Thai protesters ask king to stop royal fortune
26 November, 2020
A large number of Thai protesters on Wednesday (Nov 25) called on King Maha Vajiralongkorn to give up control of a good royal fortune valued in the tens of vast amounts of dollars, in the most recent in months of demonstrations focused squarely on the monarchy.
The protesters have broken a longstanding taboo by criticising the king and police summoned a lot of the best-known protest leaders on Tuesday on charges of insulting the monarchy, which can mean up to 15 years in prison.
"This law is historical and barbaric. Each time it is employed it damages the monarchy and the country," explained Parit "Penguin" Chiwarak, who's among those facing charges. He dressed up in a yellow duck suit - echoing the giant rubber ducks that have turn into emblems of the protest.
The demonstration had formerly been scheduled at the Crown Residence Bureau, which manages the royal assets.
But after law enforcement built siege barricades of transport containers and razor wire, the venue was moved to the headquarters of the Siam Commercial Bank where the king's stake of more than 23 per cent makes him the largest shareholder.
Police put the amount of protesters at 8,000.
"The SCB shares should not belong to the king but the finance ministry, therefore the dividend can be utilized to develop the united states," said Boss, 28, a protester who declined to provide his full name.
"The persons demand back countrywide assets from the king," read one protest banner.
Shares in the lender rose a lot more than 2 % on Wednesday, a lot more than twice as much due to the broader market.
The palace has built no comment since the protests began, however when the king was asked about the protesters recently he said these were "loved yet".
A number of the king's critics quoted those terms sarcastically following the summonses on expenses of insulting the monarchy, which Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had said found in June were not appearing used at the demand of the king.
International human legal rights groups also condemned the use of the charges. Police resources explained 15 protest leaders confronted the charges, which they must acknowledge by the finish of the month.
Giving an answer to the criticism, federal government spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek explained: "The federal government possesses been open-minded to privileges and freedoms in spite of many imprudent expressions which offend almost all. The government must employ its authorised powers."
Since July, protesters have already been calling for the removal of Prayut, a former armed service leader. He rejects accusations that he engineered previous year's election to preserve hold of electric power he seized in a 2014 coup.
The protesters seek to make the king more accountable under the constitution and also the reversal of changes which gave him personal control of some army units and the crown assets estimated to be worth more than US$30 billion.
Putting on yellow shirts, in the king's colour, a huge selection of well-wishers collected to greet him ahead of an event in Bangkok.
"We're here to safeguard the king. The king may be the key element to the unity of the people," said Santi Yanothai, 67.
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