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Movements Oct 22, 2020
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Protesters attend a rally on October 17, 2020, in Bangkok, Thailand. This rally marks the latest in a string of anti-government protests that began in late July, as students and protesters call for governmental reform. In Bangkok, Thailand, on Saturday, tens of thousands took part in continuing pro-democracy protests following a government crackdown Friday, which saw riot police unleash water cannons containing a chemical irritant on crowds calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha.
Protests against the prime minister began in March this year, following the dissolution of a popular pro-democracy party , but have dramatically increased in size this week, with crowds numbering in the tens of thousands. The government responded to these growing protests with an emergency decree on Thursday, which banned groups of more than five people and gave police the authority to make areas of Bangkok off limits to protesters. Along with this new measure have come the arrests of protesters, including a human rights lawyer and several student activists.
The protesters have released several demands, chief among them that the prime minister resign. A former general, Prayuth seized power in a 2014 military coup. A new constitution was put in place by […]
