Pro-democracy protesters in Thailand vowed last Saturday to not be deterred after Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha disregarded their demand that he resign by 10 PM that night or face renewed protests in the heart of Bangkok.
The Japan Times reported protesters also demanded the release of others who have been arrested during the months of protests, which was also apparently ignored.
“We hear the answer from the prime minister to our request,” Jatupat Boonpattararaksa, an activist, said, according to the paper. “Tomorrow as citizens, we will protest against Prayut at Ratchaprasong at 4 p.m.”
Reuters reported Prayuth was asked if he would resign, and he responded, “Won’t quit.”
The report said that Prayuth, who took power following a military d’état in 2014, called for an emergency meeting next week. He previously revoked a state of emergency for Bangkok to de-escalate the tension on the ground.
As we reported in last week’s Trends Journal, protestors are demanding the prime minister resign, the military-drafted constitution be re-written, and the powers of King Maha Vajiralonkorn’s monarchy be curbed.
The Washington Post reported that some police officers have been photographed giving the three-finger salute back to protesters. The gesture was adopted by protesters from the movie “The Hunger Games,” and it is a way to show support for democracy.
TREND FORECAST: As we have written, discontent in Thailand has been brewing since the 2014 military coup d’état. As with the Hong Kong protesters who ignited in 2019, many of the demonstrators are young adults.
We do not forecast the ruling government relinquishing power or meeting the demonstrators demand. Again, as we have noted, unless a wider and older demographic strongly supports the young people’s demands and participates with them, the Thai military will quash the current movement.
