Thai protesters call for government to resign

BANGKOK - Around 2,500 Thai protesters on Saturday evening demanded the resignation of the government and the dissolution of parliament, defying a coronavirus ban on gatherings in one of the largest street demonstrations since a 2014 military coup. People at the student-led rally near Bangkok’s Democracy Monument cited a litany of complaints against the year-old civilian government of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the former army chief who ousted an elected government six years ago. Organisers issued three demands: the dissolution of parliament, an end to harassment of government critics, and amendments to the military-written constitution that critics say virtually guaranteed victory for Prayuth’s party in elections last year. “How can we be OK with the lack of democracy like this?” student activist Tattep Ruangprapaikit told the crowds. There were also some veiled public references at the protest to the powerful Thai monarchy, despite a law forbidding criticism of the king. Such references would once have been unthinkable.

from Asia
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