‘Where’s our democracy?’: Thai protesters march on German embassy, urge Berlin to pressure king
- Pro-democracy demonstrators are demanding the European country investigate King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s actions while away from the kingdom
- Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha acknowledged some of the protesters’ concerns in parliament, but warned that the country needed to control illegal rallies
02:27
Thai protesters rally at German embassy, calling for Berlin to investigate Thai king
Now, the protesters are demanding accountability of the king, with about 10,000 of them marching to the embassy to deliver a petition calling for Berlin to investigate whether the Thai king has been orchestrating domestic politics from his overseas retreat.
The embassy was ringed by police buses and a deep line of riot police – a sign of the rising tensions on the streets of the politically combustible Thai capital.
“I want Germany to see what is happening in our country while the king lives over there,” said Palm, a 24-year-old protester who was waving a German flag and asked to be identified by her first name. “Why are we so poor when he is so rich? Why do we have no democracy while he lives over there in a democratic country?”
In their petition, one of the main protest groups, Khana Ratsadon or “The People”, urged Germany to investigate the king’s actions while away from Thailand in order to “bring Thailand back to the path of the truthful constitutional monarchy”.
Thailand’s monarchy, super rich and the apogee of a power pyramid supported by the army and tycoons, is cloaked from criticism or accountability by a royal defamation law – one the protesters are openly flouting.