ExplainerWhy are there protests in Thailand and what will happen next?

Name: Thailand arrests at least 8 activists in latest crackdown on anti-government protests
Uploaded: 2020-10-20T07:12:54.000Z
Duration: 1 min 48 s
Description: Thailand arrests at least 8 activists in latest crackdown on anti-government protests

Youth-led pro-democracy protesters want a new constitution, limits on the monarchy and the end of Prayuth Chan-ocha’s military-backed government

Celebrities, red shirts, the Milk Tea Alliance and Hong Kong’s Joshua Wong are among their backers. Still, it’s a big ask in a land with a history of crackdowns

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Thai anti-government protesters next to a portrait of King Maha Vajiralongkorn in Bangkok. Photo: EPA

SCMP Reporters

Published: 3:12pm, 20 Oct 2020Updated: 9:33pm, 25 Nov 2020

A new phase of political chaos, on top of the coronavirus pandemic and economic woes, is pushing Thailand in an unpredictable direction.

Youth-led pro-democracy protests are demanding the removal of the government led by former junta chief Prayuth Chan-ocha, a new constitution and limits on the monarchy – the current sacrosanct status of which is guarded by a military-backed establishment with a long history of bloody suppression of dissent.

Various proposals to amend the constitution have been submitted to the Thai parliament, but these have been delayed by royalist factions and the military-dominated Senate, further fuelling the turmoil on the streets.

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Thailand arrests at least 8 activists in latest crackdown on anti-government protests

1. WHO ARE THE PROTESTERS AND WHAT DO THEY WANT?

The protests, which began in July when Thailand emerged from its three-month Covid-19 lockdown, have largely been led by university and high school students known collectively as the “Free Youth Movement”.

Demonstrations have been held in schools and universities across Thailand demanding a new constitution, the dissolution of parliament and an end to the harassment of government critics and opponents.

On several occasions students have gathered at government buildings, including the army headquarters, to demand military reform as part of their resistance to the military-backed administration of Prayuth, who took power in a 2014 coup and was elected as prime minister in the disputed general election of 2019.

A key early date was August 10 when, at a university campus outside Bangkok, a group of students led by Thammasat University student Panusaya “Rung” Sithijirawattanakul presented “10 demands” to reform the monarchy.