Thai protesters rally for 4th day in Bangkok despite ban on large gatherings
18 October, 2020
A large number of protesters gathered at several spots in Bangkok on Saturday (Oct 17) to demand a finish to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s government, despite clashes on Friday night which saw police using water cannon to disperse crowds.
In defiance of an emergency decree banning gatherings, protesters rallied for a fourth straight day, with a youth-led movement, now referred to as the People, announcing that it will regroup.
Authorities shut much of the city's transport system on Saturday afternoon in a bid to thwart protesters, nevertheless, they gathered wherever they could.
Protest organizers needed Saturday's gathering to start out at 4 pm local time.
They urged protesters to be present at every BTS Skytrain station by 3 pm, and consider them protest sites in case the Skytrain stops businesses before that time.
Police didn't intervene on Saturday, and the protests dispersed after a long time.
Bangkok has been under circumstances of serious emergency since 4 am on Thursday, banning any gathering of five persons or more along with any action that could incite unrest.
Publication of news and electronic information with messages that could instill fear among the public, intentionally distort facts or cause misunderstanding that could affect the national security, or peace and order can be prohibited.
The order was issued by Prime Minister Prayut to control anti-government protesters, who've staged mass demonstrations since Wednesday.
The protests first took place at the Democracy Monument before demonstrators moved to occupy areas outside Government House. Protesters were dispersed the next morning by riot police and many protest leaders were arrested.
On Thursday, a big rally took place at the Ratchaprasong intersection in Bangkok’s business district. According to police, at least 10,000 persons joined the protest.
On Friday, protesters regrouped at the Pathumwan intersection, which is situated near to the Ratchaprasong intersection. At 6.30 pm, police in full riot gear started approaching the protesters before hitting them with water cannons.
According to the police, the water was mixed with non-toxic blue dye and chemical irritants. Several protesters were injured and some others were arrested.
The authorities told reporters that their actions were in line with international standards and so are legal under Thai law. Police spokesman Krissana Pattanacharoen expressed condolences to the injured protesters but said it would not have happened “if no unlawful act had been committed”.
The make use of water cannon and chemical irritants has been criticized as unnecessary as protesters were unarmed and many of these are youths.
The anti-government movement has been calling for a finish to Prime Minister Prayut’s rule, reform of the monarchy and a change to the present constitution, that was drafted and passed through the rule of Prayut’s military government.
In 2014, Prayut led a military coup to topple a democratically elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra. He controlled Thailand for five years, before an election in 2019 installed his political party to government.
The anti-government movement is driven by a coalition of youth groups from across Thailand.
These were first known collectively as the People’s Party, a symbolic reference to several revolutionaries behind Thailand’s transition from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy in 1932. However, the name has been changed to the People.
The movement took to the streets after a parliamentary session on Sep 24, when lawmakers decided not to vote on six proposals for charter amendment submitted by the ruling coalition and opposition parties.
Instead, a committee was formed to review the proposals per month first. The move was said to be the government’s try to delay changes to the constitution despite months of pressure from the general public.
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