Thailand ‘Letter to King’ protest seeks royal support for purge of military from politics
- The Sunday rally at Bangkok’s Democracy Monument came after a week of relative quiet in a city that has hosted months of boisterous protests
- Protesters are also calling for reform of the super-rich monarchy, which is seen as remote and the real conductor of coups and court decisions
The police briefly fired water cannons at the protesters as they reached the Grand Palace in Bangkok, while another line of riot police with shields stood behind parked buses being used as barricades to block thousands of protesters just 150 metres from the palace gates.
Using hand signals adopted from Hong Kong’s protest movement, the protesters ferried helmets to the front line while motorbikes carried protest guards. The demonstrators formed a line in front of the shimmering stupas of the palace, vowing to remain peaceful but unyielding in their demands for change.
“We are tired [but} something has to change here soon,” said Jan, a 39-year old protester. “The monarchy needs to come and talk to the people, reach out or in 10 years they will have lost everyone,” she said, before adding, “there will be no violence from our side”.
Another protester, Ton, 30, said that although he was not afraid to protest, “I’m really scared that we end up keeping this king.”
The “Letter to the King” rally is the latest bold, creative protest in a country where questioning the palace was unthinkable until only a few months ago. It comes after a week of relative quiet in Bangkok, which has hosted months of boisterous protests calling for the government to quit, a new constitution to be drawn up and reforms to the way the powerful monarchy operates.