The Thai king met with protesters in the capital Bangkok

Democracy protesters in Thailand clashed with King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s convoy as the king passed a parade in Bangkok.

Repelled by lines of police, the protesters raised three fingers, a symbol of the protest movement.

They asked to diminish the power of the King and demand the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha.

Wednesday’s protests came after months of intense tensions in the country.

The king, who spends most of his time abroad but has returned to Thailand from Germany for a few weeks, sits next to Queen Suthida in a car that races through the crowd; The protesters chanted slogans and raised three fingers.

This icon is said to be inspired by the movie The Hunger Game, to show solidarity and disobedience.

The King and Queen are heading to a Buddhist event on Ratchadamnoen Avenue, where the protests are taking place.

The royal faction in the yellow jersey also held demonstrations in the capital to oppose the other; Some people had been shot at violently attacking democracy protesters. Some witnesses accused the authorities of allowing disguised police to enter the actual protesters.

The two sides demonstrated separately along Ratchadamnoen Avenue Wednesday afternoon, with police saying the two sides barely collided.

Anti-government protesters joined the march and chanted “Prayuth, go!” And “Long live the people!”

Protesters were unable to reach Government House due to a fence of seemingly real supporters wearing yellow T-shirts. The royalist faction also joined in and shouted curses at protesters demanding democracy.

“We want to show that we love the King,” Sirilak Kasemsawat, 47, told AFP news agency, and accused the democratic movement of wanting to overthrow the Royal Family, accusing the movement. always rejected.

“We do not demand that the Royal Family be overthrown, forgotten or disrespected,” said Dear Thatcham, a protester for democracy. “We are only asking them to change with us. Our country needs to adapt to many things and the Royal Family is an issue that also needs to please,” he said.

The student-led protest movement, which started in July and is growing strong, has become the biggest challenge for Thai rulers in many years.

The protests last weekend in the capital were one of the largest in years, with thousands of people in attendance, despite an official ban on meetings.

Authorities say 18,000 people attended Saturday’s rally. However, there are other sources that cite higher figures.

Many continued to protest until Sunday, before being disbanded.

The protesters’ calls, demanding reforms from the Royal Family, are a particularly sensitive issue in Thailand. In this country, criticizing the Royal Family as a crime can be punished with a prison sentence of many years.

Thailand has a long history of political protests and unrest, but the new wave began in February this year, after a court ordered the dissolution of an opposition party, a fledgling one. the path of democracy.

Future Forward Party (FFP) has been very popular with youth and first-time voters.

This party became the third largest power in the National Assembly after the March 2019 elections, the elections won by the ruling military leadership.

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

Today people still don’t know where it is. The protesters accused the Thai authorities of organizing his abduction, which the police and authorities denied.

Since July, there have been frequent student-led street protests.

The protesters demanded that the government headed by Prime Minister Prayuth, who served as military leader and came to power after the coup, should be dissolved.

They also demanded a redraft of the Constitution and demanded that officials stop harassing critical voices.