Head, who was on the scene, said many activists were concerned that the parliament would reject most of their requests, especially calling for monarchical reform.

Legislators are expected to vote Wednesday night (local time) on accepting some of the proposed changes.

The reforms the protesters are calling for could make Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn more accountable, as well as reform of the Senate, where members are not elected by the people.

Tuesday’s protest was possibly the most violent since the student-led movement rebelled in July.

The protest began with a group of people trying to break through a barricade near Parliament and throwing smoke bombs and bags of paint at the ranks of riot police.

In response, the police used a tornado to try to repel the protesters and when they failed, they used the tornado to fire liquid mixed with tear gas solution.

Protesters were seen trying to remove irritants from their eyes.

Health officials said people were treated at the hospital for the effects of tear gas, while others were treated at the scene.

According to AFP and Reuters news agencies, some protesters were injured by bullets, although police denied the use of real or rubber bullets during the clash.

Some protesters tried to hide behind giant rubber inflatable ducks, which were planned to fall into the river behind the parliament as lawmakers debated inside the building.

Amid the chaos, anti-government protesters clashed with the pro-monarchy, while rival groups threw objects at each other.

The police intervened to separate the two groups.

Thailand has a long history of protests and political unrest, but the recent wave began in February when a court ordered the dissolution of a fledgling pro-democracy opposition party.

Protests erupted again in June when prominent democracy activist Wanchalearm Satsaksit disappeared in Cambodia, where he has lived in exile since the 2014 military coup.

But things only really started when protesters began to question the power of the monarchy.

This movement caused earthquakes throughout the country where, from birth, people were taught to respect and love the monarchy and to fear the consequences when talking about it.

Thailand’s lese majesty law, which prohibits any crime against the monarchy, is one of the harshest in the world.

There is no clear definition of insult to the monarchy and human rights groups say the law is often used as a political tool to curb free speech and appeals from the opposition. on reform and change.

The royalists protested the student-led protests and said that the protesters wanted to abolish the monarchy, which the protesters denied.

One protester, Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul, said that his intention was not “to abolish the monarchy but to modernize it, adapt it to our society.”

See more about the Thai protests: